Intro to Video Games for ME Patients. With a focus on community, mental health, and accessibility.
Video Game Benefits
As someone living with severe ME, video games provide a unique way for me to interact with the world from the safety of my bed. Many pwME lose hobbies when they become sick and video games can provide many benefits as a new option with minimal physical requirements. Here are the main benefits I get out of playing games:
-Living vicariously / Escapism
-Brain training
-Processing grief / emotional release
-Distraction
The next slides will break down these benefits and give suggestions on how to best harness games as a tool towards these ends.
-----
Living Vicariously / Escapism
This is one of the main reasons people of all walks of life play games, to escape from life and immerse themselves in something new.
For pwME, this can be especially liberating. Your character can jump off buildings, run for miles, dance and swim, everything our bodies can not. When you meet people in the game you also get a chance to get to know someone without their first impression of you being your disability which can be freeing.
Some things to look for in games for this purpose are
-Lots of avatar customization so your character feels like you
-Open worlds to explore
-Multiplayer options for socialization
Game recommendation: Sky Children of the Light
-----
Brain training
It can be hard for us to keep our brains active with ME. Playing video games can help us keep our minds active even when our bodies can not be. Puzzle games, strategy games, and memory games all provide our minds with a mental workout to help them stay strong.
***Warning! Because games work out our brains they can trigger mental PEM very easily. Please be on the lookout and see the last slide for more tips***
Game recommendation: Blendoku
-----
Processing Grief / Emotional Release
Games are in fact art and just like any other artistic medium can be used to deeply explore thoughts and feelings of loss and anger. Whether it be through fighting literal monsters and demons to reclaim our agency, learning to fail again and again, and processing our characters' emotions alongside our own games have great potential for helping push forward personal growth. My game recommendation for this goal is actually titled Gris or grief, and I feel it's a beautiful representation of grief that helped me to process my own emotions following chronic illness.
Game recommendation: Gris
-----
Distraction
Finally, the truth of the matter is that life with ME is painful and monotonous. Simply being able to break up the time even with the simplest of games can be an essential coping mechanism. I find playing games to be much more effective than watching media in terms of the level of distraction because of the interactive component.
***Warning! Because of this higher level of distraction games can be dangerous as you may fail to notice signs of fatigue and headache. I strongly suggest always keeping a timer on hand.***
Game recommendation: Bunny Buns
-----
No shame in mobile games!
While a lot of gamers consider mobile games to not be "real games" I actually believe mobile to be the ideal platform for pwME. Mobile games tend to be easier to learn and lower stress. A phone is also much easier to use in bed. In addition to mobile, the Nintendo Switch is another smaller screen and lighter-weight alternative to computer-based games. The strengths of each are as follows.
Mobile
-Smaller screen with better brightness control
-Lightweight for use in bed
-More geared towards casual gamers
-Less monetary investment
Nintendo Switch
-More processing power
-Access to high fidelity titles
-Larger screen while still handheld
-Adaptable
-----
Calm Games
In addition to recommending mobile or switch as a platform, I also recommend calm games as they are less likely to trigger large amounts of stress which can cause symptoms to flare. All the previously recommended games have primarily calm and relaxed gameplay as do the following:
Mobile
-Avakin Life
-Art Puzzle
Nintendo Switch
-A Short Hike
-Abzu
-Animal Crossing New Horizon
----
Mental PEM; A Warning
Post Exertional Malaise is a key factor in considering any activity with ME and video games are no exception. If you a prone to mental PEM you should expect to suffer from it in response to gaming too long. Additionally, many people who have not suffered much mental PEM may find gaming much more taxing than other phone-based activities and should take this into account. The choice of game and length of time played are both strong factors in determining the effects of mental PEM.
----
Precautions & Tips
In order to prevent mental PEM, I recommend the following when adding any games to your activities
1.) Set a timer and gradually work up the number of minutes you play each day stopping if you get PEM.
2.) Be on the lookout for symptoms such as temperature fluctuations, headache, nausea, and dizziness if any occur stop immediately
3.) Only introduce 1 game at a time so you can tell if a new game is causing problems
4.) Consider wearing a heart rate monitor with an alarm set for 15bpm above your resting hr. If it goes off stop playing until your hr returns to your pre-game resting hr.
Bonus: Check out the Facebook group I admin "People with MECFS who play games. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis game community."
----
Video Games and MECFS make a pretty good match. Here's how you can get more out of games as a pwME whether you be an avid gamer or tech illiterate.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis patients tend to be very limited in the hobbies we can pursue well. Due to chronic fatigue and chronic pain, less physical hobbies can be an important outlet for mental health and building community. Games can help...
-Process emotions
-Escape into other worlds
-Keep our brains active
& Provide distraction
They also can create a way to connect with others through multiplayer or bonding over a shared experience.
In order to make games work well for us, it is important to remember that mental PEM or post-exertional malaise can be easily triggered by games and to pace accordingly. Some ways to help include
-Playing on smaller screens like mobile and Switch
-Wearing blue light blocking glasses or migraine glasses
-Limiting time played and using a timer to take breaks
-Only play 1 new game at a time to see how it affects you
-Use pacing tools like heart rate monitors to stop when you get tired
-Playing on easy mode or turning on autosteering
It is also useful to get community suggestions for the best games to play when living with ME or chronic fatigue syndrome as our limitations and goals of play are a bit unique.
That's where my new Facebook group
"People with MECFS who play games. Myalgic Encephalomyelitis game community."
Can also help. Meet other people interested in playing games with MECFS! No gatekeeping allowed we welcome players of all abilities and levels of dedication.
Or leave a comment with the games you think are more beneficial to pwME or just games you wish more people knew about!
