What if games could do more than entertain? What if they could help us grow, connect, and understand ourselves better?
When we look at games like The Division, Rocket League, Assassin’s Creed, or Mario Kart, it’s easy to focus on how different they are, from mechanics to tone to narrative. Yet they all share one fundamental trait: they’re designed for immediate engagement and low cognitive conflict.
These are experiences that are easy to process, emotionally and mentally, and that deliver quick pleasure through mastery, collaboration, or competition. This type of experience is what we call Hedonic UX. It centers on enjoyment, relaxation, and mood regulation — a temporary sense of fun and freedom.
Theories like Mood Management Theory (Zillmann, 1988) and Disposition Theory (Raney, 2003; Zillmann & Cantor, 1977) explain why players often prefer light-hearted entertainment that avoids negative emotions. It satisfies short-term needs for pleasure, control, and escape.
But this doesn’t explain why so many of us are drawn to games and stories that make us uncomfortable. Why we find joy in tragedy, horror, or emotional conflict. Why we cry in The Last of Us and yet call it one of our favorite experiences.
The Paradox of “Sad Fun”
Researchers have explored this paradox for decades. Newer work in positive media psychology suggests that we also seek out meaningful experiences that evoke mixed emotions: sadness, awe, hope, even moral conflict, … because they fulfill deeper psychological needs.
These experiences elicit what psychologists call elevation or appreciation: the feeling of being moved, inspired, or morally uplifted (Oliver & Bartsch, 2011; Oliver et al., 2018).
They often involve themes of virtue, self-understanding, and moral complexity - things that help us make sense of our emotions and our place in the world.
As sociologist Hartmut Rosa (2018) describes in his Theory of Resonance, meaningful experiences emerge from a “dual movement of affection and emotion”, something external touches us, and we respond by forming a connection. In that exchange, we feel alive.
Enter Eudaimonic UX
This brings us to the other end of the engagement spectrum: Eudaimonic UX.
Where hedonia is about feeling good, eudaimonia is about being good: aligning with purpose, authenticity, and self-realization (Waterman et al., 2010).
Eudaimonic experiences engage both cognitive and emotional systems. They challenge us, provoke thought, and connect us to others. According to Peter Vorderer’s Two-Level Model of Entertainment Motivation (2011), hedonic and eudaimonic gratifications are not opposites but complementary. We can have fun and meaning simultaneously.
Media scholars such as Oliver and Bartsch (2011) and Tamborini et al. (2010) show that eudaimonic experiences trigger reflection, moral reasoning, and empathy, supporting personal growth and even prosocial behavior.
Happiness derived from meaning, not just pleasure, tends to be more stable and long-lasting (Huta & Ryan, 2010; Fredrickson et al., 2015). These experiences linger; they stay with us long after the controller is put down.
Think of Papers, Please, Life is Strange, The Walking Dead, or Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. These games mix positive and negative affect, forcing us to reflect on our values, ethics, and identity. They’re not “fun” in a traditional sense, but they’re deeply fulfilling.
What resonates with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts, stories, or favorite examples of meaningful play.
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