Under the circumstances of the quarantine with the new rules of social relations, video games are a useful tool to be used for different purposes and environments. People are getting involved in offline and online role-playing games with companies like Wizards of the Coast providing the resources needed for those who want to play with their friends online or by themselves at home. The coronavirus pandemic is not only stimulating the development of remote work and online commerce services, but also the video game industry. This sector, which was actively developing even before the introduction of quarantine measures in various countries, is now growing even faster and is attracting more and more attention from large companies.
During the quarantine, people started playing more computer games themselves and watching more cybersports competitions, which are now partly replacing the cancelled competitions in traditional sports. Certainly, you can devote more time to self-development and to your loved ones, but you also need some kind of relaxation to avoid stress and unnecessary tension. Video games can help with this: they can distract and present a healthy dose of positive. If someone gets bored playing, and wants to create a game by himself, then it is worth considering that https://parimatch.tech/ can teach anyone with basic coding skills the innovative gaming solutions and other software building skills.
WHO prescribes video games for mental serenity and social connection
The World Health Organization (WHO), which has listed computer game addiction as an addiction in 2018, is now advising it as a suitable activity against social distancing during the quarantine. In late March 2020, the WHO launched the #PlayApartTogether (i.e., “Play Individually Together”) campaign with nearly two dozen game developers, including Activision Blizzard, Riot Games, Zynga, Twitch, and YouTube Gaming. The campaign urges people to stay at home during the pandemic, follow WHO recommendations on social distancing, hygiene measures, etc. and play computer games at home instead of going outside, which, among other things, can make up for the lack of real communication during the quarantine period.
Almost immediately the hashtag campaign in addition to receiving the applause of many influencers in the sector and small and big stars of the Net, including Kim Kardashian for example, had seen in the front line the main players in the sector, from Zynga to Twitch and Activision, passing through the gaming division of Amazon and YouTube. It was a matter of encouraging even the less passionate to, literally, play their part in containing the curve of contagion, staying at home but engaging their days, or at least part of them, in pleasant activities such as a gaming session. To do this, a large number of titles, sagas and access to game environments have been made available to gamers and simple fans free of charge.
Video games and coronavirus: an aid against loneliness and quarantine anxiety?
What is certain so far about video games and coronavirus is that they have helped many to alleviate loneliness and discomfort caused by social isolation. Randy Pitchford, co-founder of Gearbox Software had recently stated how video games are a necessity during the pandemic and how the firm is continuously working to produce quality content for its customers. After all, the community of passionate gamers has always been a rather cohesive one that escapes limits and geographical distances. Today, however, even for many teenagers playing Fortnite it is above all an opportunity to meet within a virtual environment:
- their schoolmates;
- their neighborhood group;
- their girlfriend and boyfriends!
It is not difficult to understand, therefore, how gaming has helped them to cultivate their relationships even during the time of lockdown. Children like to explore gaming websites like EIP Gaming to ensure they’re getting the most out of their gaming sessions. More generally, it has been shown that through gaming you can learn to wait your turn, to negotiate, to collaborate in order to achieve an objective and that, above all, role-playing games help in being able to envisage different scenarios and possible solutions.
Video games, in short, have not only kept company and have not only been a pastime for most, during these weeks of imposed social isolation, but they may have helped many to calm anxiety and stress from coronavirus, pushing them to imagine new solutions, new ways of living their relationships, useful to apply in the new post-pandemic normality.
