Mindless multiplayer eats up me-time

There’s many things I’d like to do with my spare time. Unfortunately when that time rolls around, all I want to do is to relax with something passively engaging, and multiplayer shooters are perfect for that. Helldivers 2, Team Fortress 2, Deep Rock Galactic, Mordhau. Whatever multiplayer game I find myself sticking to, they share the same qualities: Instant action: You launch the game, and you can find yourself in the thick of it within a minute. This is killer, it’s hard to avoid temptation when mindless fun is a single click away. Unpredictability: Despite repetitive elements, objectives, and gameplay, no two games/rounds of a multiplayer game feel the same due to how everyone plays differently. Agency: Unlike the mundanity of everyday life, the scaled down worlds of multiplayer games give us something we can make a tangible difference to. From dominating the other team’s players to carrying out a successful mission, simply playing releases those feel-good chemicals. Transience:…

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