Gaming Anxiety

[Svrhero]

I have a real hard time playing FPS games, or Survival games.

In survival games, I kinda linger around hoping doors will be locked so I can backtrack to a safe area and not really find anything, then eventually shut the game off so my heart can stop palpitating.

In FPS games, I hug corners, chest-high walls, cars, jeeps, whatever until my teammates usually kill the badguys. If the game doesn't give me teammates, I don't usually bother!

It has gotten to the point where I can't play some games: Alan Wake, however I did manage to find somebody to play it for me, where I mostly watch but keep myself half not paying attention on my laptop or something. Still jumpy, less anxiety.

I've been pretty successful with the Halo series because it's space marines (humans) fighting the badguys without many "jump out at you" scary moments, but games like Doom 3 are completely out of the question.

Anybody else feel like that sometimes?

 

[Sp3ratus]

Well, I'm not great at horror games and the like, but I play most of them anyway, because it's quite an experience. Even if it's just a cheap scare, that makes you jump, I like it that way, especially since I know it's not real and I can smile about afterwards. The keyword here really is that it's not real. It's a program, a fantasy that you are living, by playing the game. That's how I usually deal with it, believe you me, there is nothing wrong with getting immersed in a game, nothing at all, I do it a lot as well, but you just have to remember that you can't get hurt.

It can also be viewed as an extra "challenge". Beating a game on highest difficulty is one thing, but you can also see beating the game as a way of overcoming your fear. It really is a great feeling having defeated some monsters or ovecome some challenge and then wondering what you scared of anyway.

So, in conclusion, I still jump occasinonaly at games, but for me that's a good thing. It means the game is that immersive and most likely a great experience as well.

 

[KiKiweaky]

this is strange affliction I must say. How do you cope with real life, thats scarier than any game/movie at times haha.

I just never really enjoyed horror games or whatever you call them, but playing an fps and not mucking in... is really really odd. Do you just not like dying or what? Doom 3 had the potential to be great but I thought it was decidedly avergae at times, the first few 'RARRGH I'M GOING TO EAT YOU MOMENTS' were pretty good but they were just meh after a while as your carrying enough guns/ammunition to level a modest sized town.

 

[Svrhero]

I truly understand that videogames aren't real, lol. My problem with it in videogames extends to me not watching horror movies or slasher/torture films.

I get no pleasure in watching unnecessary human suffering.

Which is odd, because I have no problem watching Sly Stallone tearing through a bunch of foreigners with a sub-machine gun, but can't watch somebody getting poked at with scalpels or needles while being tied up.

In saints row 2 (one of my favourite games) during the FUZZ side missions, the camera guy wanted me to use the chainsaw on the protesters... I used it on one, paused the game, walked away for a bit, came back and went back to just shooting.

The last "scary movie" I subjected myself to was Hostel watched halfway through it to the point where the kids were captured and shut it off... Achilles tendons did it for me, never watching another again!