Dear Ex-parrot,

Clever name by the way but I wanted to talk about the psychology of video games.

Yes, at some degree people are addicted to the quality of a video game, and yes video games are made to be fun. But there are RTSS which are definitley fun but require skill. There are an immense amount of skilled games. One being Red Orchestra Osterfaunt. ( I could have been wrong on this one). This game requires that you sit somewhere and wait for the opponent to run out. It requires patience in which most video games do not. Halo is a skilled game but it is a run and gun shooter. Back to Red Orchestra when the soldier fires his gun he has to take into account the wind variable. IE, how gusty the wind is.

Too challenging does not necessairly mean that gamers or newbs or casual people won't play the game. A great example is Dark Souls. It is touted to be a ridiculously hard game. A game in which environments kill you and monsters the size of mega hands murder you in one blow. But there are loads of people that take on this game because it is challenging. Because success in this game is earned not force fed, or walk throughed.

Just look at the points. I have been a gamer for 24 years now and I know the genres and games that come out.

Have a good one!

_S

Video games are designed with the same psychology used in casinos and slot machines.  "Quality" of a video game is determined by if you can get people to buy it and play it, it is a capitalist endeavor.  Too complicated or challenging and people won't want to play it, people want to feel good while they play a video game, not to be challenged in any meaningful way.