Playing during a crisis: The impact of commercial video games on the reconfiguration of people’s life during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic led to dramatic changes in people's lives. The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community widely investigated technology use during crises. However, commercial video games received minor attention. In this article, we describe how video game play impacted the life transformations engendered by the pandemic. We administered a qualitative online survey to 330 video game players who were living in Italy during the lockdown measures. We found that the COVID-19 pandemic altered the participants' sense of time and space, reshaped both their intimate and wider social interactions, and elicited a wide spectrum of disturbing emotions. Players escaped from this unsatisfying reality into video game worlds, searching for a new normality that could compensate for the unpredictability and dangerousness of the pandemic life, as well as seeking uncertainty in the game environments to balance the flatness of the lockdown everydayness. In doing so, they "appropriated" the gaming technologies, which also led to several unexpected outcomes. Starting from these findings, we propose a model of escapism that points out four ways to escape from reality into video game worlds. Moreover, we outline some design implications that might inspire future strands of research in the field of crisis technologies.

Norwegian Adolescents in the Initial Stages of COVID-19 Restrictions

“…Notwithstanding, extensive time spent gaming could also replace or influence in-person interactions, which could in turn compromise existing relationships (Shen & Williams, 2011). Escaping to a virtual world may also provide youth with a fun and adventurous space that may relieve stress (Barr & Copeland-Stewart, 2022) and help keep potential worries concerning the pandemic away (Boldi et al, 2022). Indeed, results from studies conducted before the pandemic have suggested that gaming can reduce symptoms of psychopathology, including symptoms of anxiety (Hygen, Skalická, et al, 2020) and depression (Russoniello et al, 2013).…”

Much ado about nothing - a meta-analysis of time spent playing video games and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Many concerns were raised about whether players would increase their gaming time and, in turn, decrease their well-being and increase adverse outcomes such as depression or anxiety (Xu et al, 2021). In contrast, some argued that increased gaming during a pandemic might be an effective strategy to facilitate mental health in a restrictive physical environment, e.g., by providing high-quality entertainment, stress relief, and social interaction opportunities with other players (Boldi et al, 2022;Giardina et al, 2021).…”

Problematic Gaming during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, and Meta-Regression

“…Indeed, accumulated evidence has shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated or worsened psychological symptoms [3], including depression and anxiety [4], and stress [5]. In such a challenging period, online activities offered some relief, helping both adolescents and adults to stay in contact with loved ones and mitigate the emotional impact of isolation measures in several meaningful ways [6,7]. For example, Barr and Copeland-Stewart [8] documented a change in how and why people played games during the pandemic and the ways it affected well-being.…”