Their are certain activities some would find torture others would enjoy. Pleasurable torture may sound like an oxymoron, and in truth, it really is. "Pleasurable torture" is not a term generally used for my purpose, but I could think of nothing better to call it. In this post, I will define pleasurable torture as a negative emotional response or negative experience that the audience enjoys.
This is a lot less complicated than it sounds. Allow me to explain; Many people enjoy watching scary movies, especially when they creep the bejesus out of them. That would be pleasurable torture. In the realm of video games this can work in several different ways. I will look at a few types of pleasurable torture that are commonly used in games.
As mentioned before there is the "Horror" type. This applies to games that intend to scare you, such as Amnesia and Slender. However, both of these games are incredibly popular. People like to be scared, because they enjoy the relief that follows. Then there is the "Impossible" type, in which something is so difficult to do, it becomes almost painful to attempt it. However, there is than a great rush of euphoria, when you finally do succeed (IF you succeed). Finally, there is the "Failure" type, where you play hard and fail anyway, but don't care because you had a lot of fun. This is closely related to the second type, but you once you succeed it is no longer the final type.
If there is a technical term for this, and I am using the wrong one, please tell me. I know the one I am currently using has some negative connotations, but it is the only way I could think to describe it.
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