Summary
Meditation is a practice that has flourished in Eastern cultures for centuries. Ir involves sitting still and just being aware of what is happening around oneself. This often includes feeling the breath flowing in and out of one’s body.
A form of entertainment that involves staring at a screen and requiring fast reflexes does not seem like the kind of environment for meditation. However, several titles have integrated meditation mechanics into their games. Sometimes it is a quick sit, and other times it is essential to the core gameplay. These titles may also encourage mindfulness practices in one’s daily life. Here are some titles that feature meditation in one form or another.
TheTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtleshave had many incarnationsin the world of video games, including the classic arcade hits of the late 80s and early 90s, as well as the less than fondly remembered recent entries.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Oozeis an Activision Blizzard title developed by WayForward and based on Nickelodeon’s 2012 cartoon. It is a Metroidvania-style game where the Turtles navigate the city of New York and gain new abilities to reach previously inaccessible areas.
True to the Ninja Turtles’s Japanese roots, meditation is incorporated into the game. They will find rooms where they can save their progress and reveal more of the map. They do this by sitting down in a meditation pose, giving themselves a brief moment of rest.
Grand Theft Auto 5doesn’t seem like a meditative game at first glance. It is a chaotic sandbox where wannabe criminals wreak havoc on the city, running over pedestrians and doing anything and everything that their hearts desire.
Even in the midst of such anarchy, though, moments of calm are to be had. The Yoga teacher of protagonist Michael’s wife, Amanda, invites him to join the two of them for a session. This mini-game requires him to engage in common Yoga poses, as well as encourages a little steadied breathing. It is one of themost maligned mini-gamesin the franchise’s history.
For many,The Witcher 3was their first adventure with Geralt of Rivia, a professional monster hunter, and Witcher, a person who has mutated their bodies to give them magic powers. InThe Witcher 3, he travels the land fighting monsters and seeking out Ciri, the girl whom he and his mentor Vesemir had trained as a child.
All that monster hunting can get tiring, so sometimes Geralt needs tosit down and meditate. Meditation can speed up the passage of time in-game, as well as recharge potions. He can also use meditation to regenerate health on lower difficulties.
The Nintendo Wii was Nintendo’s promise to revolutionize video games, with its motion-sensing controller shaped like a TV Remote. Nintendo made Wii owners even more active when it released the Wii Balance Board, which had players using it to get into shapewithWii FitandWii Fit Plus.
One of the activities inWii FitandWii Fit Plusrequires balance board users to NOT move. They would sit on the board as they looked at a single-lit candle in a dark, sparse room. Not sitting still will cause the candle to flicker and go out.
Anyone who is familiar with the gameJourneyshould feel right at home withAbzu. It takes the same minimalist approach to gameplay and storytelling but instead sets the experienceunder the ocean. A diver explores the waters while restoring life, as well as discovering the secrets of the abandoned civilization within its depths.
Along the way, the diver can discover several spots to sit and just take in the sights.Abzueven has a separate mode where one can go directly to these meditation spots. The camera will follow different ocean life, and subjects on view can be switched at will.
While Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse wasn’t exactly the biggest success out there, Meta’s Quest VR devices offer some interesting apps. One such app isTripp VR, an immersive meditation experience.
The game uses a combination of soothing music, colorful visuals, and simple motion-based gameplay. A calming voice walks mediators through the experience. The VR element elevatesTripp VR, making one feel immersed in a space outside physical boundaries. A few subscription options are available, and a free demo is available on the Meta Quest VR Store. It is one of the headset’smore calming experiences.
Playneis a game about doing nothing. Well, not literally. One finds themselves in a barren plain in which the flow of time has stopped. The only way to get time moving again and to return life to it is to meditate.
Gameplay is a series of guided meditation sessions. Variations include practicing a basic breathing exercise, repeating a mantra, or even writing on the keyboard, then having those words thrown into the fire. Along the way,a talking foxcompanion will provide encouragement, and fill in some of the backstory. The fox still cannot be pet, though.
