by Dr Taliesin Coward
That said, there is one very clear element which can both be fun in and of itself, and can certainly contribute to the overall fun-factor of the game: silliness. To be specific, some sort of reaction to something the player does that is silly, nonsensical, or completely disproportionate.
Volkswagon made this point some years ago with their ‘Fun Theory’, where they showed people would happily use steps over the convenience of an escalator if they turned them into gigantic piano keys. Likewise, people would hunt around for rubbish to toss in the bin if it sounded like they were dropping the rubbish into a thousand-foot drop (you now, the classic diminishing whistle followed by ‘boom’).
We’ve all seen the silly grins of people who are given a go in a super-car, when they push the accelerator and are rewarded with a deep growl and being slammed back into their chair by the force of the acceleration. What has the person really done? Wiggle their foot a few inches. In normal situations there’s no reason why wiggling your foot should get that reaction, but put that foot in a car... Part of us, I’m sure, is aware of just how ridiculous it is to wiggle one’s foot and take off like a rocket, and this contributes to our enjoyment.
It’s the same with magic tricks. There is no earthly reason why wiggling my fingers should cause a coin to vanish and yet, when it does, the reaction is invariably one of animated delight. In essence, all of these things seem to us, at a very basic level, to be silly non sequiturs.
So what bearing does this have on video games? Lots. Whether it’s the ability to double-jump, ragdoll across a landscape, or run into things which go ‘ping!’, games are full of amusing non sequitors, abstract nonsense, and downright silliness.
Take Super Mario World for example. It is inherently silly, and no more obviously so than in its sound design. Nearly every action or interaction the player does is accompanied by some nonsensical sound. Jumping produces a rising note. Touching a coin produces an audible cheery ‘ping!’ sound. Jumping on an enemy produces a humorous popping sound. Ordering Yoshi to stick his tongue out produces an amusing squeaking sound. Even defeat results in a comic little tune being played.
Silliness abounds even outside of the sound design. Ghosts play peekaboo, mushrooms variously make Mario grow or add extra lives, flowers grant him the ability to launch fireballs, stars make him invincible, and picking up a feather gives him a cape which allows him to fly (taking off even includes running in the obligatory arms-out-I’m-an-aeroplane stance). I could keep on going in this vein for a long time, but the point is Super Mario World is full of silliness, which not only adds to its fun and charm, but also – and this is the amazing point – is accepted without comment.
Games with guns? Surely those aren’t silly? Well, sorry, they are. Putting to one side the ability to run at 90mph whilst carrying over 1,000lbs of weaponry which doesn’t need to be reloaded, guns – especially virtual guns – also fit neatly into the category of something which can delight by giving a completely disproportionate response for the amount of effort put in. All a person has to do is pull their finger (or, in the case of a computer game, wiggle it a millimetre or so) and the result is a flash of flame, a loud bang, and visible destruction.
Basically, they don’t make sense to us. In fact, there are plenty of studies conducted by the military showing the human mind has a hard time dealing with the notion of projected violence: regardless of the training of the soldiers, or how battle seasoned, multiple studies of various battles have found that attacking soldiers are likely to hesitate – often with fatal consequences – just outside the range where hand-to-hand combat becomes likely, even though this exposes them to being fired upon at point blank range. Thus at some fundamental level, thumping someone and the effort involved and the damage it does makes sense, while wiggling one’s finger with lethal intent does not. And because it doesn’t make sense at this extremely basic level, the result is so out of proportion with what we ‘reasonably’ expect, it can generate the same level of surprise and delight that anything else nonsensical can.
While some games are more inherently silly than others, such as satires like Sir Whoopass: Immortal Death, which deliberately sends up gaming tropes by the simple expedient of exaggeration to the point it becomes obviously comic (such as the toilet fast travel system – if a signpost can allow you to teleport across the world, why not a toilet?), and other games tone down their silliness or try to disguise them by giving them some form of plausible explanation, you’d be hard pressed to find any game bereft of non sequiturs, disproportionate responses (because they’re just so much fun), or downright absurdities. And even then, at the end of the day, the player is still left with the knowledge, at some level, that all they are really doing is wiggling their fingers.
So next time you’re playing your favourite game, take a moment to consider just how inherently silly it is, and in what way and how the silliness actually adds to your enjoyment. You may just be surprised.
References
Murray, L., War Games: The Psychology of Combat, (London: Biteback Publishing, 2018).
Volkswagen, The Fun Theory – Piano Staircase Initiative, Youtube (Volkswagen, 26 Oct 2009),
Volkswagen, The Fun Theory 2 – an initiative of Volkswagen: The World’s Deepest Bin, Youtube (Volkswagen, 26 Oct 2009),