Zander 1: Post-game Depression

Over the weekend, I completed a video game I had been playing the past week. Once I completed it, I felt kind of empty and sad about it. Looking back, I found that I often got this kind of feeling when I finished a good television show, a fun video game, or a good book. I wondered why this was, so I decided to go a bit deeper and see what I could find.


After a quick search online, I found a plethora of results. Not only was this a common feeling, but in regards to video games, it even had a name. At least online, this phenomenon has been dubbed “Post-game depression” in terms of video games, and “Book hangover” in terms of literature. After diving a little deeper, I discovered that the reason this occurs is due to a parasocial attachment the person forms to the character and world of the media. When immersed in a world, even a fictional one, you get to know and relate to the characters in the story. When the story ends, your connection to the characters does  as well.


While the emotions are obviously nowhere near as severe, the feeling of emptiness and sadness coming from this is similar to the emotions experienced after a person’s death. Due to the connection in a fictional world being less powerful than a connection in a real one, the feelings are significantly less intense, but they stem from the same place. The thought that you won’t be able to experience new things or continue to see this world or these characters leads to a similar feeling of loss.

So, this minor feeling of melancholy after completing a good game led me down a psychological rabbit hole that ended with me not only discovering the name and commonality of this feeling, but also it’s causes and why it exists. Now, I have a better understanding of these emotions that I would’ve never had if I didn’t decide to dive deep into the topic of post-game depression. So, have you ever felt this sense of emptiness after completing something, if so, for what?


https://www.thegamer.com/post-game-depression-coping-tactics/

https://www.wired.com/story/post-game-depression/

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