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Have you read that story on SR about the interent reducing our attention spans to about 9 seconds (about that of a goldfish)? It got me thinking.
Well, it seems that the internet (and other entertainment mediums) are making our attention spans less and less. Internet web pages rely on having good, exciting descriptions in search engines to catch our attention, Items being sold on sites like Ebay can be 'boxed' items (coloured borders around the item) or 'featured' items (appear at the top of the list when searched for) to catch our attention and be more likele to be sold. The internet is a system to quickly and easily communicate ideas, images, text, sound, and data. And it relies on catching your attention.
And keeping it.
Even here on the forums, we are not safe. Browsing the topics, we cannot hope to read every one. So we pick ones that sound interesting to us. Topics with the most replies will not just be the topics with most interesting subject matter, but those which also have an eye-catching title.
Now you may be wondering what this has to do with games. Not all that much actually, but people would no doubt argue that games are another medium that deplete our attention span. I think that is wrong. A good gaming world will suck the player in, make them want to play more, find out what happens next, and discover how to beat that next boss. Although problem solving in most games now is very linear- there is only usually one way to solve a problem or puzzle in a game- that could, and should change in the future. Multiple routes, secret areas, locked doors, huge bosses, all enrich games and make us think about how to overcome them. How to get through that bullet proof glass to the secret room behind, which route to take first, what bit of an enemy to shoot. But this wasn't the main point of this topic. Although I don't think games decrease our attention span- far from it- that wasn't why I started tyoing this topic.
The reason was to thank you. Thank the people who write interesting and enriching topics in these forums. You may think they go unnoticed, but persevere and they won't. Thank you- You know who you are- for writing those interesting, exciting, engrossing topics that save our attention spans from becoming equal to a simple goldfish.
Thank You.
Well, it seems that the internet (and other entertainment mediums) are making our attention spans less and less. Internet web pages rely on having good, exciting descriptions in search engines to catch our attention, Items being sold on sites like Ebay can be 'boxed' items (coloured borders around the item) or 'featured' items (appear at the top of the list when searched for) to catch our attention and be more likele to be sold. The internet is a system to quickly and easily communicate ideas, images, text, sound, and data. And it relies on catching your attention.
And keeping it.
Even here on the forums, we are not safe. Browsing the topics, we cannot hope to read every one. So we pick ones that sound interesting to us. Topics with the most replies will not just be the topics with most interesting subject matter, but those which also have an eye-catching title.
Now you may be wondering what this has to do with games. Not all that much actually, but people would no doubt argue that games are another medium that deplete our attention span. I think that is wrong. A good gaming world will suck the player in, make them want to play more, find out what happens next, and discover how to beat that next boss. Although problem solving in most games now is very linear- there is only usually one way to solve a problem or puzzle in a game- that could, and should change in the future. Multiple routes, secret areas, locked doors, huge bosses, all enrich games and make us think about how to overcome them. How to get through that bullet proof glass to the secret room behind, which route to take first, what bit of an enemy to shoot. But this wasn't the main point of this topic. Although I don't think games decrease our attention span- far from it- that wasn't why I started tyoing this topic.
The reason was to thank you. Thank the people who write interesting and enriching topics in these forums. You may think they go unnoticed, but persevere and they won't. Thank you- You know who you are- for writing those interesting, exciting, engrossing topics that save our attention spans from becoming equal to a simple goldfish.
Thank You.
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Have you read that story on SR about the interent reducing our attention spans to about 9 seconds (about that of a goldfish)? It got me thinking.
Well, it seems that the internet (and other entertainment mediums) are making our attention spans less and less. Internet web pages rely on having good, exciting descriptions in search engines to catch our attention, Items being sold on sites like Ebay can be 'boxed' items (coloured borders around the item) or 'featured' items (appear at the top of the list when searched for) to catch our attention and be more likele to be sold. The internet is a system to quickly and easily communicate ideas, images, text, sound, and data. And it relies on catching your attention.
And keeping it.
Even here on the forums, we are not safe. Browsing the topics, we cannot hope to read every one. So we pick ones that sound interesting to us. Topics with the most replies will not just be the topics with most interesting subject matter, but those which also have an eye-catching title.
Now you may be wondering what this has to do with games. Not all that much actually, but people would no doubt argue that games are another medium that deplete our attention span. I think that is wrong. A good gaming world will suck the player in, make them want to play more, find out what happens next, and discover how to beat that next boss. Although problem solving in most games now is very linear- there is only usually one way to solve a problem or puzzle in a game- that could, and should change in the future. Multiple routes, secret areas, locked doors, huge bosses, all enrich games and make us think about how to overcome them. How to get through that bullet proof glass to the secret room behind, which route to take first, what bit of an enemy to shoot. But this wasn't the main point of this topic. Although I don't think games decrease our attention span- far from it- that wasn't why I started tyoing this topic.
The reason was to thank you. Thank the people who write interesting and enriching topics in these forums. You may think they go unnoticed, but persevere and they won't. Thank you- You know who you are- for writing those interesting, exciting, engrossing topics that save our attention spans from becoming equal to a simple goldfish.
Thank You.
Well, it seems that the internet (and other entertainment mediums) are making our attention spans less and less. Internet web pages rely on having good, exciting descriptions in search engines to catch our attention, Items being sold on sites like Ebay can be 'boxed' items (coloured borders around the item) or 'featured' items (appear at the top of the list when searched for) to catch our attention and be more likele to be sold. The internet is a system to quickly and easily communicate ideas, images, text, sound, and data. And it relies on catching your attention.
And keeping it.
Even here on the forums, we are not safe. Browsing the topics, we cannot hope to read every one. So we pick ones that sound interesting to us. Topics with the most replies will not just be the topics with most interesting subject matter, but those which also have an eye-catching title.
Now you may be wondering what this has to do with games. Not all that much actually, but people would no doubt argue that games are another medium that deplete our attention span. I think that is wrong. A good gaming world will suck the player in, make them want to play more, find out what happens next, and discover how to beat that next boss. Although problem solving in most games now is very linear- there is only usually one way to solve a problem or puzzle in a game- that could, and should change in the future. Multiple routes, secret areas, locked doors, huge bosses, all enrich games and make us think about how to overcome them. How to get through that bullet proof glass to the secret room behind, which route to take first, what bit of an enemy to shoot. But this wasn't the main point of this topic. Although I don't think games decrease our attention span- far from it- that wasn't why I started tyoing this topic.
The reason was to thank you. Thank the people who write interesting and enriching topics in these forums. You may think they go unnoticed, but persevere and they won't. Thank you- You know who you are- for writing those interesting, exciting, engrossing topics that save our attention spans from becoming equal to a simple goldfish.
Thank You.