Video game playing may fulfill innate human need:
In four studies reported in the journal Motivation and Emotion, Rigby and his colleagues sought to understand people’s motivation for playing the games and the games’ immediate effect on well-being.In the first study, they had 89 people play a simple game involving jumping to different platforms. In the second phase, the researchers compared the experience of 50 people who played two 3-D adventure games, one very popular and one less so. In the third study, 58 people tried four different games, while in the fourth the researchers surveyed 730 members of an online gaming community who were experienced in playing “massively multiplayer online” games.
Players’ enjoyment of games depended on whether the games made them feel competent and independent, and, in the case of multiplayer games, connected to other players. Players who enjoyed their experience showed increases in well-being, self-esteem, and vitality after playing, while those whose needs weren’t satisfied reported lowered vitality and mood.