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I played Borderlands and enjoyed it, but I had to stop playing after first act (when you leave first town to go to desert, I don't know whether it's really firs

by klausa 15y ago

I played Borderlands and enjoyed it, but I had to stop playing after first act (when you leave first town to go to desert, I don't know whether it's really first act) - because of my severe case of arachnophobia (and worm-and-bug-looking-thins-phobia) - I literally panicked and mashed escape key to pause game, had talk myself to calming down, shoot six bullets and then panic again when this bug suddenly changed direction or second one appeared. After half hour of that I was so mentally exhausted, I quit and never looked back. I wonder if I'm the only one with such problems.

Argorak 15y ago
Considering that there is a special mod for Skyrim patching out spiders, i guess: no. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/arachnophobes-rejoice-no-skyrim-spiders/ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/arachnophobes-rej... I also have two friends that have more or less severe problems with spiders, digital or not.
vibrunazo 15y ago
Interesting, I have a friend who also have arachnophobia, but he loves Borderlands. I'll ask him about that. Have you thought of maybe using the game as a therapeutic means for trying to alleviate the problem? I've heard of treatment where they try to get the patients used to their phobia, until it goes away. So I'd suppose the game would be a good opportunity to do that virtually. Would that even make sense?
- klausa 15y ago
  I actually tried that - maybe you remember Doom 3 - they had this little heads with spiderlegs - I had similar reactions to those, but I managed to overcome this (not completely, as I still paused when it jumped out of nowhere, but for most part I could just play along). It's weird, because it's different for pretty much every game, and I can't put my finger on what makes me impossible to finish the game, and what in appearance of monsters makes it bearable. I think it might be that in Doom, those were (more or less) human heads with spiderlegs, and I was able to convince my brain that it's ok, those are just deformed humans I'm fighting. What might made Borderlands worse, was that those worms and spiders came out of nowhere. Five minutes earlier, I was shooting bandits and wolves (skags, or whatever they were called), then I go to new location, and BANG!, completely different enemies. And they looked totally different than what I fought before, whereas Doom spiders felt like they belong in the same world.
- DanBC 15y ago
  There's something called "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy" which is a carefully controlled exposure to the thing that causes fear, with a lot of thinking and feeling. Your example (Let's call him Bob, scared of spiders, and Ann, a therapist). Ann would explain that Bob is in a safe space, and there are no spiders, and that she's not going to bring any out. Then she'd ask him to think about a spider. She'd ask him what his "hot thought" was; what his "emotion" was; and she'd ask how strongly he felt those. Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". Ann would then ask him why he thought that. Is it a reasonable thought? There's some discussion about the probability of being bitten, and so what if you are, and etc. She then asks Bob how he feels, and if it's as strong. Hopefully it's not as strong. This continues each week; next week she draws a scribble (not even a spider) on a piece of paper; then a spider; then a picture of a spider; then a dead spider; then a live spider but in a sealed box; then a live spider in a box with the lid off; eventually building up to Bob being able to touch a live spider. Note that all the time Bob is in control of how much exposure to spiders he gets, and it's all very gently progressing. CBT is a very effective treatment for phobias. Compare this to "FACE YOUR FEARS" - Charles hates elevators, but he decides to face his fears. He goes to the mall. His palms start to get sweaty, his breathing gets faster, his heart beats harder. He's having an adrenaline reaction. He walks up to the elevator. He's really stressed now. He pushes the button to call the elevator. He waits. His stress and fear levels are pretty high now. The elevator arrives, and he gets in. It's small, and he's really panicked. The door closes, and the elevator starts moving with that little jerky clunky move they make. It goes up one floor. Charles is on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and is very uncomfortable. The doors open, and charles leaves the elevator. As he leaves relief -endorphins- flood through him. He sits, head in his hands, so pleased to be out of the elevator. All Charles has achieved is to strengthen his fear of elevators - now they're more scary because he's had a really unpleasant experience in one, and he was rewarded when he "escaped" the situation. Your idea of a virtual computer driven way to introduce people to something they fear is excellent, but only if done carefully.
  - klausa 15y ago
    >Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". That's the weird (or is it common?) thing - I'm not afraid that they will hurt me or bite me - I realize that they are mostly harmless (at least where I live.). I just find them... repulsive. I don't know how to put it differently, I just think they're ugly and unpleasant.
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nhebb 15y ago
I feel the same way about falling (c.f. Half Life 2, crossing the bridge spans). I don't like heights in the real world, but for some reason it's magnified in virtual worlds. My virtual acrophobia is so extreme that if I zoom in on Google Maps too fast I get dizzy. If I zoom in over the ocean, I absolutely have to close my eyes for a few seconds to recover.
- mortenjorck 15y ago
  Interesting. My slight megalophobia sometimes gets aggravated in games, but never predictably. I still remember flying through the desert in GTA: San Andreas and having to veer away from approaching the giant radar telescope lest it cover too much of my field of view, or feeling on edge as the flying gryphon took me over the sparkling purple dome of Dalaran in World of Warcraft back when I played. Yet last year's Portal 2, full of massive domes, spheres, and doors, never came close to causing a problem.

