What in your opinion motivates some people to play games and other not to? I know quite a number of people that like games, but I know a HUGE number of people that would never play anything beyond solitaire, or maybe nothing at all. What I'm getting at is that perhaps there is an untapped market somewhere. Do you think those that don't play games will never be convinced otherwise, or do you think we could do anything about it? This also brings up another question that has been bugging me. Games are often perceived as having no point, they don't really accomplish anything physical, they just serve as a form of entertainment. I believe this is why a lot of people don't bother with them, because they view them as a waste of time because they do not accomplish anything in the physical world (whether that is a correct assumption or not that is how they are perceived). Is there anything that we can do to give games more meaning or real life impact, perhaps some way of making them useful in real life, to try and lure in those that consider them a waste of time. Even if there is that something, would it still be a game or would it have evolved into something else? Thanks, Steve

I can't really define why I like video games, other than because they're fun for me. It's like trying to define why I like spinach but not carrots.

My mom, however, says she likes video games because they keep her brain active, but don't necessarily require as much logic as chess, for instance. A lot of games are scalable...you can still get through without knowing intricate details of everything or massive planning, but if you WANT to learn more or plan a lot, that works too. For this reason, you can play for 30 minutes or 3 hours and have equal fun. She also likes the challenge of beating it through her own wits rather than pure luck or randomness. It's probably also to some extent an escape from the stress of her job...even when the game becomes stressful due to difficulty, at least it's stress that's not important in the big picture. And some of it is just to see what happens next, just like reading a book.

I agree that some people don't play video games because they're useless, however I think there's a bigger reason. They're too busy either doing useful stuff, or doing some other useless stuff such as flirting with total strangers in a bar. Win or lose, a game of solitaire generally takes much less time to complete than your average video game. Other issues include lack of money to buy video games/systems, and fear of doing it or learning how to do it. The "oh I'm not good enough for THAT" syndrome, which I have to admit is why I don't care much for games involving lots of action, heh. You might be able to attract some non-gamers by doing various things, but for some people it'd require changing their self-image, which people are generally pretty resistant about.

for the non gamers,usually the presentation and graphics that capture their attention first. But I also found certain moments, when they're interested for at least trying it, by seeing how much other people having fun with it

For example (this really happe). Me and my brother were playing Donkey Konga together, when my mom&dad sees this, first, they're smiling seeing the way we play it (the graphics of that game isn't so good), then they sit to watch us play a little logner, then came the question 'let us try' :D

Hmm, I just had another thought I'd like to add onto this thread regarding my own game in progress. As I mentioned in the OP, if we could add more meaning to games, it may not still be a game any more.

My idea, for anyone who isn't up to speed on it, is basically an RPG in the vein of Neverwinter Nights with player GM's, but done correctly. I wont go into any further detail (though I do have a substantial design document) because that is not what this thread is about. I basically had the thought that an offshoot of this project could be a machinima solution, something designed specifically to make videos out of. Perhaps it could even be used as a storyboarding tool in the film industry?

Anyhoo, just a short post, but I think it possibly helps illustrate my idea a little better. This could be one potential idea that crosses the boundary from game to something else and could actually have a real world use, whilst also potentially still being a form of entertainment.

Thanks,

Steve