Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaICKlp9kQc

this is another curated video. Dr. GGamer here is someone who i realize genuinely suffered and wants to help people by giving away the relevant knowledge from the other side of the academical gates. former incel and gamer addict turnt public educator. i downloaded all of his videos and listen to them in a playlist when i feel like i'm stuck and wanna figure out what bothers me in life. then i pick out that video and make notes of the always well-articulated (albeit less sympathically so) key-takeaways of each situation.

here are my notes from the video for executive dysfunction specific to screen addicts/gamers. these are my key take-aways with some anecdotes from my point of view, if you have more take-aways- hey i'll always read & reply to your comments and posts in c/screen_addiction.

• blood flow to hippocampus lessens, divergent (open-ended) problems become near impossible to break down since that's not what we were doing while we gamed; convergent (close-ended) problems means everything spelled out in-game or we'd get frustrated and quit that game.

• blood flow to amygdala lessens, negative emotions are literally muted. un-muting (leaving the screen/game) un-mutes us emotionally only to hear an overwhelming queue of negative-emotions which we lost track of how to deal with orderly... a societally ignored or mocked feedbackloop of increased perceived need to game for the real benefit of actually muting negative emotions that do pile up: this ultimately acts like an XP-debuff and life goes on hardmode.

• serotonin aversion, no sense of accomplishment ever with lower serotonin. more screen & games -> less serotonin in every part of life. feels like hollowing out all meaning until a gnawing hole forms in the bottom of my stomach to right below my chest, in my own words for the daily experience.

• dopamine dependency, the dopamine-hits we're all struggling with. visual flares and audio queues that induce catharsis under the guise of being just for the mere kinaesthesic sensation of weight in a cyberspace.

if i were to consider a step-down treatment for myself (because addiction centres don't (yet)) it'd be in game genres.

for a "these are heavier drugs" category of obviously addictive game genres i've encountered or been stuck in for years:
MMO:s, MOBA:s, idle-games, infinite-clickers, gacha, pachinko, pinball, poker- or any videogame that involves random cards & dice rolls, rogue(lites)

for a "these are step-down drugs" category of game genres- based on addressing any or all of the four points mentioned in the post this is a comment to:
"search action" (japanese genre), survival horror, Fighting games, sim-racing games, adventure games (like interactive fiction and the point&click genre games), rhytm games

i haven't found anyone to talk to about this (yet). do reach out & talk by a comment on which genres you consider a step-up and a step-down from your point in screen-addiction, if you feel like talking videogames' impact on you. i'd love to read (let me know if you don't want replies.).

replies to this comment will be a super personal list of games in each mentioned genre that intentionally force me to walk through specifically the negative emotions & operationalize in order to play, the way i understand it. i may be wrong! do quote me with a grain of critical thinking sprinkled in =)

'Search Action' games i chose for myself
turning off HUD, no waymarkers. instead observing the gameworld, analyzing the dialogues, breaking down my route with pen & paper to the next goal i put up for myself, then executing now that i've got my bearings in this otherwise aimless cyberspace. after all that i just find myself indulging with the character idling in that virtual ambience. i hope that means i get serotonin. i enjoy the sense of being done meanwhile i'm playing these games and i can put them down when i feel bored.

2009 Demon's Souls (for PS3 only, personal opinion the remake is so needlessly gory that i get uncomfortable.)
https://youtu.be/5lx0CRVVvV8

2007 Assassin's Creed 1 (on PS3, PC)
https://youtu.be/6jPvLIwJLkE

2005 Castlevania64: Legacy of Darkness _(on N64, PC) _
https://youtu.be/UhUO-B-XmdY

1999 Shadow Man (on N64, PC)
https://youtu.be/Gk4AZZinTKQ

1999 Rayman 2: the Great Escape _(only the N64, PC, DC ports: rest are different games.) _
(no video essay on this one, sorry~)

1987 Castlevania 2: Simon's Quest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kipbl1QffOk

'Survival Horror' games i chose for myself (with some let'splays if you don't dare to play them yourself the first time around =)

great documentaries et al on most of these: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2lj7-gp86Bf2bjVg40tXuw

