The biggest reason people play games is the emotions created by games. People like to switch between different emotions while playing games. Nicole Lazzaro and her team did research on the emotions created by games, and as a result of the research, they explained that there are 4 basic types of entertainment and that these types of entertainment trigger different emotions in people. They stated that games containing at least three of the 4 different types of entertainment they defined under the name of 4Key2Fun, are played more by users. Now let’s examine these four different types of entertainment.

Hard Fun

Hard Fun is the type of entertainment that players experience with the challenges in the game. Players feel like heroes as they tackle challenges. In a way, players want to experience the state of being proud that comes with a sense of accomplishment. It is also a type of entertainment that increases creativity as it causes players to develop strategies against difficulties.

Easy Fun

Easy Fun is a type of entertainment that feeds the curiosity of users. Easy Fun draws the attention of the players instead of the feeling of winning, allowing the players to focus on the game. It directs the players to discover the unknowns in the game. With this type of entertainment, people want to discover the story of the game. In short, it is a type of entertainment that directs users to discover and experience each of the activities in the game and allows them to have fun with it.

Serious Fun

Serious Fun is a type of entertainment that triggers changes in the mental states of the players. Players describe the games that trigger the “Serious Fun” genre as therapy. Serious Fun focuses on how the game makes a difference in the inner worlds of the players. Serious Fun-oriented players state that they play games to avoid boredom, to feel better, to clear their minds as they clear the to-do list in the game.

People Fun

Most players want to play with others inside or outside the game environment. People Fun is triggered when players can socialize during the game. When they act as a team, the feeling of being a team and friendship are strengthened, while the fun and rivalry increase as they compete. With People Fun, the players emphasize that the addictive thing is to spend time with their friends, they are playing games to spend time with their friends, it is enjoyable to watch even if they are not playing at home.

Imona Gamification Team

Kaynak: http://xeodesign.com/xeodesign_whyweplaygames.pdf