why video games imitate real life in its healthiest version

Unlike the movies where the protagonists are flawed and finite or real life where the script is muddled and confusing, video games connect the individual with a structured environment that focuses all his/her energy and abilities onto a projection of their desires.

This is not an illusion, video games imitate the very real and primal need of humans to explore, act, will, create, compete, triumph and advance on their terms. This is why video games can be addictive, the sense of control and power, as psychologists say.

Emotion spectrum

If you have ever wished for a background tune or song for your winning moments or in general, video games turn this wishful thinking into a blend of mental heroics and emotional aesthetics.

"When we're playing a videogame, we're also dancing to its tune: catchy or haunting melodies; audio clues that spur us to quicken our pace; triumphant notes to confirm our success. When we hear this music outside gameplay, it can prove unusually moving," says Choi.

Meditation and play

Some video games have revolutionised the world of meditation by incorporating famous philosophers voices and different species of characters. Like in the case of a game called 'Everything'.

"Everything was a game that divided the gamer community when it came out: ‘Joyfully expansive’ or ‘garbage’. For someone like me, though, it was an escape from the turbulence of work pressure and paranoia into an exquisite form of boredom. I gave it to my nephew and niece. They told me, sagely, more experienced in these things: “It’s for relaxing before bedtime because it doesn’t make you excited,” says Kate Spicer.

Another gamer expresses the forgotten and slowly dying pleasure of play in a world that has become competition to destruction.

“What I always really liked in games were the things the audience don’t notice: the background things, the changing weather, or how the trees, grass and water are described. Sometimes I’d kill all the monsters and then just explore the place. I prefer to think of it in terms of play. In a game, you have to do something. With play, there’s no point to it, you can’t fail,” she adds.

"Videogame music offers an infinite playlist: transcendent and transformative, resonating way beyond game over."

Indeed, the power of videogaming is varied.