Minecraft & Claustrophobia (Fears)

[warprincenataku]

I have started to notice that when I dig down in narrow shafts whilst exploring minecraft a feeling of uneasiness sets in, especially if the shaft is only one or two blocks wide decending vertically.

In my main living quarters underground I tend to have my area quite open, but that is not feasible when exploring to dig a tunnel at least 3x3.

What are your thoughts escapist? Do you find yourselves with fears of claustropobia or perhaps aracnophobia when encountering giant spiders? Perhaps acrophobia as you ascend high into the air when surveying the landscape.

 

[Kris015]

No, not really. But then again I don't really have any phobias i know of IRL.

 

[googleboy]

I have a really intense fear of the dark. I do find that minecraft triggers that fear. Also, do you ever get that falling feeling in the pit of your stomach when you fall from really high places in the game? Weird as it sounds, the game really triggers bodily reflexes in the extreme for me.

 

[Tharwen]

It can be a terrifying game. If you've ever found yourself stuck at the bottom of a tunnel system with no food, tools or candles then you know what I'm talking about.

I think the claustrophobia only really kicks in when you're digging a tiny tunnel and you can hear the zombies in the walls all around you but the stereo audio channel can't tell you if it's up or down and you can't find them but the gurgles are getting louder and you still keep digging because you have to find them and light up the tunnel they're in or they might come out when you don't expect it and ohgodIcanhearthemeverywhereohgodohgodohgodohgod.

 

[spartan1077]

I agree with the robot Tharwin. It's scary when something jumps at you.
Until the release Clowns though, I won't be truly scared. Or maybe dolls *shudders*

 

[ClassicJokester]

I usually play on Peaceful (don't hate me) because I like exploring and building more than getting eaten by zombies, but it's still pretty unnerving when I go deep into a mountain cave or something and can't find my way out after spending a while in there.

I'm terrifed of small enclosed spaces and not knowing where I am, so these experiences are pretty crazy. I usually end up just digging straight up and hoping I don't come up underwater.

 

[TPiddy]

In real life, I have a phobia of being able to move, but unable to move.... I don't know how to explain it really... I suppose it's claustrophobia, but I can go in elevators just fine. But ventilation shafts, tunnels, etc, no way in hell. I suppose I fear getting stuck or crushed and being unable to lift my arms to protect my face from something.

I've never really been tied up so I can't say if that triggers the same phobia or not.

 

[Tydanubus]

I have started to notice that when I dig down in narrow shafts whilst exploring minecraft a feeling of uneasiness sets in, especially if the shaft is only one or two blocks wide decending vertically.

Absolutely. I've abandoned several long, cramped mine shafts that were putting me on edge. It also doesn't help that sometimes you'll be digging and pop into a dark cave inhabited by a zombie and have your face eaten off.

I have a really intense fear of the dark. I do find that minecraft triggers that fear. Also, do you ever get that falling feeling in the pit of your stomach when you fall from really high places in the game? Weird as it sounds, the game really triggers bodily reflexes in the extreme for me.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets the sensation of actually falling when I misstep and take a plunge in Minecraft. Last night I almost fell while building a bridge and I felt dizzy for a second. And I've had several moments where I nearly jumped out of my chair when a spider lands on my head as I'm coming out my front door . In some ways Minecraft is more frightening than games that are actually supposed to be frightening.

 

[Mr Companion]

This is a happy coincidence because I want to ask other escapists if they are experiencing something like this in Minecraft. Its important because if I don't find out what it is I might have to stay out of minecraft for a while until my sanity meter goes back up (in real life).

So I spawn into the game, I start messing about with wood and ore when suddenly I hear a horrifying, shrieking sound that paralyses me with fear. It sounds like something from the Nether, but I come to the conclusion its just some demented chicken falling into my moat of lava. So now that I am a little freaked out I decide to go away from there just in case it was an unearthly monstrosity. I go to my very thin tunnel leading down and start collecting stone.

What happens now is so scary I exited the game instantly. The screen flashes an indecipherable image, I hear some loud sound like a monsters roar, I take some damage and then in about half a second in its all over. I jump back, look around wildly. Im still in a tiny, thin corridor. There is no room for an ambush. Its like for an instant I was frozen in a realm of pain and then it just snapps back to normal, like nothing has happened.

So yeah please inform me if you know what might have caused either incident. I cant help but notice after I made a Nether portal many more portals have been popping up. I don't know if thats the culprit but anyway.

 

[vectorspyke]

I know I certainly have been reduced to shrieking in a very quiet room full of people while playing one day because of just getting hurt by something from behind. Also just like googleboy, I fear the dark, I can't go exploring without lighting up every knook and cranny.

The reason why we feel like this is because of what Notch has done; by creating a world in which you are pretty much alien to alows him to imediately play with our fear of the unknown.

Then by adding things that pose a threat to us (especially things that go *SSSSssssssss-BOOM!* in the night) we are subject to our own insecurities of being alone, having no one there to help us and protect us.

Finally all these elements are combined to the feeling of entrapment when underground, of not wanting to go round that dark corner, of constantly checking behind you for any thing that may... creep (yes I did just say it) up on you, of dispair as you use your last torch to find that you've only stumbled into the depths of an abyss, finally its that feeling of anticipation that when you get back to your base/ home, you will do it all again, even though you know the gradual frantic hysteria of being lost or trapped will clutch you once more.

And to think: all this from a game that looks so colourful and cheery.

