I used to think that games are just for fun
Myth 1: Games are always fun
From childhood, we are used to the idea that games are fun, because they are exciting and brining us joy.
But it is not the case.
Many games are not based on joy in the usual sense.
For example, professional sports games are painful and exhausting, but many people still play them. They are ready to engage in them, despite suffering through the boredom and pain associated with practice, and even getting injured. When we climb mountains, the path is accompanied by fatigue and risk. But when we reach the peak, we enjoy the beautiful view from the top. The reason for this myth is due to the way our brain functions.
When faced with someone or something, our brain forms an "opinion/judgment" of that person or object. It's like a snapshot- a photograph that only contains a part of the information.
For most people, the stereotype around games are formed in childhood, as something frivolous and intended just for entertainment.
And for many, the perception of games stops when they become adults. Everything is suddenly serious, and there is no room for games, unless you're making money playing or creating games. Games are not always fun in the traditional sense. For a lot of people, games are hard work, a learning tool, a way to realize their potential.
Commit to doing something 100 times - is a very fun game, when you know how to play it and have an experience. Portals Academy will help you to create fun around any process.
I used to think that games are not serious
Myth #2: Games are not serious.
How often have you heard the phrases: “stop playing with me”, “it is not a game anymore”.
This is an example of how much society views games as not serious.
This topic was highlighted by Johan Huizinga, an outstanding Dutch historian, in his book “Homo ludens”.
His book suggested the instinct for play as the central element in human culture and examined the role of play in law, war, science, poetry, philosophy, and art.
The title, Homo Ludens, translates to mean Man the Player.
It discusses the importance of the play element of culture and society. He raised the question of the seriousness of the game: "The concept of playing a game, as such, is of a higher order than the concept of seriousness.
For seriousness seeks to exclude play, but play easily includes seriousness."
There is no game that doesn't have its benefits (everybody knows the importance of games in the development of a child).
The educational system uses game mechanics to control and motivate students. The gaming industry is now one of the most profitable in the entertainment industry, which has long surpassed the film industry. Chess is one of the greatest and most serious games invented by mankind. Generals played chess as the tool to improve strategic thinking. And even today playing chess a profession for some.
The best economists, mathematicians, and politicians are excellent strategists, thanks in large part to chess. Sports games, creative games, politics, economics - these are all human games with their own rules. The history of mankind shows that rules themselves serve as the foundational building block of any game. In gamification, the building blocks of a game are called game mechanics. One of the most powerful game mechanics we use every day called "Rules".
In ancient times, the generals who developed the best rules for warfare, won wars. Nowadays, the countries, which have better rules of governance, have better economies.
Everything is based on the rules: from education systems to business, from relationships to self-development, from art to science, from nature to culture.
Rules rule them all.
To survive, people need to deeply understand the power of rules - to save the planet or even attain world peace.
The gaming and sports industries, combined, form a multi-billion dollar business, increasing in popularity year by year.
Business people are often confronted with the question: "What problem does your product solve?"
But what problem does any product solve ?
Take the latest iPhone, for example... what problem does it solve ?
What about Instagram and TikTok ?
What about new cars?
What about fashion ?
What about restaurants?
What about the film industry?
Aren't these in a way all games that people take very seriously. Someone might say: "I'm in the fashion game", or "I'm in the car game, and even call expensive cars 'toys'."
When Karl Friedrich Benz invented the first practical automobile, ironically, it was hard to sell in his home country, Germany. One reason for this was that people were used to riding horses, which were widely available. And the fact that there were no gas stations, also probably had something to do with it.
Despite this, in France, Benz's cars began to sell out, apparently due to the fact that the French gravitated towards the game of acquiring and enjoying new fashionable toys.
Every game solves some kind of problem.
Let's imagine that we are a team at a marketing agency. We are tasked with changing people's attitudes towards games.
Here are some advertising slogans we might come up with:Games solve the problem of rest.
Games solve a problem of lack of happiness. Games solve the problem of poor health.
Games solve the problem of lack of education.
Games solve the problem of lack of confidence.
Games solve the problem of lack of engagement.
Games solve the problem of lack of persistence.
Games solve the problem of lack of social interaction.
Games solve the problem of lack of peace and harmony in humanity.
Games are serious.
Portals Academy is a very serious game that will develop your mind, with a strong mind life is much more interesting.
