What's the sweet spot for your stress in-game and stress relief? Is it something like Elden Ring? A different threshold? Something, arguably, MORE stressful? Let me know! Thanks for watching!
@@szalyn8849 Horrifying pick, but I dig it! Darkwood's sound design alone was able to keep me fully distracted from the world around me. Was it more effective playing on Normal, or with a semblance of lives/permadeath enabled?
Definitely games like sekiro or sifu where it’s combat is so good I just have to master it until I have every enemies move set down that’s the most satisfying feeling
@@penguinojug3044 I've been meaning to try Sifu for a while; I enjoyed the sensation of Batman's combat in the Arkham series, but Sifu feels like it's more Me and less Batman doing all the heavy lifting. Sekiro I'd have to start all over; I think I crapped out in one of the mid-late game flashback fights, but I also acknowledge the combat didn't fully click for me (I was a sword/shield guy in the Dark Souls series prior). Still, that earned state of mastery sounds like it would do the trick! 👍
elden ring second playthrough is okay for after work play. new games, like right now with sekiro for me i cant even play after work cause it’s too much stress (highly physical job), so i save it for when i have a week off or at most weekends.
I figured a standardized approach would be most beneficial for everyone, and maybe lend an ounce of credence to talking about video games in this regard for nearly an hour. 😂 I'm appreciate your watching it, and I appreciate your kind words! 🥰
One thing that Dark Souls 1 did, and no game could actually replicate thereafter for me, was the feeling of relief whenever I managed to find one of the bonfires while under intense amounts of pressure. It's honestly one of the most intense and amazing emotions any game has made me feel ever. That's why the Souls series is so masterful. I wish everyone had that experience. I feel like with the Souls series' popularity nowadays that kind of feeling of not knowing what's around the corner and feeling completely out of your depth, while also knowing you have to press on, is inaccessible to most players. I still remember the goosebumps I had when I was struggling my way through blighttown and then heard the soothing sound of the bonfire. I hadn't noticed up to that point that the game had conditioned me to associate the sound and atmosphere of bonfires with such a pleasent feeling of security. Genius design.
Genuinely fantastic, and absolutely a shared sensation. I know other Souls-like/-Bourne games have similar mechanics, but Dark Souls absolutely staked that entire vibe in my head as a barometer for every other instance to come.
I feel a big part of that (aside from every soulslike being played to death) is that there was no fast travel in dark souls 1 until halfway into the game. You haven’t known stress until you’ve tried to carry the iron golem’s 40k-odd souls all the way back through Sen’s fortress to Firelink in order to buy Soul Spear- but neither have you known relief
I know exactly what you mean. Sanctuary in the middle of a nightmare (high danger) is the best feeling. MMOs that gate content/zones behind some sort of challenge/progression is controversial and barely exists still today since it doesnt make sense economically for the game developers, but it also provides this feeling for me.
Souls like games to me have always been a representation of life. You get beaten, broken, and even lose everything, but you get back up and try again and again till you succeed and then move on to the next challange. The bonfires are like coming home taking a moments reprive till you go back out and fight some more. It even alludes to depression.
Yes. Before playing Elden Ring I usually played cosy, calm games to destress. Elden Ring changed that. It changed me. Beating the game gave me a sense of resilience and determination that I could somewhat hold on to and pull strength from in real life.
Hell yeah! And obvi, no hate on cozy games, but sometimes you need something to hit back to really see how tough you are in the long-run. 💚I'm glad it helped you find that strength!
I went from animal crossing to elden ring and while the first week was absolutely terrifying, realizing that it was possible for me, a "cozy gamer" to beat these bosses, and have a whole world open up for exploration with unsettling but calm music was AMAZING.
@@SnazzyArcade You're just finding a new groove to comfortably sink into!...even amidst the unsettling vibes and horrifying bosses. It even feels a bit like a paradigm shift going from something challenging (Elden Ring, Sekiro, etc.) back to something cozier. Our brains are getting rewired in both directions!
Didn’t play a Souls game until Dark Souls 3 years after it’s release. It was a life changing experience. The endorphin rush that lasted for days of beating a boss after dying repeatedly for 8 hours was like nothing I ever experienced and it carried over into every other aspect of my life knowing that every difficult endeavor had the potential for an enormous internal reward. Unfortunately I eventually got gud and never really had to suffer nearly as much for any boss and thus never got the same rush again, but it’s still a pleasure when things do get a bit difficult.
@ ya it’s made me waaay better at every other game. Oddly enough Black Myth: Wukong in turn also made me better at Elden Ring because it’s more forgiving and faster paced and also rewards perfect dodging so I was able to hone my timing.
The darker side of this concept is the weeks I spent ignoring my commitments to work and uni because the stress from those environments did not have the short-term payoff that throwing myself at bosses in Elden Ring, or completing my living dex in Pokemon did. I found my stress levels decrease when playing challenging games, but it was a deferred stress. I still release stress in Elden Ring, but I am also more aware of practical ways to relieve the stress outside of games.
Honestly, great question! I think it can be seen as detracting or distracting to the flow of a piece, but (as you may have seen in some of the other Research-pieces), I'm always trying to find a way to integrate the cited information with the source vibes, so it's all a bit more cohesive and connected. It's an extra step I'm sure isn't at the forefront of creators' processes, and we're generally wont to take a person at their word (for better and worse). But I'm glad they're appreciated on this end! I really like how they turned out.
@Delmworks Well, same here man, but if you can't support your statements you might as well say nothing. There's no real value generated if you're just saying random stuff without any basis.
Thank you so much for this video. It explains so much why I have been still playing elden ring after finishing it a long time ago. I have been under great stress at work for months to the point that my brain just ceases to function and actually do work. I played elden ring for crazy amount of hours because I wanted to escape from a reality where I constantly face threat challenges and where its really hard to accomplish my goals. It’s just a game, but I do agree that even just a simple “game” will help you from having a total breakdown. Games help you feel a sense of accomplishment to counter the feeling of defeat or hopelessness irl. But I think the most important effect of games is that it inspires you to try again and again until you can achieve that familiar sense of accomplishment that you had once after finishing the game. I am still stressed but I’m still trying irl. I look forward to your future videos.
Sorry you're going through it at work, but I'm glad the video could give some clarity/words to what you've been doing to care for yourself! 💛I hope things get better for you in the real-space, and wish you strength in your efforts in the meantime. Take care of yourself out there. 🧡
Most stressful thing about this video was seeing that tiny health bar not growing when you entered late game areas. All jokes aside tho loved this video you clearly did your research.
very good video! I was in the middle of a big project episode and had no way to destress, tried all the stardews and animal crossings, noticed I had anger management issues during them when I lost my cool with the villagers slow animations and didn't feel satisfied afterwards. Picked up blasphemous, died a thousand times, but managed to go through a tough area and I slept like a baby! now my go to de-stress games are all from soulsborne or soulslike genres, the best for psyche. Couldn't explain it before this video really, hadn't put much thought I just "felt" it's right. good video, dropped a sub. Hope you keep making good videos and good luck with your work, sounds rough!
Glad to help put some words to the sensation, even though you already discovered the foundation of it on your own! I appreciate you jumping along for the ride; there's other research-based pieces on the channel, if you want to take a look! And while I appreciate it, don't worry about my work; jumped ship a while back before it could take my spirit entirely, so that particular roughage is far behind me. Different roughage ahead, but understanding how I can deal with it is half the battle!
The hardest part is just having the time to build up the resilience. Another point in Elden Ring's column! 😂 I'm glad you enjoyed it, glad for its timing in your life, and grateful for your kind words! 🥰
Great video, i really appreciate the effort that went into this and i love the combination of seemingly unrelated or contradictory topics here. Subbed.
omg this was such a joy to watch while filing at work! i recently purchased elden ring and while i find it to be an incredibly steep learning curve for beginner gamers it is enjoyable despite the stress! i appreciate how engaging the visuals are plus the citations are such a good touch. what a lovely and wonderfully researched video, thank you!
Oh, it is absolutely a jump, especially for a first-timer! Dark Souls was my in a number of years ago, and that required a lot of unlearning and relearning a lot of mechanics I took for granted. Hope you keep enjoying it all the way through! Glad you enjoyed the video and all its flair!
