My Motivation

Still surprised by my actions and enjoyment I got from playing Gears of War 2, I was still questioning it. Before I could understand the initial entertainment value of killing some creatures with powerful weapons and experiencing the feeling of having achieved something. But I could never understand why gamers would continue playing when killing one enemy was very similar to killing another. I had now become one of those players that for some reason found themselves continuing to play. I must admit, that I do get some enjoyment out of using a new weapon in order to defeat an enemy and finding out how to use the weapon and how much damage it does. But I wouldn't say it is enough to motivate me to play till the end.

I then remembered the article I had read ,which I mentioned in a previous post, about female players needing or preferring to have a connection with the characters in the game. So I began thinking about the game and its story. Was it something in the story which had gained my attention or made some type of connection with me?
In Gears of War 2 the world has been taken over by Locusts and most of the human population are dead. It is the Gears who set out to stop the Locusts and restore human civilisation. In the game there is a character name Dom who looks a picture of him and a women. Having not completed the game yet or played the previous game, I am assuming that this is his wife. She has been missing since the world was thrown into chaos and he is desperate to find her. He wonders if she is even still alive. When watching this cut scene I found myself wondering the same thing, is she still alive and will he find her at the end of the game? I secretly hope that he will and this makes me wonder was this particular part of the story added to attract the female audience? I can't see many male gamers being concerned with whether or not he finds her, but this is pure bias and a complete generalization on my part. Whether is has been added for this reason or not, it has succeeded in grabbing my attention and this has been a one of the reasons for keeping me motivated during the game.