Loneliness' Correlation With Fear in Video Games
I just wanted to talk about the feelings of loneliness and fear I get and associate with playing certain single player video games.
Minecraft
I feel loneliness is most commonly associated with games like Minecraft. Especially in Minecraft's earlier days where there were simply less buildings like temples and villages to discover the game felt very lonely. I remember very much being terrified while playing it in anything but creative mode. Heck, maybe even in creative mode! In survival worlds set on peaceful I always felt like something would spring on me anyways. The vast, open landscapes barren of npc's and civilization would put me continuously on edge. At times Minecraft acted as a game full of suspense and tension for me! And maybe this says something more about me as a person or video game player, but I haven't seemed to grow out of this fear in video games much. Though I manage to play Minecraft alone on easy and with the aid of many wolves now, playing past sundown is still a no-go for me (°ー°〃).
Monster Hunter
I got very much into Monster Hunter Rise beginning around it's release. I'm sure this is semi-obvious to any fans who see my blog title! Anyways, I was very regularly playing monster hunter pretty much through the first few months after the release of the Sunbreak DLC. I played the game nearly exclusively online. I did this because the single player gave me that same kind of tension and suspense from being so alone, plus this time there were many monsters on the map who wanted me dead! I was nearly (or already at) the online post game before I really touched the village (single player) quests, and by that time I fearfully completed them (although they were actually very easy to begin with). Fast forward to today, I rarely touch Monster Hunter too much anymore because of the lack of people online. Playing these games alone, even if not numerically harder, feel harder to me with the stress and fear the gameplay generates. I own several other monster hunter games as well; GU,4U,3U,and World, but again, playing them alone is just so stressful!
Other Games
I have less to say about these ones so they're going under one heading together!
Skyrim
I got Skyrim for the switch a while ago. It was even a gift I asked for! But I jump out of my skin at any noise in that game. A skeleton hit me and I almost threw my switch across the room! So to protect my tech I don't play it much.
BOTW and TOTK
Let me preface this by saying I have finished BOTW! For both of these games my favorite thing to do is to ride the horses around. The sounds are so calming and I feel invincible as my trusty steed can outrun nearly every monster in the game. On the flipside of that, being outside of the paths, towns and shrines can also feel so lonely its scary! It took me about 4 months of playing BOTW to gather the courage to attempt the first divine beast.
Final Thoughts
This entire post is really just my personal thoughts and experiences. I think it showcases something about how friends can make us feel much more powerful and brave simply by their own presence. Cheesy but I feel it's true! In and out of video games, anxiety seems much smaller when someone trusted is with you. I wouldn't actually say I'm worse at single player parts of games, but actually that I feel less brave and less willing to take risks.
If someone ever sees this, I hope you enjoyed!