What’s So Addicting About Competitive Gaming
Imagine this: You’re the last person alive on your team and if you lose this round/fight your team will lose. You’re heart is racing, you’re trying to predict the enemy’s moves, and the spectators are sitting silently praying you can win it. Drawing on all your experience you somehow manage to clutch the round for your team through a feat of pure mechanical skill and your team praises you for the spectacle that they just witnessed. Moments after relishing in this victory, all you can do now is wonder when you will get the chance to do it all over again…
What makes this exact scenario in competitive gaming so addicting? So you can brag about being the best? Is it the possibilities of becoming pro? Or is it simply to find those winning moments that bring a thrill to your beating heart. What is it about competitive gaming that makes us want to come back seeking more than just a win?
Games such as CS:GO, League of Legends, Overwatch and Fortnite are played by thousands of people everyday. But why is it that they are much more popular despite not having any kind of thrilling plot or story such as a game like Assassins Creed?
Whether it be an FPS, MOBA or battle royal, people are constantly looking for a rush of excitement. In the case of a competitive game where only one person or team can come out as the victor, the feeling is that much stronger.
Becoming the best at something you enjoy is a great feeling no matter what activity it is. But for gamer enthusiasts, it is more of a confirmation that all those hours spent playing video games was well worth it.
Losing is never fun, and when gaming, tension within teams can get out of hand quickly. Fighting with teammates and feelings of exhaustion or embarrassment after a bad game can be very tiring. However, these things make winning that much more enjoyable. Winning with a team of friends or a group of complete strangers can create lasting memories after a tough match and for some of us, this is enough to find a game fun. But for others, there is a lot more at stake in these competitive games.
Ranking systems inside of games act as goals or milestones for many players and it is right here where the addiction and obsession begins. For most games, the goal of the game is to reach the end of the story or defeat the antagonist. However, for competitive games, the end goal would be to reach the highest rank in the game, a position that only very few people can reach.
Many players spend hours everyday playing their preferred game and never improve in rank while others claw their way up the ladder slowly but surely. What’s most unfortunate though is that many players begin to blame their teammates for being unable to climb the rank ladder. While some losses are inevitable due to your team, there is always room for improvement.
Getting those amazing plays for your team and then winning the game is every players dream. The adrenaline rush and amount of concentration that players attain in dire situations is euphoric. Many, if not all players have felt this at some point playing a competitive game and it is often times a point of common ground between players when trying to describe their favorite moments in a game.
In another perspective, competitive gaming can almost be thought of as gambling. Both teams are betting their own reputation trying to defeat each other and increasing your rank in a game is just as satisfying as winning a round of poker. The constant need to find that perfect play and then win with your team is overwhelmingly addictive.
Overall, competitive games are addicting because we all like to have fun! (Sometimes in different ways)
