Reframing

I used to have a real problem with perceiving problems as problems.

You see, the problem with seeing problems as problems is that then problems can’t be challenges. If we agree that challenges are things which can yield fun, satisfaction, and growth on completion, then what are problems? Are problems more like obstacles causing unnecessary grief and annoyance? I recall a time when every problem I encountered felt like something I’d rather just ignore, but then whenever I did that, the problems multiplied.

An avid gamer would probably not suggest that their favourite game is just a bunch of problems to be solved. And yet, in essence, is that not exactly what a game is? What do we need to do to elevate a problem to the status of a challenge? You might argue that the core difference between a challenge and a problem is that a challenge is something which a person has chosen to take on. Thus a problem is often perceived as more menacing because it has invited itself into someone’s life without offering any choice about it! And yet, do we not encounter uninvited problems in games as well as in life? When those situations occur, do we stop playing those games, or accept that uninvited problems are just other challenging parts of the game?

Let’s consider for a moment those games out there which allow a player to choose a level of difficulty. In the original Doom (1993), the developers labelled their levels of difficulty in this way:

I'm Too Young to Die (Very Easy)

Hey, Not Too Rough (Easy)

Hurt Me Plenty (Normal)

Ultra-Violence (Hard)

Nightmare (Challenge)

Once the game had been completed on a particular level of difficulty (or even earlier), a player could start a new game on a higher level of difficulty, so as to enjoy a tougher challenge: A more problematic challenge perhaps. If the purpose of every game was simply to complete it, then everyone would just choose the easiest level of difficulty. So clearly the purpose of playing a game is not just to complete it, but to (among other things) enjoy a challenging experience. Let’s look at this whole “problem or challenge” thing from another angle:

In WoW, I would find it annoying when a new player would whisper me and ask (beg) for free gold (the in-game currency). I think this was because whenever I started a new character on a fresh server, I would take satisfaction from starting with very little, to then develop my character to having a greater level of self-sufficiency. It wouldn’t take much, I just had to put a little time into a gathering profession, such as mining or herbalism. That way I could earn some extra gold outside of normal quest rewards by selling the materials I gathered through the Auction House. It was easy enough to do, and quite satisfying when the gold came rolling in through the in-game mail. So why didn’t all those gold beggars do that themselves too? Were they just lazy, or did they simply not know that they were missing out on another fun part of the game?

Another aspect to this whole “problem or challenge” thing is cheat codes. If you have an old game with built-in cheat codes, you should activate them at least once, because you’ll be rewarded with a learning experience about why problems are not problems. In the original Doom (1993) you could type in:

“idkfa” ..to instantly acquire all weapons, ammo, keys, and power-ups.

“iddqd” .. to enjoy God-mode, making your character invincible.

There were other cheat codes too, but even with just those two activated, I remember feeling very powerful, very quickly. However, the game also became very boring, very quickly as I couldn’t garner any satisfaction from the experience of playing it. By using the cheat codes, the game had become too easy, and thus pointless.

It might not be practical to label every single problem in life as a challenge, but how many of a person’s problems could really be challenges? If we see life as a challenge, would it not be more enjoyable and satisfying?