I’m so happy you made this video, it’s been hard for me to articulate why such a stressful and intense game like Elden Ring can be incredibly therapeutic for me… and as someone who’s on 15 playthroughs, the repetition itself has become relaxing! Not to mention controllers are like giant stress toys with all the button pushing and muscle memory. Don’t even get me started on the artistic beauty of this game as well-that in itself makes the game such a pleasant experience. Anyway, love these styles of videos. And I especially like that you cited sources and expanded on them, like a true video essay! Always nice to find a kindred spirit , tarnished 😊💕
Hey, I'd say 15 rounds in, you've found what works for you, repetition and all. And glad this video can help put the words to what you've been feeling, too! Thanks for watching and vibing with it, fellow Tarnished!
Subscribed. What a perfect description of why elden ring is my favorite game of all time. Despite never playing a souls game before. For work I have a high risk high reward career as well so this checks out, lol
Everyone's gotta start somewhere! It's hard to recommend other FromSoft games after Elden Ring specifically, but I hope you find more from their library (or the Soulslike genre) down the line! And bless your vocation, friend. 🙏 May the rewards outweigh the risks.
As a psych student, this video was super enjoyable to watch! Great video! The amount of research you added is exceptional and this made me appreciate one of my favorite games even more!!
such a tremendously well-crafted video. amazed and kind've dumbfounded to see you only have 1k subscribers (not that that is the defining metric!). as someone else said this is just a plainly well crafted research essay -- can't wait to see more from you in the future
Oh, but it is a quantifiable metric, and one I put far too much stake into! But still, glad you enjoyed it, and hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel and what's to come!
This video is absolutely amazing! Thankyou so much for all the work you put into it, Elden ring and meditation are how I deal with my stressful job and now I have this video to put that into words! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
You are a gem and I appreciate you saying so! 🥰 I've really been meaning to get into meditation properly; friends of mine who work stressful jobs tout it, too. Maybe in the coming weeks! Thank you for watching, and thanks for jumping on the channel! For more research-based content, check out the video on Edutainment! 💚
What people who dont play souls games dont understand is “get good” is the best advice anyone can give. That is integral to what the experience is trying to teach you about yourself
If I can be a gentle opposition, "get good" is the best core advice, but there are too many spiderwebbing concepts shooting out from it that fail to get mentioned (the choreography of bosses, open-ended approaches to areas and fights, useful tools and items for general and specific battles, etc.). "Get good" is a good enough mantra for anyone who's interested in and understands the core of the games, but I believe (and have found) that concentrating more on the connecting aspects of "get good" can help 'outsiders' understand it more. More than once, it's even brought someone else into the fold. Short version: "get good" is a great battle cry for those who are already knee-deep in it, but we need to break down the battle cry to recruit more to our cause (that cause being dying a lot and then triumphing).
@@ArchivistShepard why do you think it's worth it to caiter to people who don't even know how to hold a controller? You talk as if dark souls is for non gamers. It is not. If someone dosent understand the basic fundamentals of third person movement what entitles them to an experience they havent earned? The point of dark souls has always been a gauntlet that only skill can get you through. The community has always shuned people who think getting help is comparable to figuring it out yourself. Dark souls players get together to display their skill and specifically do not gather to display their lack of skill. Doing so makes you a noob who doesn't understand what dark souls is at its core. Ik we are talking about elden ring witch is much easier, however the term get good is from dark souls not elden ring
@@emmyturner7385 I think it's worth it because everyone deserves a chance to decide if they want to experience something based on information as it pertains to them, not a distilled mantra. I don't ascribe to forms of gatekeeping in games, so as a counterweight, I always try to be open and informative when others ask me about my experience in those kinds of games (hence the spiderwebbing concepts I mentioned earlier). Same with the ER/DS communities I'm in, mostly revolving around encounter advice and "help me understand Elden Ring/Dark Souls" side of things, rather than demonstrating expertise and skill-based mastery. There is no monolith of the Elden Ring/Dark Souls experience, nor is there a singular community as you've described, so I can see why our perspectives on it are divergent.
Brother, you have no idea how proud. 😁 I'm just glad it caught wind of the algorithm for a little while, especially as an audio reupload. The original capped at 168 views, so to see this (comparably) blow up has been extremely reassuring! Glad it's resonating with so many people this go-around. 💜
This is a very, very good video! I now fully understand why I take enjoyment (of a sort) out of this game. I didn't really put together that stress relief was more of a subjective thing, and now the different things my family does to relieve stress make more sense. And a side-note, I'm in the twilight hours of a Rune Level 1 run in Elden Ring. In the latter hours when I've upgraded everything to the utmost, explored most everywhere I wanted to, and the only thing between me and my end goal is the bosses I have yet to beat, I noticed that it was different than a normal run stress-wise. Dying with a boatload of runes didn't really mean as much anymore. Heck, I couldn't use them for much of anything anyways. Each death became something that didn't have much stress with it, not considering the occasional jolt of "oh, there goes my entire miniscule health bar". Less stakes with each death lead to me being more content with each failure, especially when I learned something new with that death. It's actually been one of the most rewarding runs I've done.
You've taken your first step into a larger world. A larger world of STRESS. And stress relief! 🐍 For as much as I struggled with my regular run of ER, a Rune Level 1 run sounds HORRIFYING. 🥲 But also, completely get where you're coming from: making your own experience with the existing tools (like a Nuzlocke run in Pokemon), and the lack of permanent rune loss does sound helpful, and more peaceful, for a long-run struggle. I imagine if I ever tried picking up a boss-rush style game, like Furi or some such, it might elicit a similar vibe (challenge ratings notwithstanding)? Much to think about, and appreciate you sharing! Best of luck in your battles to come! 🎉
Plenty of channel to burn through in the meantime! There's more research pieces on Kind Words and Edutainment games on there if you want something similar, plus musings and new perspectives on games aside! Hope you enjoy everything else on the channel and yet to come, and glad you enjoyed this one!
I haven't watched this whole vid but as a psych grad with probably a thousand hours into replaying elden ring and DS3, I already agree with everything you were going to say. Take my like and comment and leave to my drudgery lol
I think what I liked about getting into soulsborne is that I could fail as many times as I liked and time would keep going on. In something like devil may cry, if I fail the clock is reset and the timelines only records my successful victory. There is no room for failure in the latter, only your victory matters. The difference is "you can fail as many times as you want and life goes on and you will fail until you succeed"
I found Elden ring to be surprisingly, a calming game. Most souls likes force you to play them in a way where you have to be methodical. patient. as soon as you starting playing 'stressed' (frantically pressing buttons) you get dunked on. The way the game is structured also does this; with its open world exploration backdropped by beautiful landscapes, soothing music / ambience inducing a mood of calm, especially in limgrave and Liurnia. the eb and flow of the gameplay from bosses, to exploration creates a gameplay loop that I find makes the majority of the experience quite soothing (until you get stuck on a boss).
Honestly, I loved the parts where I got locked up on a boss, because it just meant I could dip elsewhere and go find someone else's day to mess up. So many fights later, it felt a lot better to roll up on that old boss and give them what-for. But also, story of my life, getting panicky and subsequently bodied by everything from foot soldiers to bosses.
Incredible video. Sending to all my friends that ask why I play stressful games all the time and why I’m obsessed with horror instead of explaining it myself 🤣🤣
Curious follow-up: are you guys playing with intent to conquer/win/progress, or does it morph into shenanigans and tomfoolery? Great power in both, but every co-op experience I've had just devolves into chaos, despite whatever our original intentions were.
Coincidentally, my master's thesis is asking the same question you posted at the end there. I am investigating the interaction with stress and various game mechanics. I investigate what happens when the development experience is collaborative for stress management, and we personalize adding game mechanics. Maybe in a few years I will have my work for you to reference as well
15:40 "or a 21 year old child burst through your door to yell at you about the consequences of your actions" I sense that Shepard was in this situations hence why it is mentioned here
i feel like, it boils down to the games being controllably and predictably difficult. Whereas irl, you are at the mercy of somebody else/ or other unforeseen events or consequence.
