Real-world fears in video games

[rock_nog]

Have you ever played a game whose enjoyment was hampered by your personal fears and phobias? I recently got Assassin's Creed II for the 360 because of the "Free with Gold" promotion, and I decided to give it a go. I thought the idea of leaping from rooftop to rooftop though a vast city sounded fun. However, I should mention that I have a fear of heights. Now, I've played games with heights being a factor before - loved Mirror's Edge. However, the first time I climbed a tall tower in the game, it actually triggered my fear, despite obviously not being real. I actually felt a little sick to my stomach realizing how high I was. Another time, I climbed another tower to see if anything was at the top, and accidentally jumped off when trying to climb down. I literally had to look away from the TV because I felt I was actually falling. Finally, I climbed a third tower, this time to expand my map (there are certain towers where, if you get to the top, you uncover more of the map), and I literally turned the game off after uncovering the map because I was too afraid to even try to climb down after that second tower.

I know it seems kind of silly, being actually afraid of something in a video game, but I was wondering if I was the only one who's ever had that happen to.

[mrz84]

Growing up as a kid, my dad liked to watch scary movies a bit (Hellraiser, Friday the 13th, Nightmare of Elm Street, etc) and I grew up with a fear of things that could be hiding in the dark. It wasn't the dark itself that scared me, it whatever could be hiding in it. This fear came back to haunt me when I started playing Resident Evil (on the PS1) for the first time and I was too afraid to play the games again until 4 came out. I actually found that my fear enhanced my play experience as it always made me wonder what was around the next corner, hiding in the darkness beyond. Some years later, I played Dead Space and Alien VS Predator on the 360. Both of those games had me aiming my gun at EVERY sound that came from the shadows. I still haven't finished either game to this day (but that's mostly because I don't own those games, I've only borrowed/rented them).

Also, fun fact: Back during the NES era, I played the Friday the 13th video game and had nightmares for years of an 8-bit Jason chasing me. I got fed up with it and back during 2003-2004, I replayed the game (via emulation, but I didn't have a working NES anymore) and beat the game to confront my fear of him. I still have the same nightmares, but on a much less frequent occurrence.

[Xyvol]

I don't have any phobias, so there hasn't been anything that hampers my enjoyment of game playing. I have felt something occasionally while playing Minecraft and standing out on precarious ledges. I don't have a fear of heights. I'm not sure what to call it, Anxiety, Apprehension? I think it has more to do with the consequence that if I fall too far and die, I'll lose most of my xp and inventory. In Guild Wars 2, I frequently jump off high ledges 'cause it's fun. If I go a little to far and get killed, I rally at the closest waypoint. It costs a little silver, but otherwise there is no consequence. The horror genre in general never scares me, though I am on occasion startled. I have played Silent Hill and Fatal Frame with girls because they were scared and didn't want to be alone. The only thing I've been afraid of in games is losing progress, whether it be in the form of distance, money, or inventory.

I do know a couple of people who won't play first or third person perspective games because it make them feel dizzy. I don't think it's silly at all, it's just provoking a different reaction from a different person.
I think that when a game (or movie or book) provokes feelings and emotions then it makes for a better experience. If it's actually causing a physical reaction, like nausea or dizziness, then yeah that's going to make it difficult for you to play. Your brain is equating what you are seeing to the real responses it creates, despite knowing it's simulated. I doubt you would get the same effect from a 2d game.

[Chris Miller]

I've yet to play a video game where giant roaches crawled onto my face while I was asleep.

[Xyvol]

I've yet to play a video game where giant roaches crawled onto my face while I was asleep.

Just wait, I'm sure Japan has it forthcoming.

[MasterSwordUltima]

I think I was playing Medieval once and I glicthed/fell through the floor into the infinite abyss and that scared the shit out of me. Just a ginormous open space, and I had no idea where I was, everything was an off-white. Eerie.

[rock_nog]

I have to say, my fear of heights came into play in one game before, Dark Forces 2 - Jedi Knight. There's one particular level where you're working your way through a canyon on narrow ledges. It was just one level, and I could get through it, but I always tensed up and I hated that level more than any other. I loved the game, but to this day, whenever I think about it, the first thought that comes to my head is standing on those narrow ledges and how much I hated that.

Funny thing is, on the flip side of the coin, Alien friggin' terrified me as a kid, but I loved the Alien vs. Predator games. I think, in that instance, it was a chance for cathartic release. Felt great to be able to unload a pulse rifle clip into the monster that haunted me the most as a kid. And yeah, xenomorphs scared the crap out of me when I was growing up. I was always having nightmares about being inside a xenomorph nest, with blood and guts strewn about the place, eggs with facehuggers everywhere, etc. In pretty much all of those dreams, it was pretty clear I wasn't going to get out of this alive, so when I was given the chance to give xenomorphs a face full of lead, I jumped at the chance.

[Aliem]

@rock_nog imagine playing Mirror's Edge on an oculus rift x.x;

I finally got Dragonborn, and the new spider enemies they've included did it for me the first time I ran into one. Tarantulas don't bother me really, but 'regular' spiders have an awful effect on me. The new Dragonborn spiders are just... egh.

Beyond that, Amnesia plays on the typical being alone and chased with no way of defending yourself... but that's kind of a copout :p

[WindStrike]

I don't have a fear of the dark or things in the dark, but in games, dark underwater places freak me out. Specifically, curse you Metroid Prime 2 underwater area and the darn Alpha Blogg. I know Mario Sunshine had a level with dark underwater areas that also gave me issues.


I can't say I don't have this issue in the real world because I generally close my eyes if I'm underwater, and I've never in deep areas.

[Dark Knight]

While the giant spiders in Resident Evil have always kind of freaked me out, their hideously polygon nature never triggered my arachnophobia. The spiders in Resident Evil "Remake" on the Gamecube? Ugh. I did ok with the standard ones. I was far more creeped out than usual but it was still manageable. That was until I came across this fucking thing, anyway. Despite knowing it was fake and on TV, I still struggled to face this boss. It was the first and only time a Resident Evil game made me feel true, unnerving, fear. It's almost a shame that it took 6 years for a survival horror series to actually instill some form of the horror part in me.