For most players, one of the main draws of gaming is the thrill and exhilaration that we experience during intense moments. Games are designed to get our adrenaline pumping, making us excited and more immersed in the game world. The rush we feel when completing a particularly difficult challenge is a compelling reason to keep playing. There is, however, another side of this coin. I have found that there are some games that actually help the player relax, allowing them to calmly explore and experience the game world at a leisurely pace. There are a lot of gamers out there that wouldn't appreciate that kind of experience, but I think these games serve a unique role in the industry, and they are becoming ore and more common.

I've been playing some games lately that I would call relaxing. NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits is a great WiiWare title that is really good for a calming play session. I've also recently been playing Braid, which is mentally taxing but doesn't raise one's blood pressure. These games both have a calming effect on the player which is created through the pace of the games and their visuals and sound. NyxQuest has very soft visuals with serene backgrounds and soothing music. The soundtrack is in fact quite good, and I find it relaxing just to listen to it. It's really a game that puts me in a zen-like state after just a few minutes of play. The developer Cing has been great with producing games like this with Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk on the DS. Both of these games are more like interactive stories, and while they are quite interesting they never raise my state of agitation like a shooter or fighting game might.



Of course, a lot of gamers want to feel that adrenaline rush, and that's great. Traditionally I've wanted that too, seeking out intense action that required lightning reflexes to successfully survive. It's what video games have historically been all about. There are a lot of gamers out there who don't want to relax when playing and may see these games as beneath them or even threatening to the hobby. It's no secret that the industry is changing right now and becoming more diverse in product and inclusive of different types of players. I have been one to see this as a positive thing, one that will lead to a more well rounded industry and acceptance of video games as mainstream entertainment. When people find that there are games that can help them relax, rather than challenging them to do something frustrating and failure-prone, they will be more interested in experiencing what gaming has to offer.

I'm starting to find though that a video game can evoke different thoughts and emotions, just like any other form of entertainment. Take music, for example. I have songs I like to listen to while driving or working out, usually with a fast tempo and high energy. I listen to other songs when I'm less active or before bed, ones that help me to relax more. Movies also evoke emotional responses, and our mood is the key to the experience. Sometimes we want to see something sad; sometimes we want to laugh. It's all part of the entertainment that we get from art, and games can do the exact same thing. There is room for games that are both exciting and relaxing, and the player's mood will help determine which kind they want to play at any given moment. This dichotomy will lead to interesting future developments in the world of gaming.

Games have become very cinematic, and their ability to evoke emotional responses is at an all time high. The technology we have now makes it easier to reach the player emotionally through more powerful visual and sound. Of course, they can always go further. This has me excited for future technology developments that speak directly to the issue of how stressed or relaxed we become while playing a video game. It's easy to scoff at Nintendo's Vitality Sensor because we haven't seen any real applications for it. It may seem weird at first, but I can envision devices like this being used to measure our level of agitation as we play. In some games the goal may be to relax more and keep your heart rate from being accelerated. The game could adapt to how we are responding. There was actually a version of Tetris for the N64 that used an idea like this but it was never released outside of Japan. So, while the technology isn't even really new, I can see it being refined to suit all genres of gaming, both relaxing and stimulating.



I can certainly see an expanding role for these more low key and relaxing games in the future. I'm just not always in the mood for a pulse-pounding shoot-em-up these days. Maybe I'm just getting old, but those of us like me still have money to contribute to the marketplace. It's nice to be able to kick back and not really feel the pressure of saving the world or winning the war, but rather just playing to play. When you boil it down, that's really what games are for and I think it can be equally as enjoyable. I'm sure I'll still need my adrenaline fix too, but a warm-up or cool-down game is never unwelcome.