Accessibility for Arachnophobes?

[Rinhara.6450]

So I have a friend who is considering getting into the game, and who I'd love to be able to play with.  But spiders are a pretty massive phobia of hers, including the visuals/movement in a virtual setting. Does anyone know of a way to make spiders appear as something else, at least on a personal basis? Is there a toggle or any other way I she might be able to play the game? A visual overlay?

[Danikat.8537]

There is no way to make the spiders look different, but if your friend is a fantasy fan at all this won't be a new or unique problem for her because giant spiders are very common fantasy creatures and very few games offer a way to change them. Unless she's told you she will need a way to hide or change them to be able to play it may not be a problem, or rather it will be a problem she's used to and already resigned to dealing with.

I'm arachnophobic too and here's some of the things I do to deal with it:

• Keep the camera zoomed out and overhead so they don't get too close.
• Use ranged attacked so my character doesn't need to be close to them.
• If using ground-targeted attacks put them next to the spiders so my cursor doesn't have to touch them.
• Focus on the skill bar and, if necessary, their health bar, trying to avoid looking at the spiders themselves.
• Take some time after fighting them to check around my desk and chair to reassure myself there are no real spiders nearby (yes that's completely irrational, that's the difference between a phobia and a legitimate fear).
• On days I really can't deal with it avoid areas of the game with spiders and go do something else instead.

There's one story step in Season 4 (Legacy) which is horrible - lots of spiders including an absolutely gigantic one that picks up and carries your character. I dealt with that pretty much by not looking at anything except my skill bar. Someone else I know literally taped a piece of paper over the middle of the screen so they wouldn't see the majority of the spider.
 

[Ghastly.3914]

O_o I never understood aracnophobia....what happens to the person? Like do the they freeze up? I know google exists, but having it explained and archived here leads to more awareness.

[Farohna.6247]

Have a friend who is a massive arachnophobe.   He pointed out that every game seems to have them, and I felt genuinely bad when I took him in a different game to fight a huge spider and didn't realize this until later on when we were discussing it.  I asked how did you fight then?  With my eyes closed!  Poor guy lol.  

Personally I like spiders, but I think Danikat had some great suggestions.  Or just warn them to close their eyes 😔

[ugrakarma.9416]

With all game visual pollution, missing spiders is easy.

[Danikat.8537]

23 minutes ago, Ghastly.3914 said:

O_o I never understood aracnophobia....what happens to the person? Like do the they freeze up? I know google exists, but having it explained and archived here leads to more awareness.

It might be different for each person, but for me...kind of, but it's usually only that bad with real spiders. I don't literally freeze as in stop moving completely, but it's difficult to make myself move towards it, even if it's the only way to get away or get rid of it, and difficult to even think rationally about what to do because my inner voice is just screaming panic.

Images or virtual spiders aren't quite as bad because I know they can't actually touch me, but I do have this completely irrational thing where seeing images of them, or even thinking about them (like writing this post) makes me worry there could be one around me. As I'm writing this I'm getting an increasingly strong urge to check the underside of the desk, just in case. (Incidentally I think arachnophobes might be more likely to have coping mechanisms besides simply avoiding their phobia for that reason - spiders can be almost anywhere, you can't just make sure you're never in a situation where you might have to deal with one like you can with some other phobias.)

The other side of it is that I just don't like seeing them. Everything about them creeps me out and seems disgusting to me. People say "oh it's the eyes" or it's because they've got so many legs or it's the body proportions or - the weirdest one I've heard - it's because their 'knees' are above their heads and it's all those things and everything else, literally every part of them is gross to me. Even things I'm fine with on other animals; octopi also have eight legs - or arms officially - and I'm fine with them, millipedes have many more and they don't bother me, but spiders do. I can't stand looking at any part of them or even styalised representations. (Although that definitely varies between people, my husband is also arachnophobic but Spider Man is one of his favourite superheroes, and he says the costume and logo don't bother him at all.)

Edited September 17, 2023 by Danikat.8537

[ugrakarma.9416]

23 minutes ago, Ghastly.3914 said:

O_o I never understood aracnophobia....what happens to the person? Like do the they freeze up? I know google exists, but having it explained and archived here leads to more awareness.

theres different levels, i only disgust real spiders, no way i can be affected by a video game lol....

weirdly is the opossite with fear of high altitudes, i have a bit of fear when free falling on the game.

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by ugrakarma.9416

[Blood Red Arachnid.2493]

As much as I like that people flee in terror from me, I'm going to be "that spider," and say that your friend should just muscle through her fear to overcome it.  Hanging on to irrational fears is not a good thing to do, and it is limiting your friend in a multitude of ways that it shouldn't.  

[MalekithDG.6124]

Tell her that it is OK. No spider will last any amount of time against +48k dps community for her to visually experience it.

[Batel.9206]

29 minutes ago, Blood Red Arachnid.2493 said:

As much as I like that people flee in terror from me, I'm going to be "that spider," and say that your friend should just muscle through her fear to overcome it.  Hanging on to irrational fears is not a good thing to do, and it is limiting your friend in a multitude of ways that it shouldn't.  

As someone with severe arachnophobia myself - you are absolutely correct.

