Poll: Are games relaxing?

[lee1287]

puff the magic dragon, off south park. god i want that.
Online games get me more stressed.

 

[GrinningManiac]

I use them as escapism and a portal into worlds I can never experience, such as a warzone in COD4, a tense, final stand with good friends in TF2, whole swathes of history in the Total War franchise etc.

 

[Korolev]

Not necessarily relaxing, but enjoyable and distracting. I play games so I do not have to think about work or assessment or deadlines. It also can alleviate boredom as well.

Relaxation is overrated. A glass of milk and a good book does more to relax the mind than most video game I've played. People mainly go to the movies to find entertainment, not relaxation. This is even more so with video games which require interaction.

The only game which has ever provided relaxation to me has been the Sim City games, due to the natural disasters you can unless upon the town.

 

[Woodsey]

They provide escapism more than relaxation.

Its not like a book where you just follow the story, you've got to move the story along by playing (and in some games you're forced to think of consequences).

 

[TheZapper]

Entirely dependant on the game, although I find most games fairly relaxing.

 

[Lullabye]

As odd as this sounds, though they do relieve my stress, they are not relaxing. It relieves my stress through replacing it with something else, usually fury(directed most recently at invisible walls).

 

[sean.A7x]

Most games are, except on-line games like MW2 which make me competitive

 

[Amberella]

Nothing takes the stress away like blowing someone heads off, or stabbing someone to death, or giving someone a nice headshot. =D

 

[Aerodynamic]

Only certain games, and on easy, If im playing TF2 and my team is being raped it induces more stress.

 

[Twad]

Depnds on the game, frankly. SOme require too much imput and attention to be relaxing, while in others the pace is slower, so you can relax.

 

[Plurralbles]

an easy game is relaxing. When the difficulty rears its ugly head though, it starts getting annoying and become a competition between me and those groups of 8 bits.

 

[Joe Deadman]

Sometimes I find them relaxing but im not going to lie, games sometimes make me pretty angry if im stuck on a really frustrating part.

 

[SantoUno]

Sometimes I play games to relax as some games I can go through and enjoy without fear of getting angry. Hexic HD is usually great as I put up my own music and try for a high score (next up, 4 million or something...) or Magic The Gathering on Xbox live, as it satisfies my need for a card game and I can usually beat my enemies in that too...

Granted in those same games I can often get hit by curveballs that simply piss me off to all hell. I had to stab out the garage wall after a particularly infuriating match once... I don't have anger problems, I swear!

I guess I'll say both yes and no?

I wish I could play Yugioh TCG over XBL, that would isntantly bring out the 12-year old in me again.

OT: The reason you can't relax in those games is because of their genre. Obviously an FPS isn't relaxing, especially if you play online. And timed missions? Yeah good luck settlin down on those?

To me a game is relaxing when I am not in any sort of pressure or determination, like in Oblivion my character is a powerhouse already and has beat the game, so exploring ruins and caves aat this point is as relaxing as a walk in the forest.

 

[Outamyhead]

Music is okay, Games are great for unwinding, especially the ones with a great story to unravel, same sort of unwinding and de-stress I get from reading some great fantasy/sci-fi books.

 

[Bloody Crimson]

Well, some games are great for relaxation. Pokemon Sapphire/Ruby/Emerald I can relax like you should be able to.
Then I pop in Pokemon Diamond. Five minutes later I'm fighting for my life. Against a Bug Catcher. It makes me mad.


I usually use games to be someone I'm not, so I can get away from my problems in the real world.