2023 Amnesia: the Bunker
2020 Amnesia: Rebirth
2013 Amnesia: a Machine for Pigs
2011 Amnesia: Justine
2010 Amnesia: Dark Descent (PC for all, i have yet to dare to play these)
https://youtu.be/EHZwFlsM-_o

2009 F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn
2009 F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
2007 F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate
2006 F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
2005 F.E.A.R. (PC for all, the PS3 & X360 ports are laggy, also i have yet to dare to play these)
https://youtu.be/aVa6wlgR9CM

2006 ObsCure 1 (on PS2)
(no video essay, sorry~)

2005 Haunting Ground (on PS2)
https://youtu.be/fDSWw0CcJl4

2004 Kuon (on PS2)
https://youtu.be/tGRQpgY3QPU

2003 Hungry Ghosts (on PS2)
https://youtu.be/EtSEidv6Yso

1999 Koudelka (on PS1)
https://youtu.be/tWS4V7DeamM
https://youtu.be/BVhveCsF2sg

1998 Hellnight/Dark Messiah (on PS1)
https://youtu.be/=HKFYzYxpe_o
https://youtu.be/mQ5P79HW79w

1996 Enemy Zero (on Saturn)
https://youtu.be/imdBM477z2g

Fighting games i chose for myself

"fighting games without gratuitous visual effects & time-stopping-moves are the least brainrot games i can think of. this is playing a Sysiphus task. each time the stone rolls down looking at your hands going »how am i feeling right now?« great for introspections, inducing and coping with panic attacks & feeling intimidated (so amygdala for sure gets activated playing fighting games?) when you start playing unattentively you push buttons without consideration and that's when any long-time fighting game player knows »hey i'm in need of a break or i'll ruin my behaviour« in the way i recall musicians doing. keyword: (encouraging) self-discipline. just make sure to Always enjoy the victory pose after a won match Atleast 20 seconds. that's gotta be serotonin right there."

2005 SoulCalibur 3 (on PS2, arcade)
"since i have a PS2 i play this, it's be best fighting game i've ever played regarding visuals gameplay audio design. it's just the best fighting game of all time, period, but i mean i don't want to play it that much. just like Tekken 5: DR it gets me overextending my playtime. i burn out while playing this game because i will, but for what? fighting someone else with PS2 who just happens to walk down the road the day i carry a CRT? still this is one game i successfully can turn to play when i wanna go offline while being onscreen. it's on the upper-shelf of my step-down drug cabinett."

2002 SoulCalibur 2 (on GC, Xbox, PS2, arcade)
"most accessible and neat way to get into fighting games. go play Link on a GC emulator. i can't move back to this after SC3."

2002 Bloody Roar 3: Extreme (on GC, Xbox)
"standing right beside SC3 as a peak fighting game of all time. i think it all comes together, but again and even moreso than as with SC3: i can't play it for long without feeling it's burning me out with the visual details & effects, the really fast pace and immense technical complexity."

1999 Bloody Roar 2 (on PS1, arcade)
"japanese version (JP) has calmer soundtrack and an endearing training-mode, in which turning off UI & background and adding a visual ghosting/afterburn is possible, i mean i encourage you to. that's the most enjoyable decompression i find when i am stuck being perfectionist: just let it all blend together until u no longer care about efficient combos and just wanna have fun lookin cool."

1999 Dead or Alive 2 (on DC, PS2, arcade)
"the series games are all awesome fighting games mechanically, but degenerate in an icky way. this one is the most accessible with emulation and idk. if i had to choose one, which i do wanna, since i didn't learn fighting games until the same quarter i picked up the DoA series after a decade of Tekken."

1998 SoulCalibur 1 (on DC, arcade)
"awesome game. this is another one of the most accessible with emulation and it's a peak »everyone can join and enjoy playing« game."

1996 Virtua Fighter 3 (on DC, arcade)
"whole series of games are as good for introspection."

'Sim-Racing Games' i chose for myself
...

'Adventure Games' i chose for myself
"these games are a litmus test. can i even bear playing these? am i too quickly loosing focus to even sit with these? at the lowest shelf of my step-down drug cabinett."
2012 Counterfeit Monkey
Depression Quest
Quest for Glory

'Rhytm Games' i chose for myself

Guitar Hero-series (on PS2)