Post-game depression is measurable and RPGs show the strongest effect.

A new study published in Current Psychology developed a four-factor scale to measure post-game depression and found role-playing games were associated with stronger post-game depression in data from 373 participants.

Researchers have published a quantitative study examining post-game depression, described as a sense of emptiness after completing a deeply immersive game. The paper appeared in the January issue of Current Psychology and was obtained by IGN. The work reports two studies with a combined 373 participants and presents a four-factor measure of the phenomenon. The authors relate higher post-game depression scores to greater depressive symptoms, rumination, disturbances in emotional processing, and lower well-being. What the study found: - The authors developed and reported that a four-factor version of the Post-Game Depression Scale (P-GDS) was internally consistent and valid. - The research combined two studies with 373 participants in total. - The four reported subscales are Game-related Ruminations, Challenging End of Experience, Necessity of Repeating the Game, and Media Anhedonia. - Higher intensity of post-game depression correlated with stronger depressive symptoms, increased tendency to ruminate, disturbances in emotional processing, and lower well-being. - Among genres sampled, role-playing games were associated with stronger post-game depression than other game types. - The paper notes prior 2023 work by Piotr Klimczyk that identified similar aspects of the phenomenon. Summary: The study introduces a validated four-factor scale intended to quantify post-game depression and reports links between stronger P-GD scores and measures of mood and emotional processing, with role-playing games showing the strongest association. Undetermined at this time.