17 Feb 2009

Why do games capture attention…

I had some time one day and decided to try out a game that came with my HP laptop. It is called Dinner Dash…

It is so easy to get absorbed into the game.. I was wondering which part of me became sucked into the actions. What is driving my motivation – winning? But I am not competing with anyone, so winning is just a personal thing and there are no prizes too.

Is it the fun? But it is rather repetitious, though there are new elements added for each level; and of course more difficult tasks and greater speed is needed with each new level. I found myself wanting to go on to the next level, even though I really do not have the time to be so lost in the game, without restraint. Am I proving something to myself? So what if I complete the required task [serving customers at a Diner with utmost efficiency and keeping them happy] with a great score?

Hmmmm…..I admit it is entertaining and enjoyable. I wonder if it is something physiological. I mean, when I begin to play the game, the rush to get ‘good grades’ pumps adrenalin [or which ever chemicals within my body] and then the chemical takes over…creating the urge to want to continue and seek for more and more stimulation to sustain the adrenalin level and at some point increase it.

This is true of those who seek extreme sports or subject oneself to constant stimulation. Our body craves for more and we are not satisfied with the level attained, hence the propensity to be addicted [to whatever the stimulation].

I must chose to exercise control – self control!

No comments:

Quotations:

God starts us out on a life course to fulfill a certain purpose and then, only when we are ready, He gives us course corrections. Like a good river pilot, He steers us away from troubled waters, and like a good coach, He never puts us in the game until we are ready. The journey is never boring.

REMEMBER THIS ABOUT YOU...

  Read this out loud to yourself, and mean it!!

  I am precious, valuable, lovable and capable.
  The world will not be the same without me.
  I make a difference in this world, in the community I live in.
  I can make another person smile.
  I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
  I sing for I am loved by a great God whose nature is to give  love, mercy and grace.

  [In Hindi]
  Mai amulya hoon.
  Yeh duniya mayray bina wahi nahin rahegi.
  Mayray hone say is duniya mein kuch badlav hai.
  Mujh se doosre ke chahre pay muskuraahat aati hai.
  Mujhe bhayankar se banaya gaya hai.
  Mujhe gaana hai ki ek mahaan; ishwhar mujhe pyaar karte.
  Hain aur mayray prati daya dikhaate hain.