Beating Video Games Can Make You Depressed

A measurable phenomenon known as “post-game depression” is being studied to showcase how beating video games can affect a player’s mental health. Video games are among the most popular leisure activities in the world, and have become one of the most profitable entertainment mediums with hundreds of millions of annual players. With so many video games having deep stories and compelling gameplay, it can be satisfying to finally reach the end of a tremendous title. Still, sometimes, seeing the credits roll can elicit feelings of sadness and depression.

The idea of post-game depression should not be unfamiliar to fans of other media, as the phenomenon has also existed in the anime world in the form of post-anime depression. This phenomenon can rightly apply to any form of media or entertainment a user spends a long time with, as the time spent consuming the work will suddenly feel empty following its conclusion. Post-game depression can also serve as a form of post-achievement depression, a common funk one hits when completing a significant milestone. With video games becoming bigger and longer, completing them can feel like an accomplishment, and in turn lead to heavier emotions.

Studies Dig Into Post-Game Depression, Find RPG Players Affected the Most

A new study from SWPS and the Stefan Batory Academy of Applied Sciences examined the mental and emotional toll players feel upon beating an engaging video game. Kamil Janowicz, PhD, and psychologist Piotr Klimczyk developed the first scientific scale to study this phenomenon, known as the Post-Game Depression Scale. Janowicz made note of the increasing sophistication of modern video games, believing that while completing a long video game can feel satisfying, it can also feel emotional. Janowicz and Klimczyk would further publish their results in the research journal Current Psychology.

The duo recruited 373 players through social media and mailing lists to participate in their survey, asking them to complete surveys measuring their well-being, mental health, and emotional reactions to completing a game. They found four primary aspects of post-game depression, including game-related intrusive thoughts about the story, a difficult emotional “end” to the adventure, a need to quickly replay a game, and media anhedonia (lack of pleasure from other entertainment). The research also shows that those who regularly played RPGs were most likely to experience post-game depression, citing the genre’s heavy emphasis on character development and player-character bonds. Researchers hope this information could help future game designers as they build more immersive titles.

It’s fascinating that gaming has become such a massive form of entertainment that these forms of scientific studies can be composed on the medium. Post-game depression may seem like a strange phenomenon to the casual onlooker, but it’s a very real feeling that may only become more significant as games progress. As video games have become more complex, players have been treated to a variety of games with extremely emotional storylines. Some developers have even used video games to tell heart-wrenching autobiographical stories, such as That Dragon, Cancer, a game based on the true story of developers Ryan and Amy Green’s son, who was diagnosed with terminal cancer at just a year old.

Janowicz and Klimczyk’s findings that RPGs cause the strongest cases of post-game depression also make sense. Even beyond their assertions of the genre’s focus on character development, RPGs are usually very long titles that can take gamers upward of 100 hours to complete. Getting through them can absolutely feel like a milestone, but it can also leave a void once the game is completed, and one’s time can no longer be filled by it. With such advancements in gaming since its earliest days, post-game depression will be worth exploring deeper in the future.

Source: Dexerto