2.4 Activity 2: What is the pleasure in online gaming?

It’s the journey, not the destination. Thornhams states that the pleasure in online gaming is in “promise and deferment” (Thornham 2009 p.151). Her research showed that adults discuss the pleasure of gaming through “moments that equate it with advancement of the game”(Thornham 2009 p.151). In other words the pleasure from gaming comes from advancing through levels of a game which is deferred by rules and tasks you must adhere to in order to achieve it. First the goal must be identified (this is the promise) Tasks must be carried out and rules adhered to (this is the deferment) If this is all done the goal is achieved (promise fulfilled) Once the goal is met there is no longer as much pleasure in playing the game. The same applies if the goal is unachievable. People loose interest as the pleasure comes from the combination of both “promise and deferment” not from one or the other. Thornham, H. 2009. Claiming a Stake in the Videogame : WhatGrown-Ups Say to Rationalize and Normalize Gaming. Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies: 445-462. http://con.sagepub.com/content/15/2/141 (accessed 19/10/11).