Does your choice of computer game reflect your personality? It’s an interesting question and one that parents and gamers everywhere should examine closely.
As online gameplay increases, and children and young adults trade outdoor activities for marathon indoor gaming sessions, their choices can reflect their likes and dislikes, as well as their inherent skills. At a basic level, we see many games divided by gender preference. For example, dress up sims are played primarily by girls, while the shooter genre is favored by boys. Also, choices obviously have an age affiliation, with simpler titles played by younger kids, and more complex puzzle and strategy games played by older children.
If we look more in-depth at the arcade gaming category, we can make some assumptions about what type of personality plays what. Arcade games are widely available on the Internet, many of them as free flash files you can play on gaming portals or download to your computer. Compare these to consoles like Nintendo, Xbox or Playstation where you are required to purchase a gaming console and game cartridges to play.
Classic arcades like Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Sonic, Pacman, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong have been popular for decades. In fact, in a list of the top 20 video games conducted in 2010, more than half were over 20 years old. So what do these titles say about a fan’s personality? Let’s examine Tetris, a popular animated puzzle that requires dexterity, concentration and quick decision-making skills. We’d expect that Tetris would be favored by gamers with intelligence and patience. Compare this to the action packed Super Mario and Sonic games. Fans of those adventures need speed, daring and a love of adrenaline to do well.
As technology increases, and more and more titles make their way to the marketplace, gamers will have more choices. Pay attention to what your kids play, their choices may tell you more about their personalities than you think.