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Escapism is part of human nature. We love to imagine ourselves in someone else’s shoes, living some other life besides our own. Even if it’s just for a little while, we yearn for the vivid character-driven portraits painted by ancient poems, classic novels, plays, movies, and most recently, video games. Otherwise, life is just so very ordinary, plain, and predictable.
With over one in seven people playing video games at least three times a week, we wanted to draw attention away from mobile games. Not that there’s anything wrong with playing them, it’s just important that gamers take some time to consider alternatives.
Fantasy video games to be exact. Specifically, fantasy massively multiplayer online games, or MMOs for short. They have a surprising number of benefits but carry few risks – besides getting hooked of course.
They’re cheaper than the competition
Free to download phone games can wind up costing players tens or even hundreds of dollars, depending on the level of addiction and correlation between coin and good game play. Leading FPS and sports games must be updated every year and run $50-70 each time.
Fantasy MMOs, on the other hand, are offered with relatively inexpensive subscription fees and player costs all together. For example, popular realms such as The Secret World require little money to get started. It’s a welcome break from the dollar-sucking mania associated with most game genres and franchises.
They improve hand-eye-mind coordination
Plenty has been said about the ways in which playing certain video games can improve your hand-eye coordination. Fantasy games which incorporate virtual combat with puzzle solving and strategy add an extra dimension to the mix: critical thinking. The ability to think fast on your feet and follow through with the right actions takes considerable concentration, and practice makes perfect. Therefore fantasy MMOs are an ideal choice for anyone looking to improve their mind along with their motor skills.
They help relieve stress
Stress can almost always be traced to the individual feeling a lack or complete loss of control regarding life events. While the exciting nature of fantasy MMOs dictates unpredictable, competitive game play, there is something reassuring about the power to create your own character and manage their life as you see fit. In light of the things we cannot control in reality, the ability to have significant control on the events within fantasy has a subconscious effect on our innate desire to succeed constantly.
They educate
Video games, like books, film, and television, are not created in a vacuum. They are and always will be the products of the real world in some form or another. In this sense fantasy video games are an alternative way to learn about the history and heritage of other cultures. If the game developers are Irish, for example, then there’s a good chance the plot involving a space colony exploited by an indifferent galactic empire is as much inspired by real events as it is the product of creative genius.
They inspire
Without new, unique, and ultimately challenging stimuli, humans are inevitably destined to become dull and homogeneous. Our thought patterns become so rooted in routine we forget how to think different let alone feel different. Video games – fantasy games in particular – are a bit like a healthy and safe way to trip. In this way they make our brains take otherwise rarely used neural paths and consequently think a little differently. This can have lasting effects on our personalities as well as our productivity and creativity.
Pretending to be someone or something we’re not is a hallmark of the human race. We’re a species of storytellers and fantasy dwellers. It’s with this in mind that those who enjoy playing mobile phone games, FPS, FIFA, or many of the other leading video game categories ought to play a fantasy MMO at some point. The benefits stand to make the player better at the game of life.
