Persuasive Games: Why We Need More Boring Games.
But why is Brain Age a success of this kind? It’s certainly a very
different kind of game from Halo or even Miyamoto’s own Zelda series,
games that allow the player to inhabit complex fantasy worlds. Instead,
much of Brain Age’s success seems to come precisely from the
ordinariness of its demands.
It is a game of chores, really, not of challenges. Games like speed
arithmetic and number tracing actually become maddeningly dull after
only a short time, but many players persist because they want to have
the sensation of keeping their minds sharp. We use Brain Age like we
might use an exercise video, or a bathroom book of aphorisms, or a
low-carb cookbook. Whether or not the game really contributes to
long-term mental health is irrelevant; it makes people feel as though
they are improving their long term mental health. It satisfies a mundane
need for personal upkeep.
As a medium becomes more familiar, it also becomes less edgy and
exciting. This is what Marc Ecko means when he refers to movies as
demystified. Over time, media becomes domesticated, and domestication is
a mixed blessing.
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