Why gamers love RGB lights?

Credit: HyperX

In the world of PC peripherals, RGB lighting is ubiquitous. The soft kaleidoscope glow of a keyboard in a dimly lit room is so synonymous with gaming; it's almost become a caricature.

But, despite this, it's often unclear why consumers - and especially gamers - desire, appreciate and prefer RGB lighting on their gear over the alternative. From the outside, it's hard to know where and when the trend started, nor to find the justification for it.

So what's the deal? Why are so many gamers and gaming brands salivating at the thought of integrating RGB LED bulbs into their mice, keyboards, headsets, and even speakers?

According to Dr Marcus Carter, senior lecturer in digital cultures at the University of Sydney, the answer is both practicality on the part of manufacturers and a sense of pride on the part of consumers.

Speaking to PC World, he says part of the answer lies in the history of the development and evolution of LED bulbs as a technology.

"LEDs first became available in the 1960s in red, then green, then amber/yellow, and it wasn't until the mid-1990s that blue LEDs were possible. When you can create blue, you can create any color, and that's why the invention of the blue LED won a Nobel Prize in 2014.”

Credit: Logitech

“So in the 1990s, when custom computer electronics were emerging, blue, as a new color on the block, became the most popular.

always been associated with science fiction

, and representations of the future because it is a rare color in organic matter.

The other half of the story here is that the “battle station” aesthetic of PC games often reflects the relationship between games and the materiality of computing.

In a conference given at DIGRAAA 2015 entitled

The Kandy Kolored Tangerine-Flake water-cooled LED color wall-mounted battle station

, Carter and his colleagues drew parallels between the culture around computers and car culture. They argued that "battlestations are not just sites of media consumption, but the expression of a culture of creative production and vernacular."

"Like custom cars, the long hours of labor involved in building a battle station serve to demonstrate technical prowess and cultural capital within a male subculture that finds pleasure in intimate technological relationships and performative."

Still, says Carter, "that doesn't really tell us why RGB is popular now."

“Maybe because RGBs are customizable to any color, and therefore to fit any overall part/machine aesthetic? It's still a flex, because it's more expensive than a single RGB color, but I'm sure that's not the whole story. Maybe an evolutionary psychologist would say it's because we like things shiny and flashy!”

Credit: IDG / Hayden Dingman

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For another perspective on this, we reached out to Dr Jane Gavan, a senior lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts who specializes in the use of light in the contexts of design, art and product innovation.

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According to his research on the fluorescent color of daylight in commercial applications, “These colors are often used to refer to the owner as someone who owns more than one version of something. A luminous keyboard has a certain status.

"You see a lot of players buying these keyboards, it's part of the identity of this cultural group."

As well as signifying something new, novel, or cutting-edge, Gavan also speculates that there could be "an unnoticeable improvement for gamers who use these keyboards."

"Although most gamers type, the ability to program keys could potentially optimize performance, as the eye sees color much faster than text."

When looking at the glitzy battle stations of modern PC games, it's also very easy to think of the shared images between gaming and gambling. After all, the stereotype of a gamer sitting alone in a lit bedroom by RGB lighting is not so far removed from the portrait of a slot addict sitting in a casino or RSL.

Associate Professor Sally Gainsbury, co-director of the Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic at the University of Sydney, says that "there is evidence that lights and sounds have an impact on gambling - in the sense that they make games more engaging, entertaining, and spellbinding to the point that they can be immersive, or create a type of conditioned response such that there is a positive reaction to machines that can lengthen a gaming session.

"However, lights and sounds are interrelated with other aspects of play products, which likely play a larger role in any conditioned learning response such as intermittent reinforcement programs."

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Credit: IDG / Hayden Dingman

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It is important to note that current evidence suggests that these similarities between the two hobbies do not necessarily play a big role when it comes to their degree of addiction.

According to Gainsbury, “It would be an overstatement to say that isolated lights play a huge role in addictive behaviors. But lights and sounds increase pleasure and positive association with products.

From the perspective of RGB accessory maker Logitech, the argument for switching to RGB over alternatives comes down to giving customers a voice.

Speaking to PC World, Daniel Hall, Logitech Australia's Cluster Category Manager for Logitech G, Astro and Blue Microphones, said that "first and foremost, it's about customization."

"The advantage [of RGB] is that rather than being set to a single color from the factory, you have 16.8 million colors to choose from, so it's really up to your own imagination. Then through software , you can then specify those colors by key, by zones, or by game or application. I think a lot of people tend to do this for self-expression.

Hall describes the difference between the Logitech G413 gaming keyboard - which featured monochrome LED backlighting - and the nearly identical Logitech G512 gaming keyboard - which featured full RGB backlighting as "night and day".

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According to him, “It really showed that this is what consumers want. They are looking for this complete personalization, whether it is for aesthetics or for functionality.

It probably doesn't hurt that RGB lighting has been so consistently embraced by influencers and game streamers. Hall says "it plays a big part in that personalization and expression of who they are as a person." . »

Why gamers love RGB lights?

"Influencers are 100% looking for this RGB lighting customization. You'll see a lot of influencers these days - game streamers in particular - have RGB of all kinds in their scene. Not just on their devices, but behind them you will see they have RGB strip lighting or RGB panels so people can see it on their stream.

Credit: Logitech

When asked if the technology behind RGB keyboards could still be improved or upgraded, Hall said yes.

"Nothing is ever perfect."

He cites Logitech's G560 speakers as a way forward, with RGB lighting finding life beyond mice, keyboards and other obvious places. Another possibility he suggests is that new technologies like OLED could create new creative possibilities that go beyond the limits of traditional LED bulbs.

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Razer's director of marketing and software development, Kushal Tandon, told us much the same story.

The game accessories brand

first

publicly

announced its Chroma RGB lighting ecosystem at Gamescom 2014

Prior to this, Razer products were either lit with blue or green accents.

Today

an overwhelming majority of our products sold are Chroma RGB enabled and this is the most requested feature across all of our hardware categories. Customers love Chroma RGB because of the customization capabilities it brings to all devices. Our research shows that a majority of gamers prefer to have all of their devices synced with unified lighting effects

. "

Another detail that Razer says has emerged from its research into the relationship consumers have with RGB lighting is the notion of a smart desktop computer.

Credit: Razer

"Our research shows that gamers also want their PC to be the central hub for controlling everything around them. With Razer Synapse IOT and Razer Chroma RGB, we were able to give them the ability to control every device in and around their setup. to communicate and interact with each other in real time.

Tandon also cites developer ambitions as another factor driving the popularity of RGB lighting ecosystems like Chroma.

"Game developers wanted their games to be more immersive in order to stand out, and with Razer Chroma, we enabled those developers to take gaming beyond the screen and into the whole room."

Even if you're someone who doesn't care about RGB lighting, the feature's enduring popularity lends credence to the idea that creativity is an inherently human trait.

As simple and obvious as it sounds and sounds, most gamers probably love RGB lighting because it gives them a say. The opportunity to turn something mass-produced into something that looks more unique or tailored.

RGB lighting allows a gaming keyboard to be more than just the function it performs.

Credit: IDG / Hayden Dingman

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