A gaming academic offers a "fascinating" exploration of why we play
video games--despite the unhappiness we feel when we fail at them
(Boston Globe)
We may think of video games as being "fun," but in The Art of Failure,
Jesper Juul claims that this is almost entirely mistaken. When we play
video games, our facial expressions are rarely those of happiness or
bliss. Instead, we frown, grimace, and shout in frustration as we lose,
or die, or fail to advance to the next level. Humans may have a
fundamental desire to succeed and feel competent, but game players
choose to engage in an activity in which they are nearly certain to fail
and feel incompetent. So why do we play video games even though they
make us unhappy? Juul examines this paradox.
In video games, as in tragic works of art, literature, theater, and
cinema, it seems that we want to experience unpleasantness even if we
also dislike it. Reader or audience reaction to tragedy is often
explained as catharsis, as a purging of negative emotions. But, Juul
points out, this doesn't seem to be the case for video game players.
Games do not purge us of unpleasant emotions; they produce them in the
first place. What, then, does failure in video game playing do?
Juul argues that failure in a game is unique in that when you fail in a
game, you (not a character) are in some way inadequate. Yet games also
motivate us to play more, in order to escape that inadequacy, and the
feeling of escaping failure (often by improving skills) is a central
enjoyment of games. Games, writes Juul, are the art of failure: the
singular art form that sets us up for failure and allows us to
experience it and experiment with it.
The Art of Failure is essential reading for anyone interested in video
games, whether as entertainment, art, or education.
