CHAPTER 3: Digital Game Psychology: Roots, Dynamics, and Beyond

Unexplored endless worlds with fascinating landscapes and wildest varieties of creatures, inviting social structures and endless possibilities to be and become who one always wanted to be, completely independent from the boundaries of the real world.

Sounds unrealistic?

Well, it is not, not for gamers.

Sounds dangerous?

Well, it depends on how the multifaceted possibilities are used.

The introduction of the Internet gaming disorder (IGD) diagnosis in DSM-5 (research diagnosis) and ICD-11 (diagnosis) marks the first time that the mass phenomenon of gaming has been clinically addressed. Classification manuals differ in regards to the new construct IGD. Escapism and avoidance are constructs measured by standardized tests that play a central role in the diagnosis of IGD. Of course, these two important terms are not only found in the new diagnosis of IGD but also, for example, in the complete spectrum of anxiety disorders (Melodia, et al., 2020). Regarding mental health, professional gaming is not considered a “positive” activity by the general public and in the worst case it is used to explain extreme psychopathological behaviors of violent offenders in mass shootings. No school shooting goes without press coverage of the killer’s preferred ego-shooter, leaving out any (and in those cases crucial) explanations on causal relations. The topic of gaming leads to a broad spectrum of very emotional responses and it is still uncommon to openly discuss preferred games in the same way as preferred sports or books (Andrade & Ho, 2009).