![]() ![]() For our purposes, stress will be conceived of as the perception of and response to threat, which can manifest in many ways and has both physiological and psychological components. 5) Stress is especially important to understand because it is an unpleasant psychological phenomenon that can be extremely damaging but also forms part of our adaptive infrastructure which allows us to apprehend and respond to threats to our wellbeing, which we evolved naturally, and has an important interaction with our physiological systems. 6 Here, a more appropriate definition to guide our study is the one Seyle finds in the “behavioral sciences, stress is regarded as the perception of threat, with resulting anxiety discomfort, emotional tension, and difficulty in adjustment.” ( Fink 2010, p. Eugene Yates has a physiological way of defining stress as “any stimulus that will provoke the release of ACTH and adrenal glucocorticoids,” but it is also important to consider the subjective, psychological experience of stress as a phenomenon brought on by events “which produce their effects purely because of their psychological significance,” as Richard Lazarus puts it. Hans Seyle provided one of the most well-known and generic definitions of stress as “the nonspecific response of the body to any demand” 5 which, for our purposes, is perhaps too generic since it could include everyday types of stress that have negligible negative effect on a mental health. ![]() Stress is therefore a complex, multi-faceted phenomenon, and not easy to define. But stress also plays an important, positive role as part of our adaptive responses, partially responsible for how we, both physically and emotionally, deal with threatening situations. Every human being experiences stress to some degree, and it can have a deeply negative impact on a person’s mental health. Human psychology and mental health are explored more often in video games than they used to be, but few (if any) have approached the topic of stress as directly or with as much sophistication and thought as Darkest Dungeon. Spec Ops: The Line 4 tells a story of extreme psychological trauma about a soldier who commits atrocities during war and suffers hallucinations, delusions, and post-traumatic stress as a result. The 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider 3 contains a much more mature and realistic portrayal of Lara Croft: still a tomb-raiding warrior, but one that suffers, processes emotion, deals with loss, pain, isolation, and generally has a much more complex, more human mental life than the original Lara. Silent Hill 2, 2 for instance, is as much about exploring the protagonists’ grief, guilt, and processing of trauma, as it is about exploring the mysterious titular town and encountering its monstrous inhabitants. Through playing as these characters, video game players can be exposed to a plethora of important issues of psychology, mental health and illness, and learn a great deal about the psychological difficulties of being human. Mental health has become an increasingly prevalent topic in video games, some of which directly take their protagonists’ psyches as a theme for investigation, constructing characters with complex internal torments whose actions and experiences have noticeable impact on their personalities, offering us a window into the complexities of the human mind. This paper discusses how game mechanics are used to model several possible human responses to stress in Red Hook Studios’ 2016 release Darkest Dungeon. All subjects Allied Health Cardiology & Cardiovascular Medicine Dentistry Emergency Medicine & Critical Care Endocrinology & Metabolism Environmental Science General Medicine Geriatrics Infectious Diseases Medico-legal Neurology Nursing Nutrition Obstetrics & Gynecology Oncology Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine Otolaryngology Palliative Medicine & Chronic Care Pediatrics Pharmacology & Toxicology Psychiatry & Psychology Public Health Pulmonary & Respiratory Medicine Radiology Research Methods & Evaluation Rheumatology Surgery Tropical Medicine Veterinary Medicine Cell Biology Clinical Biochemistry Environmental Science Life Sciences Neuroscience Pharmacology & Toxicology Biomedical Engineering Engineering & Computing Environmental Engineering Materials Science Anthropology & Archaeology Communication & Media Studies Criminology & Criminal Justice Cultural Studies Economics & Development Education Environmental Studies Ethnic Studies Family Studies Gender Studies Geography Gerontology & Aging Group Studies History Information Science Interpersonal Violence Language & Linguistics Law Management & Organization Studies Marketing & Hospitality Music Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution Philosophy Politics & International Relations Psychoanalysis Psychology & Counseling Public Administration Regional Studies Religion Research Methods & Evaluation Science & Society Studies Social Work & Social Policy Sociology Special Education Urban Studies & Planning BROWSE JOURNALS ![]()
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