Scour the mainstream media for images of ‘gamers’ and even today you’ll generally find 100 or so variants of Matthew Broderick in WarGames – unathletic, unkempt and occasionally bespectacled too for good measure. It’s a vastly outdated trope that belies the most visible figures in modern gaming. The infuriatingly gorgeous YouTubers who make a living shouting at FUT packs. The shredded influencers doing boxing matches to promote their upcoming trap song or energy drink. But somewhere in that broadly drawn stereotype of the gamer, there’s a grain of truth.
PC gaming is a lot of things: mentally and emotionally stimulating and nourishing, stress-relieving and effective in combating loneliness. What it is not, however, is physically active.
As someone who once raced for 24 straight hours in Gran Turismo as a young and eager staff writer for a magazine feature, I can tell you this with some authority: sitting down for extended periods isn’t immediately compatible with a healthy lifestyle.
In fact the problems are numerous. Sitting with your spine in an unsupported position for long stints can cause aches and tightness. Depriving yourself of natural light (let’s be honest, the curtains are pulled at the slightest suggestion of screen glare hitting our panels) can interrupt vitamin D production and our sleep regulatory systems. And on those occasions when our games make wholly unreasonable demands of our time in a single session – looking at you, Destiny 2 – we might find that our regular eating habits interrupted, and an insatiable desire to inhale something fried has set in.
This story is from the May 2023 edition of PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2023 edition of PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
JET SET RADIO
A vibrant Tokyo-like city with an anti-establishment attitude.
BLUE DAWN
INTEL graphics cards have become a genuine contender. How, and why?
WIRELESS GAMING MICE
I challenge you to spot the difference between these wireless rodents and their wired counterparts.
FOILED AGAIN
EN GARDE! is a brief yet riotous piece of swashbuckling nostalgia
PURE MAGIC
BALDUR'S GATE III is a dream RPG that was worth the 23-year wait
THE BEST MECH GAMES ON PC
From anime mecha to rusty 100-ton war machines, the best mech games for giant robot lovers
MECH MY DAY
MECHWARRIOR 5: CLANS is bringing a narrative focus and intricate, handcrafted missions back to the storied series.
HOMEWORLD 3
The space RTS aims to please with its War Games mode
LORDS OF THE FALLEN
World-hopping glow-up
WARHAMMER 40K: SPACE MARINE 2
Chaos is winning right now, I fear