Researchers Created Scale for Post-Game Depression
Careful, RPGs evoke stronger post-game depression than other games.
Bethesda
If you feel sadness and unrest when finishing a game, don't worry: you're not alone. In fact, there is now a scale that can measure your feelings, thanks to researchers Kamil Janowicz and Piotr Klimczyk, who described their findings in their paper, "Post-game depression scale – a new measure to capture players' experiences after finishing video games."
They studied 373 players who played regularly: every day (28.1%) or almost every day (41.4%). The Post-Game Depression Scale (P-GDS) contained four subscales: game-related ruminations (thoughts about the plot), challenging end of experience, necessity of repeating the game, and media anhedonia (a loss of interest in other media).
The authors concluded that game-related ruminations were the most intense aspect of post-game depression, while media anhedonia was the least intense.
"Moreover, we observed positive correlations between the intensity of post-game depression and stronger depressive symptoms, tendency to rumination and disturbances in emotional processing, as well as with lower well-being."
Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, RPGs evoke stronger post-game depression than other games, according to the studies. "It is in these games that players have the greatest influence on character development through their decisions, and build the strongest bonds with their characters. And the more engaging the game world and the closer the relationship with the character, the more difficult it is to return to reality once the game is over," Janowicz said (via News Medical).
Despite people turning to games to try to escape reality, if they tend to be overwhelmed by repetitive and intrusive thoughts, they might also experience them when playing.
Moreover, people who felt stronger sadness after finishing a game were more likely to have a general tendency to dwell on events pessimistically.
"P-GD is a specific type of grief after loss, reminiscent of parting with a loved one or the end of an important life stage. Our research shows that for many gamers, the virtual world becomes such a significant source of emotions that returning to everyday life requires time and appropriate psychological tools, emphasises the psychologist from the SWPS University. These results may help us better understand gamer experiences, and they could be useful in the game design process. They also raise a number of questions about the ethical aspects of game development, and taking into account the potential impact of gameplay on player well-being in this process."
But there is a bright side to gaming as well: another study claims that open-world games are good for your well-being.
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