Why do people react to their character’s actions in video games physically, as if it was actually happening to them?

Question

Best example would be an adrenaline rush when just barely making a jump or avoiding enemy groups in a platforming game.

In: Other

Answer 1

Asking “why do video games create tension if it isn’t real?” begs the question “why do people play video games at all, if it isn’t real?”. Clearly something has to be real, for people to care about doing it.

I would argue that it’s because it *is* actually happening. The video game is really being played, by a real human being, with real motivations, real feelings, and a real fear of failure.