I went through most of Bloodborne during grief over a lost pregnancy. To top off the cosmic horror vibes, it was quite serendipitous that pregnancy is featured so heavily in that game. It was very off putting at first, but my sticking with the game helped me process my grief more than anything else. It really felt at times that the Great Ones guided me toward Bloodborne at the exact moment I needed it most. I still get very emotional playing that game, because of the deep association with pain and sadness, but it's still very much a game that I need to play every so often, as if the Hunter's Dream tethers me to the waking world. Playing that game in that time and reading Blood Meridian are my two most important media experiences.
I feel like it's so rare to remember the overlap between generalized stress and grief as a form of stress, but your experience absolutely puts that front and center. And association, especially with hard and painful experiences, is more powerful than we think to give it credit for. For all it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss, however long ago it was.
I didnt bring any citations with me, but I think one of the issues with Catharsis, which is why theories have moved past it, is because both stress and eu-stress have similar, negative health impacts when in excess. Another note on the video game violence bit, i think it's important to highlight that not seeing an increase in violent behavior does not mean seeing an active decrease in violent behavior. Fantasy violence also doesnt decrease violent behavior, or there is no catharsis happening, no venting of a violent tendency. The emotional, cognitive label of the experience doesnt build and release. They just process, come and go, over time. In response to environment and self. The stress is the levelnof arousal, but not the emotion or the action.
I know Catharsis only came up in passing in the grand scheme of the essay, but I wasn't aware theories had largely moved past it. My perspective of it largely stems from its narrative use, like I mentioned, so I recognize that's already coloring my take on it, especially in regards to Elden Ring's gameplay and narrative arcs (and video games' arcs in general). Based on the script, I don't believe I implied a decrease in violent behavior from aggressive game use, either, just a lack of amplification that was outlined in the cited study from Colwell. That said, if you're just highlighting a point in general, I apologize for making that assumption. The core point I was trying to make in that moment is that the stress of a game has a built-in outlet, both in victory and defeat, whereas work (noted many times throughout) was a more closed experience: to seek an outlet, not even necessarily in violence, but in anything from needing to be alone, crying, or distracting oneself from the source of stress, could result in termination from said work, forcing us to live with the stress of work without outlet instead of risking more/different stress in joblessness.
Big same! And I love how I can get a different de-stressing effect from different games. The vibes between crawling through Elden Ring, or blowing through levels in Doom, or just being able to bop along for a bit in Mario or Donkey Kong are all amazing in how they each tackle the root issue in their own way. 🥰
Yessssss. Such a different shade, but still on the same spectrum. I went through RE7 again within the last few months, and damn if that same tunnel-vision-forgetting-about-all-my-real-world-stressors vibe didn't hit all the same.
I personally find survival horror games much more stressful on many more levels. Elden ring is comparatively just a good time, I am biased though because I’ve been playing souls games for over a decade
That is completely fair; I have a soft spot in my heart (due to all the adrenaline) for survival horror games across the board. I was pleasantly surprised how Amnesia: The Bunker worked with that buildup and release cycle, and am sure to be looking for it in future games, too!
I feel so odd because people around me are like "I'm so stressed." And I'm just like ununderstanding cause I've never felt stressed. I feel so odd for not getting stressed.
Everyone perceives the world differently, whether through station, circumstance, or where they've come from. It's novel to not feel stress, absolutely, but maybe your strength is in giving people the ability to talk about what's stressing them out without necessarily taking on the stress yourself! Like the pitcher analogy, except your pitcher has draining holes at the bottom that prevent the stress from actually collecting in the first place. I'm sure it'd be much more detrimental as a hunter-gatherer, but nowadays, you should be okay. Take advantage of your immunity!
I hadn’t played any games in years. And always played on easy mode. Then randomly I decided to get Lies of P. Best it twice, now on Elden Ring and DS3, and I swear it’s so damn helpful. It’s like working out for your brain.
@29:19 Thats actually me :D But the whole video is more or less about myself :D I have a lot of stress at work. I am a leader of two social institutions with over 300 kids, 600 parents, almost 50 employes, two locations and i am also in a very important workgroup and leading it for over 23 social instutions of the region i live in. I mainly play Age of Empires 4 and Elden Ring (I came to the souls genre with eldenring and since that i love it and played dark souls 3 also). I always say to my audience that playing eldenring for me is destressing and a relaxation after my work in real life and my high ranking Age4 games. A lot of people don't believe me, but i am most of the time super calm while playing elden ring. The cozy environment, the feeling that i can play 10000 playthrougs and learn something new, have a bad weapon but overcome the situations. Also i really like the basic weapons and not op combos. Learning bosses, overcome with mediocore damage some times and beeing just a simple knight with a simple sword. Thats 100% my jam. I really destress with Elden Ring, despite so many people are raging so hard while playing it. But everything else in my life most of the time is super stressful, so i love the music, my simple sword, my simple knight helm and overcome every situation as a normal unimportant tarnished. Your video is very well made, i like it a lot and i see myself in sooooo many points of it. Actually i could say, most of the part of this video is actually about me :D! Very well done!
Hope you're on the mend! I know the video was a lot more concentrated on work-based/emotional stressors, but did it help with physical pain/stress, too?
What the hell? 1060 subscribers for THIS?? 17k views? INCREDIBLE video essay. Amazing work. I will probably listen to it more than just this once. Very interesting topic and research. And I'm just now seeing the citations in the description. Chefs kiss man, wow. If you did write a script, would you mind uploading that to docs aswell? Sometimes I like reading a text more than listening, and it helps me with remembering. But wow man. I'll definitely be taking some notes on this video when I find the time. Once again, CRAZY good job.
Listen to it twice, then thrice, and then a hundred more times after! And check the bottom of the video description, king. I gotchou. Glad you enjoyed it and that it's sparking so much thought!
@@ArchivistShepardyou know, these past few years I find it really hard to read books or listen to complex videos and retain information. But I managed to go through this video again and I am even MORE surprised how incredibly well this is done. You just popped out last year and this is the quality? The amount of work, reading and of taking notes must've been unimaginably large. I'm speechless. Absolutely speechless
@@ArchivistShepardthat said, do you know if there are gender differences in dealing with stress? You talk about mobile games used in work breaks. I know my mother only talks with colleagues as she doesn't use her phone for such things. I can imagine the younger generation of women don't have the same.. attitude or rather unconscious coping mechanism as men do with gaming.
@@-Robert This is, indeed, the quality. 💜 I genuinely appreciate your kind words there. The hardest part of the process was going through Elden Ring again for footage, but the second run was absolutely PIVOTAL for a research side of things. I don't know how this would've turned out if I tried doing the essay and research on a first run, but that's a hypothetical we'll never have to worry about! Regarding your second question, I don't know if there are gender-based differences, but rather, socially-based differences. 'Gossip' and conversations at work may be more socially acceptable for some, going to the bar together after work for others, and so on, and you might see those divides between what is socially acceptable between binary female and male individuals (respectively); think of who is approached for conversation, or who's invited to the bar. I think a lot of it comes back to what we think of as 'appropriate' stress relief based on our own internal understanding of 'appropriate,' which is formed through parental guidance (and their own preconceptions of what is 'appropriate'), society's outlook/tolerance on certain activities, the level of support or similar activity you see on a local level, accessibility of said activity (think playing Bejeweled on mobile now vs. needing it installed on a computer some twenty years ago) and so on. We're all just modeling 'acceptable' behavior when we're The New Person, then it becomes engrained and, intentionally or not, we're passing it on to the next New Person/People. And it may only be my experience that has seen fewer distinctions between what male- and female-identifying people use as stress relief, but when I'm the only datapoint I have available, I gotta go with what I've seen. I know it's not as fleshed out as the main video, but I hope it's a bit of what you were looking for!
Dark souls 3 was my first Fromsoft game. I was going through a very difficult time in my life. When I had game time to my self I couldn’t wait to get back the cathedral of the deep, or invading in anor londo. I am not good at these games. But no matter what it’s just a game. And no matter how many times I die I always come back and can always just try again. Dark souls allowed me to overcome its own challenges when there were some material realities in my life that I couldn’t just beat like a dark souls boss. I’d eventually play them all. Love Elden ring so much and have multiple characters. Sekiro is my favorite. But I’ll always have a soft spot for DS3. Love putting a podcast on and just riding torrent around the lands between.
