Mental Wear and Tear: An Exploratory Study on Mental Fatigue in Video Games Using the Example of League of Legends

Playing video games has become a major factor of spending leisure time. As competitive and e-sports games grow in popularity and size, demands of complexity, time investment and cognitive strain to acquire proficiency and keep up with competitors grow with them. Fundamental psychological work stresses the detrimental impact of sinking extensive amounts of time into tasks onto mental health and capabilities to perform in those tasks. However, the effects of prolonged task execution without adequate rest in self-imposed leisure environments (e.g. video games) are largely under-investigated. We therefore seek to investigate these effects as well as their related consequences in the highly competitive scene of e-sports games. Prolonged task execution in tasks that are primarily of a cognitive nature is usually not associated with physical strain or physical fatigue. We therefore primarily investigate effects on cognitive capabilities, like the onset of mental fatigue, as well as mental well-being. Over the course of seven weeks, we monitored the playing routines of League of Legends players and tracked measures of mental fatigue before and after sessions. Together with qualitative remarks, explanations and attitudes towards playing, time investment and skill acquisition, we gathered player reports showing significantly deteriorated moods and dispositions to playing as well as high indications of mental fatigue based on significant occurrences of related symptoms. Additionally, we analyzed the matches played by the participants during the study period and found a gaussian-like distribution of performance relative to the number of successively played matches. We discuss associated problems and propose ideas for methods facilitating more time-efficient alternatives of video game skill acquisition.