Why are games fun?

[Lordlaneus]

the question "why are games fun" just popped into head, and I don't mean it in the sense of what qualities make a game fun, I mean why do our brain get amusement from controlling a bunch of pixels by pushing buttons? what little research I've done say that games allow the player to feel in control, and provide them with goals to complete, which are both things that our brains evolved to do, but I feel like there's more to it. does anyone have any ideas?

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I'm going to go with the escapist(no pun intended) nature of the medium. We live our lives with limited control over what we can do/say/be, but in the fictional world of the games we can travel a post-apocalyptic wasteland, take part in a suicide mission, become a player in the criminal underworld, be an epic hero, fight a dragon, save a princess and do countless other things that would be impossible(or at least ill-advised) all from the comfort of our own homes.

 

[NickCaligo42]

Games are not fun. Games are an opportunity for fun. We take advantage of those opportunities, when well-presented, and thus, have fun.