I'm glad it served as that kind of outlet for you! One of these days, I'd love to go back and give Sekiro another fair shake; as you could see, I've usually played a shield combo, so parrying was always difficult for me. But different forms of gameplay lend to different folks' stress relief needs!
This was great. Elden Ring is one of the games that has helped me pull myself out of a severe depressive episode of more than two years following having to take medical retirement from my job. It stopped me sinking further than I might have, and kept me occupied on days when I couldn't even get out of bed. Thank you very much for the links to your references, I would very much like to read more. Also, is anyone else freaked out by the ambient music in the Shadowlands?
I'm glad you enjoyed it, and glad Elden Ring had that kind of effect on your life. 💜 Strange how it's not something a lot of folk would immediately consider helpful, and yet, here many of us are! I hope the references prove useful to you in their full glory! Having not gotten around to SotE yet, and listening to the Gravesite Plain music out of context, I can see how it could be freaky, but I may lack full context as of right now!
Is there someone who isn't freaked out by the music in the shadowlands? Oo everything feels so eerie and off somehow? Same story for me although my episodes just resurface once in a while. Elden Ring, I feel, also gives one more control in how to approach situations creatively which has helped me get unstuck from unhealthy thinking patterns.
I think one huge factor that shouldn’t be ignored for “difficult” RPGs is that you can level or upgrade gear to make up for a lack of mechanical skill. I hit a roadblock in these games, I know I will eventually get enough resources to be unstuck without really improving (which is not stressful, it’s comforting). Something like puzzle, arcade, or 1v1 competitive games are actually stressful because I have to figure out what I’m doing wrong or find a solution rather than having an easy out. Those games are much better at getting you into that exhausting, but euphoric flow state that can feel rejuvenating afterwards. I think those kinds of games are more what you’re getting at than RPG’s like Elden Ring, because while it does have skill based elements, they aren’t forced like they are in the other kinds of games I mentioned. I never feel a flow state when I know I don’t need to be in one to succeed. Still an interesting video, I just don’t think this was the right game to highlight this phenomenon with.
Wow… I expected your Channel to have way over atleast 200K subs. This was an amazing video. You have my sub. Reminded me of Jacob geller and I’m very happy I came across you as it’s unusual I enjoy videos in this style. Thanks !
Your sub is appreciated, and your kind words moreso! Jacob Geller is absolutely one of my points of inspiration, and unabashedly makes me happy to see you say so. I hope the rest of the channel vibes with you, too!
You have a very good narrating voice for a channel with no subs. The rest was good too. But you've got the popular video essayist TH-camr type voice. That's good
Counteroffer, if you'll allow it: Tetris makes you think SO much that it feels like you're not thinking! Complete flowstate. My only comparison is, based on a personal pain tolerance, being hurt so much that your body just kind of whites out the pain for a moment: you're still hurt, you just don't feel it for the moment!
LOOK, I'll be real, never even realized it was a debuff, I was just happy to get a hug. 😂 Dark Souls left my soul brittle and jagged, and then Fia pops up in Elden Ring offering to hold me for a minute? Sure, take a fraction of my max HP, I NEED this.
Dammit, you're right. For playing it on solo, I think I conflated the Effigies with the Stakes for their proximity with one another. Appreciate the heads-up and correction, but hope you'll understand if I don't reupload to correct that. 😂
Dude this is my life RN lololol Coming home to lose yourself in the souls games really chills my mind. ❤ Ive literally wanted to record my gameplay and voice while i talk about my build or what im currently doing in the game, and post it on my channel. Anyway, i'll give you a like and finish the video ^_^ currently on minute 3 lol
Build breakdowns are fascinating to me, partly because they are such a novel concept to my basic sword-and-shield avatars. I hope the other 50 minutes were enjoyable too!
My guy, you gotta cut me some slack on the first part. 😂 That's just semantics, save your Um Actually for the IMPORTANT part! Also, somebody already corrected the important distinction between Stakes and Effigies, I have admitted to my mistake, I will not be reuploading a new video to correct this, and I am horrified that two editors came out of the woodwork so close to one another. 🥲
Dang, you got me there. It's easily been a couple years since I tried my hand in Sekiro, and misremembered that pause mechanic based on the experiences with Elden Ring and Dark Souls. Thanks for pointing it out, though!
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What's the sweet spot for your stress in-game and stress relief? Is it something like Elden Ring? A different threshold? Something, arguably, MORE stressful? Let me know! Thanks for watching!
Playing survival horror games like Darkwood was the perfect sweetspot of stress relief for me
@@szalyn8849 Horrifying pick, but I dig it! Darkwood's sound design alone was able to keep me fully distracted from the world around me. Was it more effective playing on Normal, or with a semblance of lives/permadeath enabled?
Definitely games like sekiro or sifu where it’s combat is so good I just have to master it until I have every enemies move set down that’s the most satisfying feeling
@@penguinojug3044 I've been meaning to try Sifu for a while; I enjoyed the sensation of Batman's combat in the Arkham series, but Sifu feels like it's more Me and less Batman doing all the heavy lifting. Sekiro I'd have to start all over; I think I crapped out in one of the mid-late game flashback fights, but I also acknowledge the combat didn't fully click for me (I was a sword/shield guy in the Dark Souls series prior). Still, that earned state of mastery sounds like it would do the trick! 👍
elden ring second playthrough is okay for after work play. new games, like right now with sekiro for me i cant even play after work cause it’s too much stress (highly physical job), so i save it for when i have a week off or at most weekends.
I appreciate the APA citation. You wrote a great research paper and then voiced it and edited a video over it. Your work is valued.
I figured a standardized approach would be most beneficial for everyone, and maybe lend an ounce of credence to talking about video games in this regard for nearly an hour. 😂 I'm appreciate your watching it, and I appreciate your kind words! 🥰
ALSO, if you haven't already, check out the Edutainment video on the channel; it's another research-heavy piece!
One thing that Dark Souls 1 did, and no game could actually replicate thereafter for me, was the feeling of relief whenever I managed to find one of the bonfires while under intense amounts of pressure. It's honestly one of the most intense and amazing emotions any game has made me feel ever. That's why the Souls series is so masterful. I wish everyone had that experience. I feel like with the Souls series' popularity nowadays that kind of feeling of not knowing what's around the corner and feeling completely out of your depth, while also knowing you have to press on, is inaccessible to most players. I still remember the goosebumps I had when I was struggling my way through blighttown and then heard the soothing sound of the bonfire. I hadn't noticed up to that point that the game had conditioned me to associate the sound and atmosphere of bonfires with such a pleasent feeling of security. Genius design.
Genuinely fantastic, and absolutely a shared sensation. I know other Souls-like/-Bourne games have similar mechanics, but Dark Souls absolutely staked that entire vibe in my head as a barometer for every other instance to come.
I feel a big part of that (aside from every soulslike being played to death) is that there was no fast travel in dark souls 1 until halfway into the game.
You haven’t known stress until you’ve tried to carry the iron golem’s 40k-odd souls all the way back through Sen’s fortress to Firelink in order to buy Soul Spear- but neither have you known relief
I know exactly what you mean. Sanctuary in the middle of a nightmare (high danger) is the best feeling. MMOs that gate content/zones behind some sort of challenge/progression is controversial and barely exists still today since it doesnt make sense economically for the game developers, but it also provides this feeling for me.
Souls like games to me have always been a representation of life.
You get beaten, broken, and even lose everything, but you get back up and try again and again till you succeed and then move on to the next challange.
The bonfires are like coming home taking a moments reprive till you go back out and fight some more. It even alludes to depression.
I have heard a lot of folk cite those parallels, both between life and depression.
Yes. Before playing Elden Ring I usually played cosy, calm games to destress. Elden Ring changed that. It changed me. Beating the game gave me a sense of resilience and determination that I could somewhat hold on to and pull strength from in real life.
Hell yeah! And obvi, no hate on cozy games, but sometimes you need something to hit back to really see how tough you are in the long-run. 💚I'm glad it helped you find that strength!
