A similar occurence is in quake 4/3's strafejumping movement system, especially on the larger trickmaps where you can happily strafe along, immersed in the repetition of key depressions and mouse orientation required for fast movement.

ZhouYu

FunkyJ

FreedomFries

boopadoo

The ability to enter such a state varies greatly from person to person. I have a couple younger brothers, and two of them enter into controller stomping rages when soundly defeated. The only time I ever get upset at a game is when playing by myself, and I run into some utterly absurd level design or gameplay mechanic. Aside from that, I'm usually pretty mellow, unless it's a particularly intense or enjoyable game.

Insomnia Bob

Mrobinson587

Anemone

Though I guess the point of that game is to simulate the real acts involving dog care, and so any relaxing effects one might gain from the game one has to attribute to the original act of dog-owning. Vicarious relaxation?

Anyway I would tend to agree that calm is found not only in repetition. Or at least, not repetition on the most surface level of point and click once, point and click again. Playing through a level you know very well in a faster-paced game might give you the same relaxing benefits despite its fast pace. It's repetition, but not in a slow or deliberate manner.

svetlana

I disagree. I believe that flow in a game is heightened concentration, where the game absorbs you and you focus on nothing but the game - i.e. "in the zone," and develop what is gets called "court sense." This is marked by a higher, but constant, heart rate. The makers of flow have incorrectly labeled their games as "relaxing," but in a certain way they are.

Bogost also claims that the act of devouring other creatures is contradictory to the act of creating relaxation. While for people who are pacifists or believe that it is mans job to overcome nature and not harm a living creature, I can see how this would upset them. But for those of us who have no qualms about the natural order of the food chain, the act of progression in flow should cause no stress beyond that already induced via the gameplay system. Indeed, the very abstractness of the creatures being bacteria in water should be enough for players to distance themselves for moral concerns of killing/consumption. And one must also remember, as part of the games design, the flow is still at the mercy of the player. It is possible to go as deep as you want without consuming anything, but that actually increases the twitch nature of the game, since you must be more active to avoid the larger creatures in the deeper areas.

Relaxtion in games are games that cause you to relax, physically and mentally. Reduced heart rate, no sweaty palms, no reflex action, no sudden visual or aural disturbances. There have been very few to date. But at the same time, familiarity brings relaxation. I am sure that if you studied the average RPG player, that initial contact with enemies would cause a spike in tension, but when that same player is now leveling or item hunting repeated enemies, that as long as the player is enjoying themselves and not feeling repeatitive stress, their physical levels will be similar to those games Bogost mentions as being relaxing.

Of course, his goal is in seeking a Zen game, and I argue that any game, by virtue of being a game, cannot be Zen, since the player must change the state of the game. The concept of a Zen rock garden or raking leaves/sweeping does not change the nature of the thing, merely its location. But by playing a game the player has an impact on the game and after an hour of play the game is a different thing from what it once was. In Harvest Moon, a farm with 1 cow and a row of crop might have 5 cows and 10 rows of crops. The nature of the play is similar (ideally repeatively relaxing), but the player needs to play differently to maintain progress, and that difference in play disrupts the game from Zen status, I feel. Of course, my understanding of Zen might be a little of, it's been a while since I read Dogen.

Bellamy

JamieA

As for a relaxing gaming experience, I can only _truly_ relax with completely casual games like Minesweeper or Solitare. Haven't tried Harvest Moon, but it sounds like something I could definitely chill out to.

chaos242

Akvj1n

Sabre_Justice: Okay, no more long name.

MrLister

The world is so large and sparsely populated that it's wonderful just to ride your horse out to a cliff side, climb a tree, and check out the land about you.

crapsh00t

ShaggE

supercrap

zymase

In Street Fighter Alpha 3 there was a mode in which you could play against endless opponents just to see how far you could get. I played the hell out of that mode, and actually broke the counter, which I believe only went to 99. I never felt any stress while playing that mode like when I played against a human opponent. It was like a batting cage.

Almost the same mode was present in one of the Bushido Blade games, but I can't remember if it was the first, or second one. Basically you ran through a level trying to kill as many ninjas as you could before being taken out. It was very relaxing for me, and once again like a batting cage.

Gouki4u

aesquire

It is a game you play with half-open eyes, thinking "Ok, now lets do the chores. Isn't tomorrow a festival? Ooo, I can enter my chicken. Yaaaawn, gettin' sleepy. I'll do the festival tomorrow, I need to sleep."

Ghede

But my zen game for right now? Tiger Woods golf. Not this years version though...this years version makes you want to punch someone in the kidneys.

Islandkiwi

nya-chama

Nobuyuki

topaz420

Deadeyereborn

Deadeyereborn

Cloral

Word play will be the death of us all...

MagnusGman

Thrillhaus

beeporama (brian.j.parker)

Deadeyereborn

Zodduska

StarStabbedMoon

topaz420

onidavin

That said, it is nice to play games that relax you. Though I go into a gaming coma whenever I play anything, really. I'm crazy in that way.

Maldron