You can aid the happiness of your brain by taking on activities that generate key experiences and chemicals:
- Dopamine for motivation, learning and pleasure.
- Oxytocin for trust and building relationships.
- Serotonin for significance and importance.
- Endorphins for euphoria and elation.
Without dopamine, you can be subject to procrastination, low self-esteem, inability to focus and feelings of hopelessness. It's the chemical that can give you the determination to accomplish goals, desires and needs.
Along with getting outside for exercise, eating well and nurturing conversations, video games can also help. Games that generate dopamine are those where you can complete repeating tasks, like
Fortnite or
Rocket League, which have a lot of chances to win or excel. Other games, like
Animal Crossing or
Adopt Me, offer the feeling of a job well done. This is increased in games where you are doing this not only for yourself but for the group you are a part of, like playing in a team in
Sea of Thieves,
Apex Legends or
Sky Children of the Light, where new players also need help and kindness.
This list includes 67 games from the last 26 years, with 2,637 likes. They come from a range of different genres and play-styles and are all good games if you want to generate dopamine.