I went from animal crossing to elden ring and while the first week was absolutely terrifying, realizing that it was possible for me, a "cozy gamer" to beat these bosses, and have a whole world open up for exploration with unsettling but calm music was AMAZING.
@@SnazzyArcade You're just finding a new groove to comfortably sink into!...even amidst the unsettling vibes and horrifying bosses. It even feels a bit like a paradigm shift going from something challenging (Elden Ring, Sekiro, etc.) back to something cozier. Our brains are getting rewired in both directions!
"Why would we drag ourselves to the Erd Tree? Because it's there."
Your brought 2 of my favorite worlds together. Psychology and video games. I love you man
I love you, too.
Didn’t play a Souls game until Dark Souls 3 years after it’s release. It was a life changing experience. The endorphin rush that lasted for days of beating a boss after dying repeatedly for 8 hours was like nothing I ever experienced and it carried over into every other aspect of my life knowing that every difficult endeavor had the potential for an enormous internal reward. Unfortunately I eventually got gud and never really had to suffer nearly as much for any boss and thus never got the same rush again, but it’s still a pleasure when things do get a bit difficult.
I was a latecomer to Dark Souls as a whole, too. The rush is unreal, and it makes finding that groove in other games that much more amazing!
@ ya it’s made me waaay better at every other game. Oddly enough Black Myth: Wukong in turn also made me better at Elden Ring because it’s more forgiving and faster paced and also rewards perfect dodging so I was able to hone my timing.
@@bigheadrhino Maybe someday I can get that vibe with Sekiro's whole parry deal, but today is not that day.
The darker side of this concept is the weeks I spent ignoring my commitments to work and uni because the stress from those environments did not have the short-term payoff that throwing myself at bosses in Elden Ring, or completing my living dex in Pokemon did.
I found my stress levels decrease when playing challenging games, but it was a deferred stress.
I still release stress in Elden Ring, but I am also more aware of practical ways to relieve the stress outside of games.
24:41 All things in moderation, amirite?
Btw I love the citations. I don't understand why most youtube video essayists don't cite their sources. It's such an improvement on the craft.
Honestly, great question! I think it can be seen as detracting or distracting to the flow of a piece, but (as you may have seen in some of the other Research-pieces), I'm always trying to find a way to integrate the cited information with the source vibes, so it's all a bit more cohesive and connected. It's an extra step I'm sure isn't at the forefront of creators' processes, and we're generally wont to take a person at their word (for better and worse). But I'm glad they're appreciated on this end! I really like how they turned out.
With all due respect- you’re 100% right but years of uni have convinced me of the drudgery of soruce taking and I do not blame them
@Delmworks Well, same here man, but if you can't support your statements you might as well say nothing. There's no real value generated if you're just saying random stuff without any basis.
I kept telling my friends I play EldenRing to relax. I was never able to explain that further, thanks for doing it for me in a science-ish way!
Happy to do my part!
Thank you so much for this video. It explains so much why I have been still playing elden ring after finishing it a long time ago. I have been under great stress at work for months to the point that my brain just ceases to function and actually do work. I played elden ring for crazy amount of hours because I wanted to escape from a reality where I constantly face threat challenges and where its really hard to accomplish my goals. It’s just a game, but I do agree that even just a simple “game” will help you from having a total breakdown. Games help you feel a sense of accomplishment to counter the feeling of defeat or hopelessness irl. But I think the most important effect of games is that it inspires you to try again and again until you can achieve that familiar sense of accomplishment that you had once after finishing the game. I am still stressed but I’m still trying irl. I look forward to your future videos.
Sorry you're going through it at work, but I'm glad the video could give some clarity/words to what you've been doing to care for yourself! 💛I hope things get better for you in the real-space, and wish you strength in your efforts in the meantime. Take care of yourself out there. 🧡
Holyshit this only has 700views? Thought this would have atleast 100k
We're getting there! 1% of the way, by my count. Glad you enjoyed it!
Right. I thought it’s by Vaati or Smough
Most stressful thing about this video was seeing that tiny health bar not growing when you entered late game areas. All jokes aside tho loved this video you clearly did your research.
I swear, there was a method to the madness somewhere in my addled brain. Glad you enjoyed the video, stressful as my approach may have been!
This is quite good, sir. Good cadence, well researched, and interestingly paced. Thank you.
I pride myself on all of those things! 🥳 Glad you enjoyed it!
very good video! I was in the middle of a big project episode and had no way to destress, tried all the stardews and animal crossings, noticed I had anger management issues during them when I lost my cool with the villagers slow animations and didn't feel satisfied afterwards. Picked up blasphemous, died a thousand times, but managed to go through a tough area and I slept like a baby! now my go to de-stress games are all from soulsborne or soulslike genres, the best for psyche. Couldn't explain it before this video really, hadn't put much thought I just "felt" it's right.
good video, dropped a sub. Hope you keep making good videos and good luck with your work, sounds rough!
Glad to help put some words to the sensation, even though you already discovered the foundation of it on your own! I appreciate you jumping along for the ride; there's other research-based pieces on the channel, if you want to take a look!
And while I appreciate it, don't worry about my work; jumped ship a while back before it could take my spirit entirely, so that particular roughage is far behind me. Different roughage ahead, but understanding how I can deal with it is half the battle!
bro this video is a whole vibe lmfao
Wonderful stuff and beautifully cited. I also really needed this today
The hardest part is just having the time to build up the resilience. Another point in Elden Ring's column! 😂 I'm glad you enjoyed it, glad for its timing in your life, and grateful for your kind words! 🥰
Great video, i really appreciate the effort that went into this and i love the combination of seemingly unrelated or contradictory topics here. Subbed.
omg this was such a joy to watch while filing at work! i recently purchased elden ring and while i find it to be an incredibly steep learning curve for beginner gamers it is enjoyable despite the stress! i appreciate how engaging the visuals are plus the citations are such a good touch. what a lovely and wonderfully researched video, thank you!
Oh, it is absolutely a jump, especially for a first-timer! Dark Souls was my in a number of years ago, and that required a lot of unlearning and relearning a lot of mechanics I took for granted. Hope you keep enjoying it all the way through! Glad you enjoyed the video and all its flair!
I’m so happy you made this video, it’s been hard for me to articulate why such a stressful and intense game like Elden Ring can be incredibly therapeutic for me… and as someone who’s on 15 playthroughs, the repetition itself has become relaxing! Not to mention controllers are like giant stress toys with all the button pushing and muscle memory. Don’t even get me started on the artistic beauty of this game as well-that in itself makes the game such a pleasant experience. Anyway, love these styles of videos. And I especially like that you cited sources and expanded on them, like a true video essay! Always nice to find a kindred spirit , tarnished 😊💕
Hey, I'd say 15 rounds in, you've found what works for you, repetition and all. And glad this video can help put the words to what you've been feeling, too! Thanks for watching and vibing with it, fellow Tarnished!
Subscribed. What a perfect description of why elden ring is my favorite game of all time. Despite never playing a souls game before.
For work I have a high risk high reward career as well so this checks out, lol
Everyone's gotta start somewhere! It's hard to recommend other FromSoft games after Elden Ring specifically, but I hope you find more from their library (or the Soulslike genre) down the line!
And bless your vocation, friend. 🙏 May the rewards outweigh the risks.
As a psych student, this video was super enjoyable to watch! Great video! The amount of research you added is exceptional and this made me appreciate one of my favorite games even more!!
Thank you! Always happy to build a stronger foundation for the things worth loving! 🧡
such a tremendously well-crafted video. amazed and kind've dumbfounded to see you only have 1k subscribers (not that that is the defining metric!).
as someone else said this is just a plainly well crafted research essay -- can't wait to see more from you in the future
Oh, but it is a quantifiable metric, and one I put far too much stake into! But still, glad you enjoyed it, and hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel and what's to come!
