Playing games can be a wonderful stress reliever for me, sitting down to spend some time with Mario Galaxy wipes away the woes of the day. Yet games giveth and most certainly taketh away. Note the use of the picture of Geometry Wars 2. This was no mistake, some games can be the exact opposite of a stress reliever.
This seems contrary to why we play games, most people play games as a form of escapism. They are situations that one may have previously imagined now all drawn out and ready to explore. This is where Mario Galaxy, Crysis, and Battlefield fit into my life. I can wander about interesting places having some relatively mindless fun. Yet other games will not settle with this sort of entertainment, and become extreme challenges that can rack our nerves. Even Crysis and Battlefield can give you ulcers when playing the online component or even the higher difficulties. This is fine, because I can just avoid these things when they rear their ugly heads.
Some games however; seem designed to enfuriate, to ensnare, and to encaptivate. Take geometry wars 2, a game that quickly gets difficult and doesn’t let up. With the added pain of having a leaderboard score always in the corner of your eye, the competition is the core of this game. It seems odd that we would spend a hard day studying or at work and want to sit down with this, and yet I find myself getting hooked to challenging games even when I am wanting to relax. Does this say something about the demographic that utilize games in this manner? Mostly males from 18-30, do we have an unexstinguishable desire to compete even when not in the workspace? Apparently so, because while Mario is fun for a while, sooner or later I return to the nail-biting arena of online competitive games. If only we were this engrossed in our educations or workplaces, if only.
fiercemudcrab
thedeebo