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"As someone who has dedicated a great deal of time and energy to writing and thinking about gaming, my hope is that we're moving to a time of more nuanced discussion. Rather than a polarized debate between the generally young, who love games, and the generally old, who distrust them, perhaps we are approaching a time where we can hold two conflicting ideas in mind simultaneously. I believe that video games have this amazing, shimmering potential and that they are often wonderful miracles painted across our screens. But I also believe that this potential is often squandered, and that many games are troublesome or, at very least, tiresome."It's true enough that games makers can be easily swayed towards what the commercial market expects over creating experiences that genuinely sing with originality, but I agree that change is afoot. We've seen it in the indie sector for a fair few years now, and even triple-A developers and publishers are beginning to take relative risks—for example, I don't think that a company as massive as Square Enix would have supported a project of such quiet introspection as Life Is Strange prior to indies having moderate success with that style of game."In the book I look at some of the psychological things that video games provide us with," Parkin says. "For example, the tremendous sense of belonging, the triumphant and sports-like sense of dominance and mastery games can provide, and the sense of comfort and even, in some cases, space for healing that this form of escapism uniquely offers." The chapter "Hiding Place," which you can read an edited excerpt from below, examines the case of Chris Ferguson, who turned to Skyrim for comfort when his wife was in hospital. You can find out more about Death by Video Game, and order a copy, on the Serpent's Tail website."I believe that video games have this amazing, shimmering potential and that they are often wonderful miracles painted across our screens." –Simon Parkin
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Skyrim is the name of a vast region set in the northern part of the fictional land of Tamriel after which the 2011 game is named. It's a hardy, unforgiving place, home to the Nords, a people toughened by decades spent battling frost. Lines of coniferous trees, defiant, and snow-dusted, surround its ice lakes. Grey mountains rise and fall in the distance, clouds draped around their necks. The wind whips up angrily, lifting with it white, swirling powder.It is a world shared by beasts both mythical and real. Elk canter. Rabbits bound, then lift quivering noses to sniff for threats before returning to the whisper and scurry of their busy work. Clicking, overgrown crabs patrol the shoreline. Woolly mammoths tread heavily through the snow. At night you're just as likely to run into a cruel giant as a fox. Freeze the frame and you have a picture postcard: Iceland with the contrast turned up. Dig a little deeper and you find Iceland with a cave-troll infestation. There are friends to be made here, in the nooks and valleys, but generally Skyrim regards you as an unwanted visitor: the land and its people try to expel you.New on Noisey: We Created 'Guess Wu,' the World's First Rap Board Game
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In Skyrim you can choose to bring peace or turmoil to the land. The native Nord race wants to free their land from Imperial interference, to become independent. The Imperial Legion, the military of the Empire, seeks instead to reunite and pacify the province. To a certain degree, you are free to choose with whom to side.One of Ferguson's frustrations with video games at the time was his own tendency to race towards the goal, rather than take time to explore and enjoy the journey."Something that I've learned about myself is that, if a game's story is based on saving the world, I will concentrate all of my attention on that goal," he says. "Other characters in the game might implore me to carry out side-quests, helping them with this and that, but I usually never engage in that because… well, because the world needs saving and that seems more important."This time, however, was different. Ferguson spent his time roaming Skyrim's world, wandering and, as he puts it, exploring for exploration's sake. For Ferguson, this freedom to set his pace and manage his destiny was key to being able to escape the turmoil in his mind and in his home."If it had been a shooter or something, I'm not sure I would have fallen into it in the same way," he says. "It's not constantly intense. There's room to wander. It also gets the power fantasy thing right. You have power to change things while none of the missions you're given are particularly taxing."
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A few days later Sarah returned home."I remember when I took her back from the hospital I was scared that I'd never bring her back to life," says Ferguson. "She was empty and broken. I brought her tea and beans on toast and when she slept I played. Sometimes, when the loading screens went on too long, I'd start crying. She would call to me and I would pause the game and go and sit with her and tell her that the important thing was that she was well and safe and that she would get better."Sarah remained in bed for a week. She needed drugs every four hours, which Ferguson administered. He spent the rest of the time cooking, cleaning, or retreating into Skryim."I flitted between these few rooms, these two realities," he recalls.New on Munchies: Hygiene Goes out the Window When Brits Barbecue
Then one day, a few weeks after he started his journey in Skyrim, Ferguson was finished."When Sarah started to recover that's when I started to become emotional for the first time," he says. "I stopped playing. I had a realization that this just wasn't where I wanted to be any more."A few weeks later he was able to say goodbye to the time spent in the game in a more definitive way when a friend visited."He mentioned that he wanted to play Skyrim but couldn't afford a copy," he recalls. "So I gave him mine. It felt good to have something to give that someone wanted. But there was something else, I guess. A sense of closure."Follow Mike Diver, Simon Parkin, and Serpents Tail on Twitter.