by klausa 15y ago

Argorak 15y ago

Considering that there is a special mod for Skyrim patching out spiders, i guess: no. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/arachnophobes-rejoice-no-skyrim-spiders/ http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/11/14/arachnophobes-rej... I also have two friends that have more or less severe problems with spiders, digital or not.

vibrunazo 15y ago

Interesting, I have a friend who also have arachnophobia, but he loves Borderlands. I'll ask him about that. Have you thought of maybe using the game as a therapeutic means for trying to alleviate the problem? I've heard of treatment where they try to get the patients used to their phobia, until it goes away. So I'd suppose the game would be a good opportunity to do that virtually. Would that even make sense?

klausa 15y ago
I actually tried that - maybe you remember Doom 3 - they had this little heads with spiderlegs - I had similar reactions to those, but I managed to overcome this (not completely, as I still paused when it jumped out of nowhere, but for most part I could just play along). It's weird, because it's different for pretty much every game, and I can't put my finger on what makes me impossible to finish the game, and what in appearance of monsters makes it bearable. I think it might be that in Doom, those were (more or less) human heads with spiderlegs, and I was able to convince my brain that it's ok, those are just deformed humans I'm fighting. What might made Borderlands worse, was that those worms and spiders came out of nowhere. Five minutes earlier, I was shooting bandits and wolves (skags, or whatever they were called), then I go to new location, and BANG!, completely different enemies. And they looked totally different than what I fought before, whereas Doom spiders felt like they belong in the same world.
DanBC 15y ago
There's something called "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy" which is a carefully controlled exposure to the thing that causes fear, with a lot of thinking and feeling. Your example (Let's call him Bob, scared of spiders, and Ann, a therapist). Ann would explain that Bob is in a safe space, and there are no spiders, and that she's not going to bring any out. Then she'd ask him to think about a spider. She'd ask him what his "hot thought" was; what his "emotion" was; and she'd ask how strongly he felt those. Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". Ann would then ask him why he thought that. Is it a reasonable thought? There's some discussion about the probability of being bitten, and so what if you are, and etc. She then asks Bob how he feels, and if it's as strong. Hopefully it's not as strong. This continues each week; next week she draws a scribble (not even a spider) on a piece of paper; then a spider; then a picture of a spider; then a dead spider; then a live spider but in a sealed box; then a live spider in a box with the lid off; eventually building up to Bob being able to touch a live spider. Note that all the time Bob is in control of how much exposure to spiders he gets, and it's all very gently progressing. CBT is a very effective treatment for phobias. Compare this to "FACE YOUR FEARS" - Charles hates elevators, but he decides to face his fears. He goes to the mall. His palms start to get sweaty, his breathing gets faster, his heart beats harder. He's having an adrenaline reaction. He walks up to the elevator. He's really stressed now. He pushes the button to call the elevator. He waits. His stress and fear levels are pretty high now. The elevator arrives, and he gets in. It's small, and he's really panicked. The door closes, and the elevator starts moving with that little jerky clunky move they make. It goes up one floor. Charles is on the verge of a full blown panic attack, and is very uncomfortable. The doors open, and charles leaves the elevator. As he leaves relief -endorphins- flood through him. He sits, head in his hands, so pleased to be out of the elevator. All Charles has achieved is to strengthen his fear of elevators - now they're more scary because he's had a really unpleasant experience in one, and he was rewarded when he "escaped" the situation. Your idea of a virtual computer driven way to introduce people to something they fear is excellent, but only if done carefully.
- klausa 15y ago
  >Bob might say Fear, 50%; "I might get bitten". That's the weird (or is it common?) thing - I'm not afraid that they will hurt me or bite me - I realize that they are mostly harmless (at least where I live.). I just find them... repulsive. I don't know how to put it differently, I just think they're ugly and unpleasant.
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nhebb 15y ago

I feel the same way about falling (c.f. Half Life 2, crossing the bridge spans). I don't like heights in the real world, but for some reason it's magnified in virtual worlds. My virtual acrophobia is so extreme that if I zoom in on Google Maps too fast I get dizzy. If I zoom in over the ocean, I absolutely have to close my eyes for a few seconds to recover.

mortenjorck 15y ago
Interesting. My slight megalophobia sometimes gets aggravated in games, but never predictably. I still remember flying through the desert in GTA: San Andreas and having to veer away from approaching the giant radar telescope lest it cover too much of my field of view, or feeling on edge as the flying gryphon took me over the sparkling purple dome of Dalaran in World of Warcraft back when I played. Yet last year's Portal 2, full of massive domes, spheres, and doors, never came close to causing a problem.