Good Game: How Games Play Us ABC listen

What compels us to sit in a dark room, boot up a game about zombies and cults and killers, and scare ourselves silly? How do these games tap into our lizard brain to get the adrenalin pumping? We put a giant wimp (Angharad Yeo) and a glutton for fear (Susan Arendt) together to figure it out, and the results are frightening.

Sometimes a game will make us want to hurl our controller out a window, and at other times they let us unleash the inner monster to vanquish all our frustrations. In episode four, we explore the anger and rage we find in videogames — and ourselves!

From exploring the complexities of personal relationships to just getting it on with NPCs, it seems that videogames are capable of providing quite the thrill. But why do we crave intimate connections in videogames?

There's nothing like taking a walk out and about in nature — or is there? Exploring worlds in videogames might one day be our only option. But can games deliver the same sense of freedom and deliver us the positive benefits of time spent in the natural world?

Do videogames depict drug use accurately? And can some games give you a digital high? Host Rad has a frank chat with Triple J's Ben Harvey and Filmink's Anthony O'Connor about drugs in videogames.

Welcome to How Games Play Us, a podcast designed to make you think, make you laugh, and make you want to grab your controller and revisit some of your favourite games to see what they really tell you about yourself and the way you see the world.