Ever had a “comfort food”? Something that you know will cheer you up when you’re feeling down? I have one. Ice cream. I LOVE ice cream. Actually, it really doesn’t matter what mood I’m in, I’ll eat it. So I suppose that sort of defeats the purpose of my intro. But!
I was thinking the other day and realized that I have such a thing as “comfort games”, which I tend to play more at certain points of my life than others. Let me give you a good example of what I mean:
Harvest Moon.
I love the Harvest Moon games and I’ve played them a lot through my life, but I can guarantee that I’ve played them most when I’m sick and stuck in bed. There’s something just relaxing enough about it, but still just addictive enough, that it can distract me from all but the worst sicknesses and keep me well occupied and entertained, without having to do too much heavy thinking.
Here’s another game that I frequently turn to when I’m sick:
SimCity DS.
Like Harvest Moon, SimCity DS manages to offer juuuusst enough complexity to keep myself distracted from the disturbingly large pile of tissues beside my bed without stressing me out due to having to worry about a limited number of lives or an excruciatingly high difficulty level. As such, it falls nicely into the category of being one of my comfort games.
So those are the games I lean toward when I’m sick. What about when I’m feeling particularly scared or uneasy about something? Well, for a long time, that was when the RPGs and adventure games come out. The classics, usually. There’s something about stepping into the shoes of a stereotypically heroic character that can chase away fears. I’ve told stories before of the way Ocarina of Time and Final Fantasies IV and VI all did wonders for me when I was having a tough time. It’s completely true, and I’m not afraid to admit it.
Lately if I’m not feeling too optimistic about things, I’ll multiplayer something with a friend. Nothing like going on some sort of genocidal rampage in game to cheer you up, right? (Come on, admit it. You’ve done the same thing.)
Oh, and long car rides where I’m not driving?
There is one thing and one thing alone for those:
You know it.
So what about you guys? I can’t be the only one out there with “comfort games” that I always go back to!
I have a ton of comfort games. Any and all of the Sims games (haven’t tried the newest Medieval release yet) always makes me feel better. Something about making little people and creating (or destroying) whole lives is just comforting no matter how I feel. Also mahjong for some reason is a great game I love to play just to take my mind off of whatever is bothering me because all I keep thinking is where is that other tile!
Sim games and any kind of sandbox/nationbuilding/micromanagement game seems to be the best comfort games for me – things that don’t require a *ton* of skill or absolute concentration, don’t require social interaction, and yet are engrossing enough to take my mind off whatever is bothering me.
And of course, when I’m just downright angry, going and staging a huge massacre in a dungeon in WoW always seems the thing to do. Or any game where I can Kill Lots Of Things With Extreme Prejudice.
The Harvest Moon games are good for that. I have a couple old RPGs that do that too. The original Sega CD Lunar gives me the warm fuzzies and the difficulty is so easy that I never have to worry about getting frustrated.
Rome: Total War
Nothing like sending a few thousand desert spearmen up against a platoon of gold-shield/sword elephants to satisfy a homicidal urge.
Just about any Bizzard game out there. I went through a phase where I was in a starcraft guild back when I was having a rough time…took up a lot of time and helped take my mind off of things.
When I’m sick I usually just watch TV; I can’t focus enough to play video games.