Why do children play videogames?

[Sketch]

I'm currently researching why children play videogames.

Any opinions are welcome.

Sketch:pinky:

[Hisham]

Because they look fun and are a way to pass the time.

It is like asking why do they watch TV or why do they hate homework. It is sorta a given.

[Lucent Beam]

They are fun and interesting.......
Yeah, the question has a pretty obvious answer.

[SuperLuigiBros]

But why are they fun?

Maybe because they are colourful and interesting to look at, but I suspect its because they can get a sense of achievement from even the smallest of tasks. I remember playing Mario Bros. 3 when I was 5 on christmas day. Jumping on a Goobma or jumping over a hole and not dying was a huge achievement for me. And also (I assume we're talking about very young kids), maybe because they are still so young that their mind is learning heaps and heaps so it would be a good way to get some l33t skills like hand-eye coordination and reflexes.

[OG_Monkey]

To live the farthest of their imaginations. Do the things they wanna do in years to come and to do the things they know they could never do. Live a fantasy/dream

[cpiasminc]

You could also look at the types of stuff that dominates the kids' market for games, there's often very clearly defined structure and explicitly laid out rules. They may not be written out in black and white, but there's very little grey area, which makes them straightforward to understand, and it also means that their frame of mind while playing is one that has to manage very little information in order to think about how to proceed, and the outcomes of their decisions tend to be very deterministic. So not only would their actions be rewarded when they do well, but they can also anticipate said reward.

I'm not entirely sure where one could go with that, but it's something.

[SuperLuigiBros]

To live the farthest of their imaginations. Do the things they wanna do in years to come and to do the things they know they could never do. Live a fantasy/dream
Im not sure that applies for just kids. From what I can tell, the reason I play games is to escape from the real world. If I want a realistic experience ill jump in a car and driving around really fast or grabs some guns and go and shoot stuff (well, maybe not...). But the point is I play games to do things I cant in real life. Kids arent allowed to do that stuff so maybe they plays games for the opposite (or same, depending on how you look at it): They play to engage in real life experiences, that theyre not allowed to do in real life.

Although I guess it depends on what game theyre playing to see why they like it. Im sure there are different reasons but mostly kids games are all very colourful and easy (usually platformers) so they can feel good about themselves when they beat it (Again, the sense of achievement).

Kids imaginations are pretty good, I doubt they need video games to think of weird and wonderful places.

And reading your post again I guess I just elaborated a bit. :shrug:

[koten]

Because I enjoy it.

[HPK]

I'll just give my reasons for playing videogames while growing up.

I mostly played games because they allowed me to do something and it actually felt like I was doing something. I never really caught on to reading. I found it boring because I was continously looking at nothing but black text on whitish paper. (I also had below average reading comprehension, which eventually disappeared).
I've always been on the artistic side, so I thoroughly enjoy visuals. I got a kick out of cartoons, movies, etc. They told stories in ways that could keep my interested with the story itself. Videogames, for me, were on a different level. They gave me that same feeling when watching a movie. I could still follow the storyline with the visuals I loved, but I could now have more interaction with the characters, the stories, and everything else.
With movies, I was usually only given a two, two and a half hour timeframe to work with. And what did I do while watching the movies? I just sat there, taking it all in. Videogames felt a lot different. I felt I had more control with everything that was going on. With that, I felt that I wasn't just playing a game, I was experiencing the contents of it.
And playing the same game twice was never the same as watching the same movie twice. The movie will always been the same no matter how many times you watch it. The game? Anything could happen.
Pretty much, games offered to tell me stories in a unique way by letting me actually be a part of them. I never felt like they were telling me what was going on, such as with movies or books. I also enjoyed the visuals. All the games I've played have expanded my imagination and creative thinking. Not to mention I actually felt like I was doing something while playing the games. Granted, I was merely paying attention to the game and moving my thumbs, but there was a lot more brainwork going on.

[The Dude]

I used them as murder simulators.

[HolyPaladin]

I'm currently researching why children play videogames.

It's already been said, but children play video games for entertainment, just like anybody else that plays them or anything else like board games, television, or sports. It's a way to amuse ourselves (adults as well as children).

One could then desire to probe slightly deeper, wondering why video games rather than other forms of entertainment, but most gamers probably engage in entertainments besides just video games, so it's one variety of entertainments among many. Addressing the appeal of video games, it enables people to be somebody that they may never be or cannot ever be in real life, to do things that are unlikely or even impossible in reality. Using a child as an example, eleven-year-old Tommy can pick up the game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and for a while he stop being a typical little boy and take up the role of a soldier saving the free world from terrorists. He could never do that in reality, at least not until he's a lot older, but he can pick up a game controller and save the world right now. Adults love doing that, too.

Tommy could go out back and toss the football around with his little buddy, or he can command a starship in the game Mass Effect, exploring the galaxy fighting interstellar crime and saving the galaxy and everything in it from annihilation. The football is real, and his interaction with his friends is real, but video games can offer something deeper and more exciting, and he can even do that with his real friends.

[Boggy700]

I think that one of the reasons why children play videogames is because they have no control over their own lives, so they enter a world in which they have total control. The same reason can be applied to many adults too.

One thought I've thought recently is that puppeteers represent the human soul.

Videogames are just digital puppetry.
Children are soulful.
Adults, less so.