Playing games about life and death and mourning in everyday life

Abstract

Death of a loved one is a major stressor in life that involves the emotional and cognitive turbulence, and it can dismantle one’s assumptive belief of the world. Despite games being a popular coping tool, whether and how games can help cope with grief is not much explored. This field study investigates how playing games about life and death can produce distinct in-game and post-game experiences that can aid those dealing with grief. Players with varying bereavement experiences played two games that questions players about life and death, Bear’s Restaurant and Spiritfarer, wrote diaries every day they played, and were interviewed. Through thematic analysis, this study investigates the different types of thoughts and emotions bereaved players experienced in two games, and how two games' different affordance shaped contrasting behaviors and experience. The study also presents the positive meanings of playing games about life and death players discovered in their lives, including realizing the value of continuing bonds with deceased, empathizing with others, reviewing or discovering the meaning of their loss, and feeling better prepared for the future losses. The study expands our knowledge of games' potential as a coping tool by showing how playing games can soothe emotional pain and provide a base for problem-based coping. Moreover, it adds game design insights on how different game designs can afford different types of empathy necessary for the eudaimonic experience of consolation to the bereaved.