This video is absolutely amazing! Thankyou so much for all the work you put into it, Elden ring and meditation are how I deal with my stressful job and now I have this video to put that into words! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
Also i smashed that subscribe button immediately! ✌🏻✌🏻
You are a gem and I appreciate you saying so! 🥰 I've really been meaning to get into meditation properly; friends of mine who work stressful jobs tout it, too. Maybe in the coming weeks! Thank you for watching, and thanks for jumping on the channel! For more research-based content, check out the video on Edutainment! 💚
What people who dont play souls games dont understand is “get good” is the best advice anyone can give. That is integral to what the experience is trying to teach you about yourself
If I can be a gentle opposition, "get good" is the best core advice, but there are too many spiderwebbing concepts shooting out from it that fail to get mentioned (the choreography of bosses, open-ended approaches to areas and fights, useful tools and items for general and specific battles, etc.). "Get good" is a good enough mantra for anyone who's interested in and understands the core of the games, but I believe (and have found) that concentrating more on the connecting aspects of "get good" can help 'outsiders' understand it more. More than once, it's even brought someone else into the fold.
Short version: "get good" is a great battle cry for those who are already knee-deep in it, but we need to break down the battle cry to recruit more to our cause (that cause being dying a lot and then triumphing).
@@ArchivistShepard why do you think it's worth it to caiter to people who don't even know how to hold a controller? You talk as if dark souls is for non gamers. It is not. If someone dosent understand the basic fundamentals of third person movement what entitles them to an experience they havent earned? The point of dark souls has always been a gauntlet that only skill can get you through. The community has always shuned people who think getting help is comparable to figuring it out yourself. Dark souls players get together to display their skill and specifically do not gather to display their lack of skill. Doing so makes you a noob who doesn't understand what dark souls is at its core. Ik we are talking about elden ring witch is much easier, however the term get good is from dark souls not elden ring
@@ArchivistShepard TLDR you sound like a noob who doesn't understand souls games.
@@emmyturner7385 I think it's worth it because everyone deserves a chance to decide if they want to experience something based on information as it pertains to them, not a distilled mantra. I don't ascribe to forms of gatekeeping in games, so as a counterweight, I always try to be open and informative when others ask me about my experience in those kinds of games (hence the spiderwebbing concepts I mentioned earlier). Same with the ER/DS communities I'm in, mostly revolving around encounter advice and "help me understand Elden Ring/Dark Souls" side of things, rather than demonstrating expertise and skill-based mastery. There is no monolith of the Elden Ring/Dark Souls experience, nor is there a singular community as you've described, so I can see why our perspectives on it are divergent.
Thank you for validating my addiction. Incredible video!
I am nothing if not an enabler. 🤙 Glad you enjoyed it!
This video is Phenomenal and it's clear how much hard work went into it! Be proud of yourself, brother man!
Brother, you have no idea how proud. 😁 I'm just glad it caught wind of the algorithm for a little while, especially as an audio reupload. The original capped at 168 views, so to see this (comparably) blow up has been extremely reassuring! Glad it's resonating with so many people this go-around. 💜
This is a very, very good video!
I now fully understand why I take enjoyment (of a sort) out of this game. I didn't really put together that stress relief was more of a subjective thing, and now the different things my family does to relieve stress make more sense.
And a side-note, I'm in the twilight hours of a Rune Level 1 run in Elden Ring. In the latter hours when I've upgraded everything to the utmost, explored most everywhere I wanted to, and the only thing between me and my end goal is the bosses I have yet to beat, I noticed that it was different than a normal run stress-wise. Dying with a boatload of runes didn't really mean as much anymore. Heck, I couldn't use them for much of anything anyways. Each death became something that didn't have much stress with it, not considering the occasional jolt of "oh, there goes my entire miniscule health bar". Less stakes with each death lead to me being more content with each failure, especially when I learned something new with that death. It's actually been one of the most rewarding runs I've done.
You've taken your first step into a larger world. A larger world of STRESS. And stress relief! 🐍
For as much as I struggled with my regular run of ER, a Rune Level 1 run sounds HORRIFYING. 🥲 But also, completely get where you're coming from: making your own experience with the existing tools (like a Nuzlocke run in Pokemon), and the lack of permanent rune loss does sound helpful, and more peaceful, for a long-run struggle. I imagine if I ever tried picking up a boss-rush style game, like Furi or some such, it might elicit a similar vibe (challenge ratings notwithstanding)? Much to think about, and appreciate you sharing! Best of luck in your battles to come! 🎉
absolutely top tier, can’t wait to watch more of you :)
Plenty of channel to burn through in the meantime! There's more research pieces on Kind Words and Edutainment games on there if you want something similar, plus musings and new perspectives on games aside! Hope you enjoy everything else on the channel and yet to come, and glad you enjoyed this one!
I haven't watched this whole vid but as a psych grad with probably a thousand hours into replaying elden ring and DS3, I already agree with everything you were going to say. Take my like and comment and leave to my drudgery lol
I hope the drudgery was short-lived, or that reprieve was found for fifty-odd minutes!
I think what I liked about getting into soulsborne is that I could fail as many times as I liked and time would keep going on. In something like devil may cry, if I fail the clock is reset and the timelines only records my successful victory. There is no room for failure in the latter, only your victory matters.
The difference is "you can fail as many times as you want and life goes on and you will fail until you succeed"
There is comfort in knowing we are not the main character in a world, just the one persevering as much as we can.
I'm still recovering from the emotional damage that the Full Grown Fallingstar Beast gave me...
Beautifully made and written video!
Thank youuuuu!
Woah this is so interesting and well made - I have to watch it again! Gud job!! 👏
Thank youuuu!
This was very insightful thank you as a souls player I can now articulate why dying 100 times is good
I am a steward of the great words that speak volumes where wildly gesticulating at "You Died" does not suffice.
I found Elden ring to be surprisingly, a calming game.
Most souls likes force you to play them in a way where you have to be methodical. patient. as soon as you starting playing 'stressed' (frantically pressing buttons) you get dunked on.
The way the game is structured also does this; with its open world exploration backdropped by beautiful landscapes, soothing music / ambience inducing a mood of calm, especially in limgrave and Liurnia. the eb and flow of the gameplay from bosses, to exploration creates a gameplay loop that I find makes the majority of the experience quite soothing (until you get stuck on a boss).
Honestly, I loved the parts where I got locked up on a boss, because it just meant I could dip elsewhere and go find someone else's day to mess up. So many fights later, it felt a lot better to roll up on that old boss and give them what-for.
But also, story of my life, getting panicky and subsequently bodied by everything from foot soldiers to bosses.
Very well made video. I absolutely love it!
I absolutely appreciate it! 💜
way to do your research man. this was top tier. you got a new fan.
This channel has been the first time in a long time I've enjoyed research, so I'm glad it's paying off for others, too!
One of the best videos I’ve ever seen tbh. Wonderful job!
ONE OF THE BEST? 🤯 You flatter me, and I'm glad you enjoyed it so! 💜
Incredible video. Sending to all my friends that ask why I play stressful games all the time and why I’m obsessed with horror instead of explaining it myself 🤣🤣
Happy to do the heavy lifting for you, pal. 😁
Sensational. Great Video!
I appreciate it!
Seamless co op with my friends has been truly my new cozy game after work.
Curious follow-up: are you guys playing with intent to conquer/win/progress, or does it morph into shenanigans and tomfoolery? Great power in both, but every co-op experience I've had just devolves into chaos, despite whatever our original intentions were.
This is the type of content I enjoy! Very well executed👏🏼
Thank youuuuu! 🥰
Just now finding your channel. Incredible stuff. Keep it up you're sure to hit it big.
Thank you! Glad you're digging it; plenty more to come.
Coincidentally, my master's thesis is asking the same question you posted at the end there. I am investigating the interaction with stress and various game mechanics. I investigate what happens when the development experience is collaborative for stress management, and we personalize adding game mechanics. Maybe in a few years I will have my work for you to reference as well
Fascinating! Best of luck with the rest of the process, and feel free to post the finished product when you're comfortable!
I went through the process you mentioned about the frenzy tower area. Took me an hour but was persistent and felt very rewarding finally clearing it
Such a satisfying win, especially when I realized they wouldn't respawn later. 🥳
this is some really good content bro, i really like your work, you have one new subscriber :3 please keep it up
Huzzah! Thank you for saying so; hope you like the other videos on the channel, too!
15:40 "or a 21 year old child burst through your door to yell at you about the consequences of your actions" I sense that Shepard was in this situations hence why it is mentioned here
"About the consequences of THEIR actions." Very important distinction there. 😂And, yes, I am a living, breathing trope of "write what you know."
