Slow gaming: How video games are swapping nerve-racking battles for relaxing walks
Slow gaming: How video games are swapping nerve-racking battles for relaxing walks
Slow gaming: How video games are swapping nerve-racking battles for relaxing walks
By Enrique Alpañés
March 14, 2023
Summary
"The term originated as a derogatory way to make fun of those hipster games where you don't shoot, but it caught on," explains Jordi de Paco, a video game developer at the production company Deconstructeam.
These video games offer walks through the woods, a deserted village or somebody's parents' house; they turn the player into a digital wanderer and have also help popularized other types of games that, even without truly qualifying as walking simulators, opt for a slower rhythm.
"People who see video games as jumping and shooting will be difficult to entice," he says, "But those who like literature, movies and series are very likely to be able to connect with an interactive story, be it in the form of a walking simulator or a conversational adventure."
As journalist Jorge Morla argued recently, horror and action are two genres in which video games surpass all other forms of expression; the need for total immersion causes more tension in the player.
"What's more, with the current trends of mental health care, many of these games provide an escape that's more necessary than ever." Compared to the stress and adrenaline of playing a classic game in which the speed of your reflexes and the skill of your fingers determine if you live or die, slow gaming offers a much calmer, serene gratification.
A decade after the small producers proved that these types of games work, the big ones have decided to move in on slow gaming.
This includes adventure games in which contemplative walks are very important for the plot, such as Ghost of Tsushima, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Spider-Man.
Reference
Alpañés, E. (2023, March 14). Slow gaming: How video games are swapping nerve-racking battles for relaxing walks. EL PAÍS English. Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-03-14/slow-gaming-how-video-games-are-swapping-nerve-racking-battles-for-relaxing-walks.html