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Anyone else with a fear of heights find it triggered by games?

Lightning Count

Lightning Count

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Jan 27, 2019
16,087
Fuck off
In real life, I have a fear of heights, I hate walking across high up bridges and I'll lock up near high ledges. Sometimes when I'm playing games with a lot of climbing, like the Uncharted games or the Assassin's Creed series I will climb a very tall structure only for my fear of heights to be triggered, thankfully it's nowhere near as debilitating when it happens in real life. But I find my palms getting sweaty and my heart rate increases, I feel more nervous and I play much more cautiously.

Most likely the only reason I cope with it in gaming is because I am to process the information and know that there is no real risk, in real life you would never get me up those high up places I'd refuse to do it.

Anyone else find this happening to them?
 
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Rassilon

Rassilon

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Oct 27, 2017
10,630
UK
I have a fear of heights and the only game that triggered it was Half Life 2.

You know, the bit with the bridge.
 
PucePikmin

PucePikmin

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Apr 26, 2018
3,912
No, not really. Actually, I kind of find it exciting to look over ledges and climb to high heights in games, when in real life going past the second rung on a ladder is a challenge.
 
Lobster Roll

Lobster Roll

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Sep 24, 2019
34,696
I have a fear of heights and ledges in real life, but haven't really played anything that evokes that fear - VR or not. When I'm in a game, I know it's just a game.
 

Deleted member 16908

Oct 27, 2017
9,377
Outside of VR, not really. The original Mirror's Edge is the only game I can recall bothering me in that way. The awful bone-crunching noise you hear after falling to your death certainly doesn't help.
 
AIan

AIan

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Oct 20, 2019
4,949
When I played Uncharted 4 I admit I did feel those chills from time to time but it's not nearly as elevated as experiencing heights in real life
 
Dylan

Dylan

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Oct 28, 2017
3,260
Not heights per se, but any game where I fall from an unrealistic height gives me a real physiological response.

Jumping off a high cliff in Destiny or a tall structure in PUBG, I often have to look away from the screen as the character is falling down. Weird.
 
LongLivePlay94

LongLivePlay94

Banned
Jul 25, 2020
749
I am deeply afraid of heights and some games really do trigger it. The worst one at the moment is my fiancee is watching these 'this will not end well' videos on YouTube when you see these daredevils hopping across the top edges of sky scrapers whilst filming themselves and the always slip....
 
Dyergram

Dyergram

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Nov 26, 2017
488
Climbing those stairs before the the ivory tower in demons souls did give me a bit of vertigo tbh.
 
Mochino

Mochino

One Winged Slayer
The Fallen
Oct 31, 2017
389
I have it really bad in real life, but luckily games don't trigger that feeling for me.

But I will say that the way
Naughty Dog portrayed Abby's fear of heights through the use of camera distortion
is the most accurate depiction of what I feel in a game, and helped me relate to the character a lot.
 
SevenOfRhyme

SevenOfRhyme

Member
Oct 27, 2017
308
Chicago
The only time it's really triggered is if I'm in some sort of void, like the special levels in Super Mario Sunshine.

First Person platforming too, I guess. Climbing to the top of the bridge in Dying Light made me a lil sick.
 
Jawbreaker

Jawbreaker

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Oct 25, 2017
8,429
New York City
The Last Guardian would be a nightmare for you, OP.

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oxymoron

oxymoron

Member
Oct 27, 2017
821
The only game that I can remember triggering vertigo in me is Xenoblade Chronicles. You can jump down from huge heights there and something about the way they do it feels real and weighty. The game does a really good job at creating a sense of scale.
 
Spring

Spring

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Oct 31, 2017
333
Not exactly fear of height but jumping off Avengers tower in Spiderman gave me bit of anxiety.
 
Hailinel

Hailinel

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Oct 27, 2017
35,527
Not normally for heights, but I hate, hate, HATE water levels where the visibility is poor and you can drown.
 
Mekanos

Mekanos

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Oct 17, 2018
44,519
I have a big fear of heights but it's never really triggered by games. Which is good because I play a lot of platformers.
 
dm101

dm101

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Nov 13, 2018
2,206
I'm deathly afraid of heights and yes, that scene in tlou2, the sky bridge it's called I think, definitely made me very uneasy.
 

Third Strike

Member
Nov 11, 2017
289
Robinson said:
Outside of VR, not really. The original Mirror's Edge is the only game I can recall bothering me in that way. The awful bone-crunching noise you hear after falling to your death certainly doesn't help.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
How terrifying is VR, in regards to heights? I hate heights in real life, but normal gaming has never bothered me.
 
Gelf

Gelf

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,387
Rassilon said:
I have a fear of heights and the only game that triggered it was Half Life 2.

You know, the bit with the bridge.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That bit is always my first thought when the topic of phobias in games come up.

Can't think of specific examples but in some games certain falls can make me feel off forcing me to look away from the screen, I'm not sure if that's heights, motion sickness related or both.

Not all games with high platforms trigger my fear of heights though, I've never been able to pinpoint why some do.
 
ciddative

ciddative

Member
Apr 5, 2018
4,636
AC1 (none of the sequels), Last Guardian and some Uncharted moments gave me really sweaty palms.

I freak out standing on a chair
 
DarkLegion

DarkLegion

Avenger
Oct 28, 2017
1,683
So far I think only Apex Legends makes my feet feel weak when I jump off from really high spots
 
Muitnorts

Muitnorts

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,158
I'm not great with heights but in games it's not an issue.
I just have the occasional jolt in my stomach when falling in a game but I'm cool with that.
 
Pineapple

Pineapple

One Winged Slayer
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Mar 26, 2019
508
USA
Happens to me all the time. I'm really good at blocking out everything around me and focusing on the game. When I play games I don't see it as me controlling the character/avatar but instead, I am said character so everything they go through is like I'm personally going through it myself.
 
Rubik8

Rubik8

Member
Dec 5, 2018
133
Afraid of heights IRL. I am not in regular games. In VR, forget about it, still terrifying.
 
Truner

Truner

Member
Oct 27, 2017
230
Hungary
We were promoting the Nintendo Switch and by extension, Breath of the Wild a couple of years ago and a friend came by. I asked her if she wanted to play the game and she absolutely refused, saying she was terrified of heights and she saw that BotW is basically That: The Game.

It never made sense to me. Is it because she gets too immersed? Is it just the sight of something far away, below feet that triggers this response? Would photos also trigger it or does it have to be in motion? I also have a fear of heights, but it only ever happens IRL. In games I generally just climb whatever I can and never feel discomfort at all.
 
Eeyore

Eeyore

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Dec 13, 2019
9,029
There's a part in TLOU2 that really gave me a bit of vertigo but I'm really afraid of heights so I'm not surprised.
 
Wein Cruz

Wein Cruz

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,772
Not usually but 3-2 in demon's souls remake got me real bad.

That long staircase with no sides and the red mind flayer tore me up.
 
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