"Arise now, ye Masochists... uh, um... I meant, Tarnished."
i feel like, it boils down to the games being controllably and predictably difficult. Whereas irl, you are at the mercy of somebody else/ or other unforeseen events or consequence.
I went through most of Bloodborne during grief over a lost pregnancy. To top off the cosmic horror vibes, it was quite serendipitous that pregnancy is featured so heavily in that game. It was very off putting at first, but my sticking with the game helped me process my grief more than anything else. It really felt at times that the Great Ones guided me toward Bloodborne at the exact moment I needed it most. I still get very emotional playing that game, because of the deep association with pain and sadness, but it's still very much a game that I need to play every so often, as if the Hunter's Dream tethers me to the waking world. Playing that game in that time and reading Blood Meridian are my two most important media experiences.
I feel like it's so rare to remember the overlap between generalized stress and grief as a form of stress, but your experience absolutely puts that front and center. And association, especially with hard and painful experiences, is more powerful than we think to give it credit for. For all it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss, however long ago it was.
"Music can increase cortisol levels" My heartrate casually spiking when I hear the Guardian music playing from BotW
There's research, and then there's LIVED research.
Honestly this is amazing subscribed my friend
ONE OF US. ONE OF US. Thanks for watching, and hope you enjoy the other videos on the channel! 💛
I didnt bring any citations with me, but I think one of the issues with Catharsis, which is why theories have moved past it, is because both stress and eu-stress have similar, negative health impacts when in excess. Another note on the video game violence bit, i think it's important to highlight that not seeing an increase in violent behavior does not mean seeing an active decrease in violent behavior. Fantasy violence also doesnt decrease violent behavior, or there is no catharsis happening, no venting of a violent tendency.
The emotional, cognitive label of the experience doesnt build and release. They just process, come and go, over time. In response to environment and self. The stress is the levelnof arousal, but not the emotion or the action.
I know Catharsis only came up in passing in the grand scheme of the essay, but I wasn't aware theories had largely moved past it. My perspective of it largely stems from its narrative use, like I mentioned, so I recognize that's already coloring my take on it, especially in regards to Elden Ring's gameplay and narrative arcs (and video games' arcs in general).
Based on the script, I don't believe I implied a decrease in violent behavior from aggressive game use, either, just a lack of amplification that was outlined in the cited study from Colwell. That said, if you're just highlighting a point in general, I apologize for making that assumption.
The core point I was trying to make in that moment is that the stress of a game has a built-in outlet, both in victory and defeat, whereas work (noted many times throughout) was a more closed experience: to seek an outlet, not even necessarily in violence, but in anything from needing to be alone, crying, or distracting oneself from the source of stress, could result in termination from said work, forcing us to live with the stress of work without outlet instead of risking more/different stress in joblessness.
Socratres! I love your warframe videos!
This is fantastic. Thank you.
No no, thank YOU. Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video, video games have been my de-stresser since I was a child, they've always calmed me down and kept me sane lol still does hahaha
Big same! And I love how I can get a different de-stressing effect from different games. The vibes between crawling through Elden Ring, or blowing through levels in Doom, or just being able to bop along for a bit in Mario or Donkey Kong are all amazing in how they each tackle the root issue in their own way. 🥰
This was a a wholly enjoyable video.
Souls games have always been my comfort games. Thanks for explaining why.
Glad to put words to a feeling felt by many.
Hope your channel grows soon friend . Best of luck
I appreciate it, friend. Thanks for watching and doing your part! 🖖🧡
This is the exact thing that pulls me to horror games
Yessssss. Such a different shade, but still on the same spectrum. I went through RE7 again within the last few months, and damn if that same tunnel-vision-forgetting-about-all-my-real-world-stressors vibe didn't hit all the same.
Dark souls series including elden ring is really something great, no other games give you the same feeling
This video was rad and I subscribed as soon as I had my hands free to do so 🤘
And you're rad for doing so!
I personally find survival horror games much more stressful on many more levels. Elden ring is comparatively just a good time, I am biased though because I’ve been playing souls games for over a decade
That is completely fair; I have a soft spot in my heart (due to all the adrenaline) for survival horror games across the board. I was pleasantly surprised how Amnesia: The Bunker worked with that buildup and release cycle, and am sure to be looking for it in future games, too!
I feel so odd because people around me are like "I'm so stressed." And I'm just like ununderstanding cause I've never felt stressed. I feel so odd for not getting stressed.
Everyone perceives the world differently, whether through station, circumstance, or where they've come from. It's novel to not feel stress, absolutely, but maybe your strength is in giving people the ability to talk about what's stressing them out without necessarily taking on the stress yourself! Like the pitcher analogy, except your pitcher has draining holes at the bottom that prevent the stress from actually collecting in the first place. I'm sure it'd be much more detrimental as a hunter-gatherer, but nowadays, you should be okay. Take advantage of your immunity!
@ArchivistShepard I've never thought of it that way, thank you.
Great, original content. Easy sub. Keep it up!
I hadn’t played any games in years. And always played on easy mode. Then randomly I decided to get Lies of P. Best it twice, now on Elden Ring and DS3, and I swear it’s so damn helpful. It’s like working out for your brain.
🏋🧠🏋♂🧠🏋♀
26:40 my exact thoughts
🌲👈
@29:19 Thats actually me :D But the whole video is more or less about myself :D I have a lot of stress at work. I am a leader of two social institutions with over 300 kids, 600 parents, almost 50 employes, two locations and i am also in a very important workgroup and leading it for over 23 social instutions of the region i live in.
I mainly play Age of Empires 4 and Elden Ring (I came to the souls genre with eldenring and since that i love it and played dark souls 3 also). I always say to my audience that playing eldenring for me is destressing and a relaxation after my work in real life and my high ranking Age4 games. A lot of people don't believe me, but i am most of the time super calm while playing elden ring. The cozy environment, the feeling that i can play 10000 playthrougs and learn something new, have a bad weapon but overcome the situations. Also i really like the basic weapons and not op combos. Learning bosses, overcome with mediocore damage some times and beeing just a simple knight with a simple sword. Thats 100% my jam. I really destress with Elden Ring, despite so many people are raging so hard while playing it. But everything else in my life most of the time is super stressful, so i love the music, my simple sword, my simple knight helm and overcome every situation as a normal unimportant tarnished.
Your video is very well made, i like it a lot and i see myself in sooooo many points of it. Actually i could say, most of the part of this video is actually about me :D!
Very well done!
On Monday I threw out my back on the clock and have been out for three days. Over those 3 days I spent laid out, I played 24 hours of Elden Ring.
Hope you're on the mend! I know the video was a lot more concentrated on work-based/emotional stressors, but did it help with physical pain/stress, too?
@ I think it did
What the hell? 1060 subscribers for THIS?? 17k views? INCREDIBLE video essay. Amazing work. I will probably listen to it more than just this once. Very interesting topic and research. And I'm just now seeing the citations in the description. Chefs kiss man, wow. If you did write a script, would you mind uploading that to docs aswell? Sometimes I like reading a text more than listening, and it helps me with remembering. But wow man. I'll definitely be taking some notes on this video when I find the time. Once again, CRAZY good job.
Listen to it twice, then thrice, and then a hundred more times after! And check the bottom of the video description, king. I gotchou. Glad you enjoyed it and that it's sparking so much thought!
@@ArchivistShepard Holy. Thank you SO much. I will definitely be back here for it. I appreciate it so much.
@@ArchivistShepardyou know, these past few years I find it really hard to read books or listen to complex videos and retain information. But I managed to go through this video again and I am even MORE surprised how incredibly well this is done. You just popped out last year and this is the quality? The amount of work, reading and of taking notes must've been unimaginably large. I'm speechless. Absolutely speechless
@@ArchivistShepardthat said, do you know if there are gender differences in dealing with stress? You talk about mobile games used in work breaks. I know my mother only talks with colleagues as she doesn't use her phone for such things. I can imagine the younger generation of women don't have the same.. attitude or rather unconscious coping mechanism as men do with gaming.
