The Social Game

After seeing the class’s reactions to live Never Alone game play, I thought back to the Professor’s comments on their rules for when their kids play video games, with the primary one being that they need someone else there as well. The experience of having someone else nearby, sharing the narrative of the game, as well as the narrative of you playing the game, adds something that otherwise can’t be reached when playing alone, social interaction. Granted, online games technically offer social interaction, but with complete strangers who you will most likely never meet again, which often produces interactions we’d all be better off without. When you play with others in the room, though, even if it is only a single-player game, there is an aspect of social play that brings you two together. Whether they’re rooting for you to finally beat that boss, or judging you for falling down that pit for the sixth time, the interaction between player and viewer creates a bond that in my case has been a large part of how my siblings and I grew up. One of us would pick up the game, and another would nearly always be there to watch. With this in mind I wanted to know how the rest of the class felt about these experiences, whether they, too, experience this sort of ‘social gaming’ with their friends or family, and how they think it might benefit or detract from the gaming experience.