A conversation between an academic who studies the science of fear and a father who openly watched 1989's The Blob in front of his children out of protest.
Something that I came across when revisiting Mr. Rogers as an adult is how he explored child psychology, how they're still developing a sense of what's real and what's make believe. He had the actress for the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz show up on an episode of the Neighborhood and showed her in normal clothes and in costume to show she's not so scary. Hayao Miyazaki also told a story about how small children would cower under their desks watching Totoro (of all things!) but be oddly fascinated and reassured by their parents. It's hard to be mindful of what children (and adults) can be afraid of
That's a funny thing here about agency, I can attest... Back when I was 3 or 4, my mom and I were playing Microsoft Explorapedia and she left me alone in the room to get something. Explorapedia was a typical 90's edutainment activity center kind of thing, but it specifically had this character Tad who was a frog in a space suit. Every screen of the game, Tad was ALWAYS looking at you somewhere. (Check it out on YouTube! He's always there!) I got kind of unnerved because I was alone in the room, and in that same exact moment I was looking at Tad - then it played an idle animation where he blinked back. I completely flipped out, developed an intense fear of him, had nightmares about Tad popping out of the screen, and even five years later when I thought I'd try to get over it by reinstalling the game... He was in the installation wizard when I didn't expect it! I screamed and my parents suggested throwing the CD out.
It's kind of hilarious now that Tad scared me of all things, but (ironically as an IT worker) I still have a pretty intense phobia of computers acting on their own. Unexpected issues - black screens from loading issues, abrupt or loud jarring errors, programs seeming to wrench control from me, etc. - unnerve the shit out of me. And likewise, games that play with this sense of the game itself screwing with your expectations of its inherent interaction - Eternal Darkness, Doki Doki Literature Club, the later bits of Undertale - are morbidly fascinating to me because they often do a very good job of invoking that kind of stuff in an environment where I can alt-f4 quickly.
Thankfully this is a pretty innocuous phobia that I don't mind sharing, but when something as innocuous as edutainment messed with me that much, it worries me a bit. How do I even protect my kid from that kind of thing happening?
Obviously I haven't read the research nor any conclusions, but "high skill players were reporting the highest levels of fear" makes some intuitive sense to me if you relate skill to engagement in the story, choices, or character action.
Huh, this is a super interesting read. I’m very curious how the FNAF movie will play out when it releases in theaters considering how many kids love it now.
Something that I came across when revisiting Mr. Rogers as an adult is how he explored child psychology, how they're still developing a sense of what's real and what's make believe. He had the actress for the Wicked Witch from Wizard of Oz show up on an episode of the Neighborhood and showed her in normal clothes and in costume to show she's not so scary. Hayao Miyazaki also told a story about how small children would cower under their desks watching Totoro (of all things!) but be oddly fascinated and reassured by their parents. It's hard to be mindful of what children (and adults) can be afraid of
That's a funny thing here about agency, I can attest... Back when I was 3 or 4, my mom and I were playing Microsoft Explorapedia and she left me alone in the room to get something. Explorapedia was a typical 90's edutainment activity center kind of thing, but it specifically had this character Tad who was a frog in a space suit. Every screen of the game, Tad was ALWAYS looking at you somewhere. (Check it out on YouTube! He's always there!) I got kind of unnerved because I was alone in the room, and in that same exact moment I was looking at Tad - then it played an idle animation where he blinked back. I completely flipped out, developed an intense fear of him, had nightmares about Tad popping out of the screen, and even five years later when I thought I'd try to get over it by reinstalling the game... He was in the installation wizard when I didn't expect it! I screamed and my parents suggested throwing the CD out.
It's kind of hilarious now that Tad scared me of all things, but (ironically as an IT worker) I still have a pretty intense phobia of computers acting on their own. Unexpected issues - black screens from loading issues, abrupt or loud jarring errors, programs seeming to wrench control from me, etc. - unnerve the shit out of me. And likewise, games that play with this sense of the game itself screwing with your expectations of its inherent interaction - Eternal Darkness, Doki Doki Literature Club, the later bits of Undertale - are morbidly fascinating to me because they often do a very good job of invoking that kind of stuff in an environment where I can alt-f4 quickly.
Thankfully this is a pretty innocuous phobia that I don't mind sharing, but when something as innocuous as edutainment messed with me that much, it worries me a bit. How do I even protect my kid from that kind of thing happening?
Obviously I haven't read the research nor any conclusions, but "high skill players were reporting the highest levels of fear" makes some intuitive sense to me if you relate skill to engagement in the story, choices, or character action.
Yep, that's precisely it. A higher skill level meant you were more immersed in the world itself, which tracks.
Huh, this is a super interesting read. I’m very curious how the FNAF movie will play out when it releases in theaters considering how many kids love it now.