Feel nauseous when playing video games

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I'm not much of a gamer by any stretch, but I have Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, a few Thief games, Simpsons Hit & Run and Bioshock for my PC. I play because I enjoy the aesthetics and 'wandering' around exploring these places, but I enjoy the gameplay and quests and such, too.

however, I can't play for too long (half an hour, maybe) without starting to feel nauesous. Kind of travel sick. I don't feel like I'm going to throw up, but I do get a tense pain across my sinuses/forehead and my eyes feel tight and buggy.

Does anyone else get this? And does anyone have any possible solutions? The best I've found is to play for short bursts then take a break, which pretty much works, but it's a bit annoying at times.

I get sick just watching someone play, particularly first person shooters. I don't know any good remedies--just avoidance for myself.

Blimey - I don't think I could watch someone else play! I can barely watch others just surfing the internet.

There is a small percentage of the population who get motion sickness from playing video games. You can try playing farther away from the TV/monitor or adjusting the settings for swaying in first person games if they exist to see if that helps. Otherwise you'll just have to moderate yourself.

Sounds like motion sickness. I can't really offer much advice or relate much but motion sickness sucks. I've had it on a ferry and amusement park ride before

I'm wondering if it's just those particular games. Maybe getting a console with a smaller screen would help? I'm not quite sure.

Is it possible it's light sensitivity? I was like this for my entire life until discovering that I might be autistic - the same with a lot of TV shows, too. When I realised this might not be normal, I started wearing sunglasses and it improved it greatly.

Now, if I know I'm going to be focusing on a TV show, a piece of work or a game for any significant period of time, I put the sunglasses on and can manage for much longer than I used to.

Maaan that would kill me if I only had a half an hour to game o-o Even 2 hours for me is so little considering how deep I can go in.

This may be a Field of View (FOV) problem. When some games are ported from consoles to PC, they retain a narrow FOV (often 60 degrees), which can cause dizziness and discomfort when watched on a PC.

Conversely, some games (usually first person shooters) allow the player to create a very wide field of view (120 degrees), which may also cause dizziness in some..

Another aspect is the refresh rate. Some modern high-quality monitors have a 100hz refresh rate compared to the standard 60hz rate in older monitors. While this provides a more fluid graphic experience, it can *also* cause dizziness...

Needless to say, if you combine *both* a wide FOV and a high refresh rate, you get L33T FPS AWP Quickscope skills, but your head might also start to spin...

Anyway... Try checking if your game allows you to adjust FOV and refresh rate... It may help... Also try switching vertical sync (V-Sync) on or off to see if this improves your gaming experience...

Many people have reported that they experience motion sickness when they use Virtual reality but it subsides after repeated use.

If you are experiencing severe headaches and nausea, I would advise eye exercises and stretching your legs now and again.

Have you considered lowering your mouse sensitivity? If you are still experiencing the headaches after lowering your mouse sensitivity, it could be your monitor.

You could benefit from a flicker-free monitor, you could be experiencing a PWM induced headache. Asus and Benq offer eye care technology in a wide range of monitors, I have used a Benq VA Panel in the past and I found that it made a difference.

try turning off motion blur
it's what makes me sick

Maybe the bright TV screen and lots of movement and sudden changes in lighting or scenery. Yeah, pretty much this is why I'm not big into video games. Tabletop games are not so overstimulating.

Don't quote me on this, but maybe it has something to do with sensory issues?

I've read somewhere that nausea can sometimes be a thing.

Pretty much any FPS game makes me motion sick. Usually Minecraft too.

One of the stranger motion sickness triggers I've discovered recently: Contraption Maker (spiritual successor to The Incredible Machine). I played TIM in high school and don't recall motion sickness then, but computers were slower. I recently got Contraption Maker on Steam and I can't play it for more than about 15 minutes without getting motion sickness. Something about the way the stuff moves when the machine is in motion I guess.

I've also noticed that if I go to YouTube Shorts after about 5 minutes I start getting motion sickness. Something about the motion of the scrolling down and the different motion of the video, especially since both can be a bit jerky?

This only happens to me whenever I play Minecraft past 10 minutes.

And I don't know why -- I have never had any issues with any other games I've played so far, not even with other FPS games, with more dizzying cameras and more overstimulating graphics.


Although I have no issues watching others play Minecraft.

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Sometimes. It depends on the game.
Watching Warhammer 40,000: Darktide was my worst nightmare.
Plus, I have a phobia of vomiting so being nauseous makes me anxious and anxiety makes me even more nauseous.