There are countless reasons as to why we play video games. For some of us, video games are a means to connect with others–a way through which we can participate in a community, or carve out time specifically reserved for nurturing our friendships. Some use games as means of escaping reality, while others appreciate the hobby’s competitive, skill-based nature. However, far too few of us are using games for one of their most compelling purposes: to experience suffering.
Much like Black Tabby Games co-founder Tony Arias-Howard, whom I interviewed about this very topic, “I’m only half-kidding” when I say this. I recognize that, for many of us, times are hard and the very notion of playing something to suffer sounds unappealing, to say the least. And yet, as I recollect on all my favorite games and stories, it’s the ones that challenged me emotionally–that led me through hell and towards catharsis–that occupy the largest recesses of my mind.
Through games, film, and various other forms of art, we are offered a relatively risk-free space to suffer–to delve deep in our feelings and reflect on loss, trauma, and perhaps even the parts of ourselves we’d rather turn away from. So why do we–and game developers, for that matter–all too often shy away from suffering despite knowing what rewards it reaps?
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