Experiences in Games

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In his book, Man, Play and Games, author Roger Caillois categorises games into four classifications according to the types of experiences they create (2001).


Games that have Make-Believe Experiences are games that give the players the chance to do something they cannot do in real life.  In The Force Unleashed games, players can use powerful Force abilities and lightsabers to take out stormtroopers.

The Force Unleashed (https://www.starwars.com/news/replaying-the-classics-star-wars-the-force-unleashed, 2018)

Chance Experiences are found in games where the outcome is unpredictable. Games like Dungeons and Dragons and Gambling are chance games.

Dungeons and Dragons (https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeons_%26_Dragons#/media/File:Dungeons_and_Dragons_game.jpg ,2005)

​Vertigo Experiences are found in games were focus is extremely important and can result in the player losing track of time due to being fully immersed. This can be found in any game if it has good flow and the player gets invested. In my case, I experience this when playing Doom or Minecraft.
In his book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi explains that flow is when one is completely involved in an activity for its own sake (1990).

Doom Skin in Minecraft (https://imgur.com/a/zFbVX, 2016)

Competition Experiences lie in games where one must defeat and dominate his /her opponents.  Games like basketball, football, Rocket League, etc. are examples in which the experience is purely competitive.

Rocket League (https://thereasonsimbroke.tumblr.com/image/170959755423, 2018)

​References
CAILLOIS, R. (2001). Man, play and games. Urbana, Ill, University of Illinois Press.

CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M. (1990). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York, Harper & Row.