On the other hand, people do need to relax somehow, and video games are a good way of doing that.
Citation needed. Beware superstimuli!
I guess there might be considerable variation between people and games, but I personally don’t actually relax through games, even though I thought I did. I paid attention to my happiness, level of concentration and general focus over the last two years and tracked them while playing games, and I found that games feel like they relax me, but they actually drain me. Especially my mood goes way down afterwards and needs at least as long as I played to recover, regardless of game played.
The only exception to that, I suspect, are purely creative / exploration-based games like Minecraft or puzzle games.
I do agree that many games end up being more tiring than relaxing, but there are also many that don’t. In my experience, games involving monotonous grinding make a game more tiring, while strong story elements or just the right level of challenge (not too easy, not too frustrating) are relaxing.
I view a good story-based game essentially as a form of storytelling, no different from reading a good book or watching a good movie. (I take it you don’t require a cite for the claim that those are relaxing?) With the capacity to blend movie-like visuals and unmatched immersion, games have the potential to be the ultimate form of storytelling, better than any movie or book.
Citation needed. Beware superstimuli!
I guess there might be considerable variation between people and games, but I personally don’t actually relax through games, even though I thought I did. I paid attention to my happiness, level of concentration and general focus over the last two years and tracked them while playing games, and I found that games feel like they relax me, but they actually drain me. Especially my mood goes way down afterwards and needs at least as long as I played to recover, regardless of game played.
The only exception to that, I suspect, are purely creative / exploration-based games like Minecraft or puzzle games.
I do agree that many games end up being more tiring than relaxing, but there are also many that don’t. In my experience, games involving monotonous grinding make a game more tiring, while strong story elements or just the right level of challenge (not too easy, not too frustrating) are relaxing.
I view a good story-based game essentially as a form of storytelling, no different from reading a good book or watching a good movie. (I take it you don’t require a cite for the claim that those are relaxing?) With the capacity to blend movie-like visuals and unmatched immersion, games have the potential to be the ultimate form of storytelling, better than any movie or book.