Why Games Make Us Feel Things

Deep dives into games that stay with us

Meet Laurie

Part researcher, part player. Laurie holds a PhD in Media Studies and explores why games affect us the way they do — bringing together academic research and an ongoing love of play.

Real research. Made readable.

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Latest Deep Dives

Where academic research meets firsthand player experience

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Dungeons of Hinterberg sends a burned-out lawyer trainee on vacation to an Alpine village with dungeons and monsters. It doesn't just tell you that Luisa is on vacation — it makes you feel like you are, too.

Cloudpunk

Nivalis is a dying cyberpunk city and everybody knows it. So why does flying through the rain and delivering packages become one of the most comforting things a game has ever made me feel?

Road 96

Road 96 never stops looking like a road trip. It simply stops feeling like one. Here's why that change mattered more than any plot twist or political message.

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Research in Progress

What’s currently in the works — the research behind the writing

Detroit: Become Human — Why Some Games Are Too Much

This one hit hard enough that I couldn't finish it. This project looks at emotional intensity in games — what it means when a game becomes genuinely difficult to keep playing, not because of mechanics, but because of how it makes us feel.

Guardians of the Galaxy vs. Mass Effect — Same Stakes, Different Feeling

Both games ask you to save the galaxy against equally grim odds. Only one left me anxious and on edge; the other left me grinning. Why do two games with similar stakes land so differently?

Mass Effect 2 vs. Andromeda — Why the "Worse" Game Might Be the Better One

I loved Mass Effect: Andromeda. Mass Effect 2 is widely considered the better game, yet I bounced off it at exactly the same point — twice. Being the better game and being the game I actually want to play turned out to be two different things.

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Working Thoughts

Laurie, PhD @laurieplays.bsky.social 3d ago

My Mass Effect deep dive is coming along nicely! I’ve had some great insights into why Mass Effect 2 was “too much” for me, yet I hugely enjoyed Andromeda — the game so often deemed the inferior one.

Turns out, there’s way more to it than I thought.

#MassEffect #GameStudies #AffectTheory

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Laurie, PhD @laurieplays.bsky.social 6d ago

I’ve found a concept that captures what I’ve been trying to put into words: affective stickiness.

Feelings, memories, and associations accumulate until they cling to a place, object, or experience.

I think that explains why some game worlds stay with us.

#GameStudies #AffectTheory #MassEffect

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Laurie, PhD @laurieplays.bsky.social October 4, 2026

The 9 Games That Shaped Who I Am

There are more than nine games I love.

They’re the ones that have a special place in my heart, that I played for far too many hours, or that stayed with me long after I finished them.

Nine little pieces of my gaming life.

#My9Games
my9games.net/en/share/d1d...

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Laurie, PhD @laurieplays.bsky.social October 2, 2026

Just checked the system requirements for Nivalis Nights.

Apparently, a slice-of-life in Nivalis requires a PC powerful enough to run the city’s entire infrastructure.

Cloudpunk ran beautifully. Nivalis, on the other hand, seems to have some optimization issues.

#NivalisNights #Cloudpunk #PCGaming

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Nivalis Nights @nivalisgame.com September 29, 2026

Grow your business, uncover strange stories, and write your own future in the city that never sleeps 🌃

Nivalis Nights is out now on Steam!

Your ambition is your greatest weapon. How far will you go?

🔗 505.games/NivalisNight...

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