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Weekend note: Can you play games when you're upset?

September 06, 2008 in Blog comments 20

Everyone experiences different moods at different times to one extent or another. Can our mood affect the gameplay and overall enjoyment of games? Can being happier make it more pleasant? Angry a more mass-scale blood bath or more saddened a worst off score/ not wanting to play a game?

Should we only play video games when in a certain way? Or perhaps to change our mood?

We hate to be a downer but want to know: do you feel like playing games if you're overly stressed?

I had an abnormally stressful day, one that I'll bounce back from tomorrow morning for sure. But I've got a new game sitting on the table, not to mention an expansive library of favorites, and I don't feel like playing much.
Dark Arcanine via gamepro.com »
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Most recently commented on by on Sep 8, 2008

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  • 0
    Prince Of Sayians Sep 7, 08
    I actually believe that when you're not taking everything seriously on the game, you are relaxed, and happy while playing a game, makes it a lot more enjoyable for me. When I'm upset, or pissed off, and I play a game, I get mad at everything and become very frustrated after a few minutes of playing. Happy, and relaxed=Good game, Upset, and depressed=Bad game
  • 1
    Shadow net583x s Sep 7, 08
    This is lies and blasphemy! That guy's happy, but he's holding a Gamecube controller.
    • 0
      iLLmatic Sep 7, 08
      That's funny as hell. I had no idea where you were going with that after the first sentence.
    • 0
      Big A2 Sep 7, 08
      But the other guy's angry and he's holding an NES controller. What's up with that?
      • 0
        Shadow net583x s Sep 7, 08
        He must have been playing ET. Need any other explanation? lol
        • 0
          Gogetenks Sep 7, 08
          This is a guy who's been playing ET.

          By the way, ET was on the Atari 2600, not the NES.
        • 0
          Zero and X Sep 7, 08
          Umm, yeah, how about thats youtube celebrity the Angry Video Game Nerd playing Top Gun for the NES. E.T was for Atari.
  • 0
    Final Blade Sep 7, 08
    I have no problems playing games in any mood. I find the game sometimes reliefs some issues when im not in a good state of mind. Though I haven't played anything in a couple of days.
  • 0
    Seeker X Sep 7, 08
    Try playing online while pissed off...your psychological balance goes out the window and you start *bleep*ing up all around.
    • 0
      Linkin Park Fan Sep 7, 08
      True that. After making a few mistakes you just get frustrated wit everything and you can't do anything right.
    • 0
      Final Blade Sep 7, 08
      Never happened to me, in fact when I pissed and playing the game online and offline Im actually alot better.
  • 0
    BlackLabel Sep 7, 08
    I play better when i am annoyed and angry, when i am happy i race hard in racing games but when i am angry i am far more aggressive and take more risks. Same for every game, i generally play better when i throw caution to the wind and in person i just don't care about anything. Overall i can play games in any mood but sometimes it is easier for me to play when i can take my frustrations out on the game.

    I usually play worse when i am relaxed Guitar Hero is the classic for that, as i relax due to it's fun nature i miss notes that i see just because my fingers slow down and i am just at peace. So sometimes i feel it is better to play games upset and angered as there is only possitive to come out of it, the game will essentially make you feel better but if you are like me the moddset may actually make you a better player if only for a fraction of time.
  • 0
    Guugley Sep 7, 08
    Haha, throughout most of the day (And pretty much every day) I'm like, mellow and "yeah whatever". Mood's never really affected how I play. However, how I play has affected my mood. xD
  • 0
    I am what I am Sep 7, 08
    I play better when I completely focus, doesn't matter whether I'm angry or not because I remind myself to focus. I play fifa better when I'm drunk though. It's weird.
  • 0
    Twisted Sep 7, 08
    Whenever I'm pissed off, I'll go play Grand Theft Auto. Makes me more calm.
  • 0
    tallteen86 Sep 7, 08
    When I am annoyed, I dunno, I usually am already playing a game and it is pissing me off. I usually don't get annoyed when I'm in the house, where my game systems are....

    I sometimes play better when calm (I get a good 'flow' going to my actions).....Sometimes I dn't play as wel, whatever....

    If a game seems to hate me (obviously it can't, but SEEMS to), I sometimes end up frustrated to the point of turning off the annoying bugger >_
  • 0
    RabidChinaGirl* Sep 7, 08
    Depends on the game. Driving games? I really need to be Zen for those. If I get pissed off, I just start crashing into everything.

    Fighting and action games are fine, though. I can hit the buttons and combo faster when the adrenaline is pumping. I haven't tried shooters in a bad mood yet.
  • 1
    Gamesta100* Sep 7, 08
    I have 2 states of anger when playing games.One is the classic "anger clouds the judgment" anger.The other is anger that makes me focus a hell of a lot better than usual.
  • 0
    reaver11 Sep 8, 08
    I have no problem playing in any of my moods, but my enjoyment of it is somewhat limited when I'm depressed unless I'm playing a depressing game.
  • 0
    metalhead4105 Sep 8, 08
    I've noticed that whenever I play Team Fortress 2 it always puts me in a good mood.

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