Study finds FPS players get their jollies dying, not killing
By Triston McIntyre
As first-person shooters are all the rage nowadays, many gamers can relate to that indescribable rush that comes from being tossed into a war zone like that in Call of Duty 4 or the science fiction realms of Halo 3. What might surprise you is that the satisfaction you get from playing FPS games doesn’t come from fragging an opponent — it comes from dying.
A recent study that was included in the journal Emotion documented the effects of FPS gaming on a group of young-adult gamers; the gamers were studied and monitored as they played James Bond 007: Nightfire and SuperMonkeyBall II (hey, there are more games out there that don’t necessarily involve killing…not that people actually play those games). According to GameCritics, the researchers found that players experience a sort of “relief from engagement” when they are killed.
That’s where the jollies come from; the actual hunt and killing of another player is the cause of stress and anxiety:
…instead of joy resulting from victory and success, wounding and killing the opponent elicited anxiety, anger, or both…death of the player’s own character…appear[s] to increase some aspects of positive emotion
The science behind it lies in an increase in zygomatic, SCL and orbicularis oculi EMG activity — I have absolutely no idea what that pertains to, but I do know that the researchers were kind enough to simplify it for us common folk. Basically when you die you feel better than when you’re engaged in battle.
The study also uncovered a few more interesting results: players didn’t become desensitized after prolonged gaming, and gamers who tested at higher levels of psychosis (eek!) weren’t as anxious when fragging other players. Though this test can’t be taken as revolutionary, apparently violent video games don’t really desensitize gamers and psychotic gamers are a bit more carefree about their video game fragging than normal folks.
So seriously, when the doc tells you to take your anti-crazy pills, please do so. Even though your score may suffer, try dying a little bit more in your favorite FPS if you’re looking for that true gaming high!
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on Monday, February 25th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
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