@@-Robert This is, indeed, the quality. 💜 I genuinely appreciate your kind words there. The hardest part of the process was going through Elden Ring again for footage, but the second run was absolutely PIVOTAL for a research side of things. I don't know how this would've turned out if I tried doing the essay and research on a first run, but that's a hypothetical we'll never have to worry about!
Regarding your second question, I don't know if there are gender-based differences, but rather, socially-based differences. 'Gossip' and conversations at work may be more socially acceptable for some, going to the bar together after work for others, and so on, and you might see those divides between what is socially acceptable between binary female and male individuals (respectively); think of who is approached for conversation, or who's invited to the bar. I think a lot of it comes back to what we think of as 'appropriate' stress relief based on our own internal understanding of 'appropriate,' which is formed through parental guidance (and their own preconceptions of what is 'appropriate'), society's outlook/tolerance on certain activities, the level of support or similar activity you see on a local level, accessibility of said activity (think playing Bejeweled on mobile now vs. needing it installed on a computer some twenty years ago) and so on. We're all just modeling 'acceptable' behavior when we're The New Person, then it becomes engrained and, intentionally or not, we're passing it on to the next New Person/People. And it may only be my experience that has seen fewer distinctions between what male- and female-identifying people use as stress relief, but when I'm the only datapoint I have available, I gotta go with what I've seen. I know it's not as fleshed out as the main video, but I hope it's a bit of what you were looking for!
Dark souls 3 was my first Fromsoft game. I was going through a very difficult time in my life. When I had game time to my self I couldn’t wait to get back the cathedral of the deep, or invading in anor londo. I am not good at these games. But no matter what it’s just a game. And no matter how many times I die I always come back and can always just try again. Dark souls allowed me to overcome its own challenges when there were some material realities in my life that I couldn’t just beat like a dark souls boss. I’d eventually play them all. Love Elden ring so much and have multiple characters. Sekiro is my favorite. But I’ll always have a soft spot for DS3. Love putting a podcast on and just riding torrent around the lands between.
I'm glad it served as that kind of outlet for you! One of these days, I'd love to go back and give Sekiro another fair shake; as you could see, I've usually played a shield combo, so parrying was always difficult for me. But different forms of gameplay lend to different folks' stress relief needs!
Good job, good video
Thank youuuuuuuu! 💜
This video was stressful. But listening to it at work lowered it
Amazing video
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was great. Elden Ring is one of the games that has helped me pull myself out of a severe depressive episode of more than two years following having to take medical retirement from my job.
It stopped me sinking further than I might have, and kept me occupied on days when I couldn't even get out of bed.
Thank you very much for the links to your references, I would very much like to read more.
Also, is anyone else freaked out by the ambient music in the Shadowlands?
I'm glad you enjoyed it, and glad Elden Ring had that kind of effect on your life. 💜 Strange how it's not something a lot of folk would immediately consider helpful, and yet, here many of us are! I hope the references prove useful to you in their full glory!
Having not gotten around to SotE yet, and listening to the Gravesite Plain music out of context, I can see how it could be freaky, but I may lack full context as of right now!
@@ArchivistShepard It's amazing. You'll see (hear) what I mean when you get there. ENJOY!
Is there someone who isn't freaked out by the music in the shadowlands? Oo everything feels so eerie and off somehow?
Same story for me although my episodes just resurface once in a while. Elden Ring, I feel, also gives one more control in how to approach situations creatively which has helped me get unstuck from unhealthy thinking patterns.
What an amazing video. Holy shit
Only the Holiest in the name of Elden Ring.
I think one huge factor that shouldn’t be ignored for “difficult” RPGs is that you can level or upgrade gear to make up for a lack of mechanical skill. I hit a roadblock in these games, I know I will eventually get enough resources to be unstuck without really improving (which is not stressful, it’s comforting).
Something like puzzle, arcade, or 1v1 competitive games are actually stressful because I have to figure out what I’m doing wrong or find a solution rather than having an easy out. Those games are much better at getting you into that exhausting, but euphoric flow state that can feel rejuvenating afterwards.
I think those kinds of games are more what you’re getting at than RPG’s like Elden Ring, because while it does have skill based elements, they aren’t forced like they are in the other kinds of games I mentioned. I never feel a flow state when I know I don’t need to be in one to succeed.
Still an interesting video, I just don’t think this was the right game to highlight this phenomenon with.
I see a fellow scythe user. Nice. Great video!
Worth grinding my early-game Faith high enough to use it properly. 😂
quality work as always
Consistency is my secret sauce. And Louisiana. Mostly consistency. 💛
Very underrated channel
You humble me, and I appreciate it! 🧡
The monologue in the beginning was spot on to the OG voice actor 😂
You're so kind! Glad to know the unnerving amount of times listening back to his initial "AAAAAAAAaaaa...rise now, ye Tarnished" weren't in vain!
Put everything I couldn’t say into words
Wow… I expected your Channel to have way over atleast 200K subs. This was an amazing video. You have my sub. Reminded me of Jacob geller and I’m very happy I came across you as it’s unusual I enjoy videos in this style. Thanks !
Your sub is appreciated, and your kind words moreso! Jacob Geller is absolutely one of my points of inspiration, and unabashedly makes me happy to see you say so. I hope the rest of the channel vibes with you, too!
Amazing video!!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
ive been saying elden ring is my comfort game
You have a very good narrating voice for a channel with no subs. The rest was good too. But you've got the popular video essayist TH-camr type voice. That's good
I think it's funny you mentioned Tetris. It's the only game that makes me able to not think 😂❤
Counteroffer, if you'll allow it: Tetris makes you think SO much that it feels like you're not thinking! Complete flowstate. My only comparison is, based on a personal pain tolerance, being hurt so much that your body just kind of whites out the pain for a moment: you're still hurt, you just don't feel it for the moment!
Kinda like Eustress and Distress, not the same thing, but similar.
MAIDENS: FINGERED
ELDEN LORD: RENTING LAND
made a lot of systems using games to help, simulation things. this explains why it would and... how do it better ;D nice
I’m dying rn, every new player always got the fia debuff 😂
LOOK, I'll be real, never even realized it was a debuff, I was just happy to get a hug. 😂 Dark Souls left my soul brittle and jagged, and then Fia pops up in Elden Ring offering to hold me for a minute? Sure, take a fraction of my max HP, I NEED this.
You almost sound like Hal Emmerich.
Arise now ye tarnished, ye alive who will soon die a lot.
7:03 That's not a stake of Marika. That's a summoning statue, Called Effigies of the Martyr.
Stake of Marika is a whole another thing.
Dammit, you're right. For playing it on solo, I think I conflated the Effigies with the Stakes for their proximity with one another. Appreciate the heads-up and correction, but hope you'll understand if I don't reupload to correct that. 😂
Dude this is my life RN lololol
Coming home to lose yourself in the souls games really chills my mind. ❤
Ive literally wanted to record my gameplay and voice while i talk about my build or what im currently doing in the game, and post it on my channel.
Anyway, i'll give you a like and finish the video ^_^ currently on minute 3 lol
Build breakdowns are fascinating to me, partly because they are such a novel concept to my basic sword-and-shield avatars. I hope the other 50 minutes were enjoyable too!
those snakes stressed me out mang
SORRY. 😬 Time to uhhhhhhhhh go beat up the snakes in Elden Ring? 😶
gott it ill binge play elden ring sleeping just 2 hrs a night then go to work ill be turbo stress free chill dude
Anything less is Maidenless behavior and warrants public shaming.
🤓☝️6:13 SoulsBourne* 7:05 those are not Stakes of Marika those are effigies of the martyr and are used as summoning pools
My guy, you gotta cut me some slack on the first part. 😂 That's just semantics, save your Um Actually for the IMPORTANT part!
Also, somebody already corrected the important distinction between Stakes and Effigies, I have admitted to my mistake, I will not be reuploading a new video to correct this, and I am horrified that two editors came out of the woodwork so close to one another. 🥲
Notably you can pause in Sekiro, that game is hard for other reasons like finite health upgrades
Dang, you got me there. It's easily been a couple years since I tried my hand in Sekiro, and misremembered that pause mechanic based on the experiences with Elden Ring and Dark Souls. Thanks for pointing it out, though!