A Rollercoaster of Feelings: How Video Games Elicit Emotions (SPOILER WARNING)

Have you ever cried over a video game? Felt heartbroken over the death of your favorite character? Video games are journeys filled with moments with every emotion you can imagine. These journeys have a remarkable ability to elicit anything from laughter to tears. The joy of a close victory or the death of a beloved character, these emotional responses are a testament to powerful storytelling and refined gameplay mechanics. Highly successful games strike a balance between these two design elements, and there are many great examples of games that achieve this balance well.

The Symphony of Storytelling

Compelling narrative stories are the heart of many emotional journeys in video games. Story-based games like Red Dead Redemption develop a detailed story of survival and sacrifice, where players develop a strong attachment to the characters in the plot. Character arcs and foreshadowing help keep players invested in the story and plot twists keep players playing. In the Red Dead Redemption series, the main character, Arthur Morgan, goes on a path of ‘redemption’ through the games. He begins as a criminal outlaw who is part of a gang that needs. As the games progress, Arthur experiences internal and external conflicts that allow him to grow as a person. Arthur’s development makes players want to keep playing to learn more and is a testament to the effectiveness of the narrative structure in story-based games.

The Power of Loss and Sacrifice

Video games don’t shy away from touching on darker themes. Deaths and tragedies can induce powerful negative emotions like sadness, confusion, and empathy. Imagine playing through an entire game and getting invested in the characters, waiting over six years for the next game to come out, then finding out that one of the main characters dies almost immediately. That is exactly what The Last of Us puts players through with Joel. Witnessing the death of Joel after going through so much with him in the first game is a huge emotional blow. While tragedies can be deeply impactful for players, they also allow them to experience these feelings in a healthy way. Negative feelings do not have to be inherently bad, and games with tragic plots help players navigate through difficult emotions in a safe environment. 

The Thrill of the Challenge

Beyond the narrative of games, gameplay mechanics can draw just as much emotion from players. Finally beating a boss in God of War that you have been stuck on for hours, mastering a difficult combo in Mortal Kombat, or finally figuring out how to get out of the room you’ve been stuck on in Portal; these are all parts of games that give you a burst of satisfaction. The surge of accomplishment when completing a difficult task is addictive and is part of the main draw of many games. Sometimes though, the challenge is too much. Games like the Dark Souls series cross the line of difficulty for many gamers. A lot of players think that Dark Souls is far too difficult for the rewards, and when a game is too difficult, players can get frustrated and even stop playing that game. For a game to have ‘good’ gameplay mechanics, it is important for games to have a balance between difficulty and progress.

The Bonds of Camaraderie

Online communities and cooperative gameplay in video games lead to shared experiences that foster a strong sense of community and belonging. Games like Left 4 Dead or Dead Island create gameplay that rewards teamwork and leads to a shared feeling of accomplishment when completing objectives. Research has demonstrated that shared experiences have a positive impact on emotions: negative emotions are lessened, and positive emotions are strengthened (Wagner et al., 2015). Games with multiplayer formats create experiences with more positive emotions and are an increasingly big part of the video game industry.

The Spectrum of Emotions

Video games have offered unique opportunities for players to explore many different emotions. From narrative masterpieces to mechanical perfections, games take players on journeys across the emotional spectrum. The ability for players to experience these emotions throughout their games makes overcoming challenges more rewarding and can even improve social connections between players. Ultimately, video games are not just about accomplishing a goal - they're about the emotional rollercoaster that accomplishing that goal includes, and the powerful feelings that gamers experience while playing.

References

Wagner, U., Galli, L., Schott, B. H., Wold, A., van der Schalk, J., Manstead, A. S., ... & Walter, H. (2015). Beautiful friendship: Social sharing of emotions improves subjective feelings and activates the neural reward circuitry. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 10(6), 801-808.