P.S The sound of ghasts setting themselves on fire in the nether doesn't help either, that shit is down right disturbing.

 

[theComposer]

I can't say I'm frightened by the dark, tight spaces, or heights, but the game did get to me a few times:

1) The first time I heard the cave sounds. It was so unexpected and creepy, that I ran all the way out of the cave as fast as I could and was a bit freaked out IRL. They still creep me out a bit when I hear them, but I'm almost desensitized by now.

2) One night I was outside surveying my property. I had looked all around and saw no mobs, so I stopped to look around my world. A couple of seconds later, I hear a hiss, and before I could even turn around the creeper exploded. I survived, but even so, I literally jumped out of my chair and screamed out loud. Damn creepers...

3) The sounds the ghasts make in The Nether. If that, combined with the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of The Nether, isn't creepy, then I don't know what is.

 

[Heart of Darkness]

I have acrophobia. Thankfully, it really doesn't play into Minecraft that much.

However, I find that finding dark, underground caverns in the game really freaks me out, even if I don't hear any enemies in the cavern. If I hear skeletons or spiders, hoo boy. That just freaks me out all the more. Hell, any monster cry while I'm underground. Not being able to maneuver well really makes one feel very cautious about their surroundings...

 

[Kajt]

No, Minecraft does not scare me in any way.

herobrine. I don't know if he is real or fake but i am too scared to play single player ever again. Muliplayer only for me now.

He's fake. I'd give you a link, but apparently the page has been removed from the wiki.

 

[Aeriath]

I've never been bothered by the dark, or the cramped spaces, but falling does produce the same reaction in me that Mirror's Edge did (like I am actually falling). Suffocation and falling into the Void are pretty scary too. I shat bricks when Spiders and Spider-riding Skeletons were introduced, but I am used to them now.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets the sensation of actually falling when I misstep and take a plunge in Minecraft. Last night I almost fell while building a bridge and I felt dizzy for a second. And I've had several moments where I nearly jumped out of my chair when a spider lands on my head as I'm coming out my front door . In some ways Minecraft is more frightening than games that are actually supposed to be frightening.

Crouch has pretty much eliminated this for me, I havent actually fallen to my death in a while.

 

[Last Bullet]

I "suffer" from arachnophobia, to a degree, but the giant spiders don't bug me. Not enough detail, I guess. Though I think I'm developing a fear of the "Ssss" sound.

 

[John the Gamer]

I've been getting increasingly terrified about being attacked from behing by creepers or, even worse; on a few occasions I was walking from one part of my house/castle/base to another part, and suddenly stood face-to-face with a white, dead, skinless archer. Happenend two or three times.

I light everything up a lot better now.

Also got startled by a couple of farmland animals who spawned in my greenhouse and had tottered into my house.

I'm afraid to leave my fortress nowadays. way too many creepers spawning around it.

The creepy music doesn't help much either.

This game is one of atmosphere(music, lighting, monsters and your imagination) and a lot of startling moments.

Btw, after reading that herobrine story posted(see below)

Spoiler

no but ill tell you who scares the shit around of me.

herobrine. I don't know if he is real or fake but i am too scared to play single player ever again. Muliplayer only for me now.

Wilst reading this story I was unable to look behind me, out of fear that he would be standing behind me, in my room. possibly because it isn't well lit, but also because of that minecraft atmosphere.

P.S.: A bit of a hole in the story is that it states that it was being played on an older pc, but the graphics are still on fancy: otherwise the leaves wouldn't be transparant. Trust me, I know. (not that I beleive it to be real, but just the thought of it possibly being real is terrifying.

 

[Neverhoodian]

I only started playing Minecraft recently, so I haven't had a chance to delve that deeply into it (yes, that pun was intended). So far the scariest thing I've come across are the creepers.

The first time I played I thought creepers would burn in sunlight like zombies, so after the first night I resumed my work gathering resources without bothering to look behind me every so often. You can probably guess what happened next...

"SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS"
*BOOM*

The worst part was I turned around just in time to be greeted by a faceful of creeper right before the explosion. I've learned to be cautious emerging from my mountain hideout at daybreak ever since.

I read on the wiki that Notch is planning on adding water creatures in future updates. I have a fear of water-based enemies ever since playing Star Wars: Dark Forces when I was a kid. The sewer level with the dianogas scared the shit out of me (I still get uneasy playing that level). If sea creatures are ever implemented in Minecraft, you can bet that my world will have LOTS of bridges.

 

[Juzzco]

Nothing worse than hearing "SSSSsss" in the dark, but the arrow sound from the skeletons in the dark comes a close second

 

[Kortney]

I have started to notice that when I dig down in narrow shafts whilst exploring minecraft a feeling of uneasiness sets in, especially if the shaft is only one or two blocks wide decending vertically.

In my main living quarters underground I tend to have my area quite open, but that is not feasible when exploring to dig a tunnel at least 3x3.

What are your thoughts escapist? Do you find yourselves with fears of claustropobia or perhaps aracnophobia when encountering giant spiders? Perhaps acrophobia as you ascend high into the air when surveying the landscape.

That really interests me. I've got a case of claustrophobia in real life, a pretty bad one actually, but a video game can't bring it out of me. I happily explore 1 block wide tunnels in minecraft. Question though; do you get effected watching something with small confines? For example, if you were watching a minecraft playthrough with narrow tunneling, would that effect you? Or do you actually have to be playing?