I'm terrified of spiders in real life. This is...a problem, considering there are many, many varieties of spiders where I live, and a good amount of them are poisonous (like black widows). But in this game? This game is a bit of a way for me to safely get back at them. Oh, there's a spider on-screen - I can set it on fire, land on its head with a gigantic bunny-kangaroo, blow it up with a bomb, shoot it with a shotgun, freeze it and shatter the frozen shards, or drop a meteor on it. TAKE THAT, SPIDER!

Besides...they're pixels. They aren't real. They aren't even realistic - they don't look, behave, or move like real spiders do (even that giant one in LWS4). I can deal with that.

[HawkMeister.4758]

4 hours ago, Rinhara.6450 said:

So I have a friend who is considering getting into the game, and who I'd love to be able to play with.  But spiders are a pretty massive phobia of hers, i

 

Quite frankly then she should start playing all the more.

Systematic Desensitization is a common treatment for this and unironically, an MMO comes actually close to achieving it.

IMHO it's even better because you can deal with the initial shock much better in the virtual environment than in real training with live utterly disgusting bugs.

4 hours ago, Ghastly.3914 said:

O_o I never understood aracnophobia....what happens to the person? Like do the they freeze up? I know google exists, but having it explained and archived here leads to more awareness.

Depending on the phobia level, there's diverse reactions.

Mine just triggers an instant disgust and murder reaction, when they are too close.

I have no problem with virtual ones anymore, as one might guess.

Other people, especially females literally do freeze up in utter disgust even fear.

Edited September 18, 2023 by HawkMeister.4758

[Ghastly.3914]

3 hours ago, Danikat.8537 said:

It might be different for each person, but for me...kind of, but it's usually only that bad with real spiders. I don't literally freeze as in stop moving completely, but it's difficult to make myself move towards it, even if it's the only way to get away or get rid of it, and difficult to even think rationally about what to do because my inner voice is just screaming panic.

Images or virtual spiders aren't quite as bad because I know they can't actually touch me, but I do have this completely irrational thing where seeing images of them, or even thinking about them (like writing this post) makes me worry there could be one around me. As I'm writing this I'm getting an increasingly strong urge to check the underside of the desk, just in case. (Incidentally I think arachnophobes might be more likely to have coping mechanisms besides simply avoiding their phobia for that reason - spiders can be almost anywhere, you can't just make sure you're never in a situation where you might have to deal with one like you can with some other phobias.)

The other side of it is that I just don't like seeing them. Everything about them creeps me out and seems disgusting to me. People say "oh it's the eyes" or it's because they've got so many legs or it's the body proportions or - the weirdest one I've heard - it's because their 'knees' are above their heads and it's all those things and everything else, literally every part of them is gross to me. Even things I'm fine with on other animals; octopi also have eight legs - or arms officially - and I'm fine with them, millipedes have many more and they don't bother me, but spiders do. I can't stand looking at any part of them or even styalised representations. (Although that definitely varies between people, my husband is also arachnophobic but Spider Man is one of his favourite superheroes, and he says the costume and logo don't bother him at all.)

  Thank you! I guess it's like how I have fear of heights in real life AND in games, I don't know how I get through Dark souls games.....

3 hours ago, ugrakarma.9416 said:

theres different levels, i only disgust real spiders, no way i can be affected by a video game lol....

weirdly is the opossite with fear of high altitudes, i have a bit of fear when free falling on the game.

 

Yeah I have an extreme fear of heights, when I play dark souls I always get the worst heavy heart feeling ever. 

[HawkMeister.4758]

4 minutes ago, Ghastly.3914 said:

Yeah I have an extreme fear of heights, when I play dark souls I always get the worst heavy heart feeling ever. 

Was actually same here in the jumping puzzles, before the introduction of gliding.

Still hate them. 😏

[Teknomancer.4895]

2 hours ago, Batel.9206 said:

As someone with severe arachnophobia myself - you are absolutely correct.

I'm terrified of spiders in real life. This is...a problem, considering there are many, many varieties of spiders where I live, and a good amount of them are poisonous (like black widows). But in this game? This game is a bit of a way for me to safely get back at them. Oh, there's a spider on-screen - I can set it on fire, land on its head with a gigantic bunny-kangaroo, blow it up with a bomb, shoot it with a shotgun, freeze it and shatter the frozen shards, or drop a meteor on it. TAKE THAT, SPIDER!

Besides...they're pixels. They aren't real. They aren't even realistic - they don't look, behave, or move like real spiders do (even that giant one in LWS4). I can deal with that.

Exactly. If it's big and onscreen, it's not hiding anywhere waiting to do something to you. It's right there in plain sight, carrying your loot bags. Are you going to stand for that? 😄

[BlueJin.4127]

The mind is like the body in a lot of ways. If a person has a scrape and it hurts to move, they can probably just ignore the pain and resume normal activities (assuming there are no infections or such). If a person has a broken bone, however, they absolutely should not be moving around and get treatments from a medical professional. Similarly, if it's just some minor phobia, a person can probably safely deal with it without seeing a professional (you can read some specific tips online). If it's something serious, though, they should NOT try to force their way through their phobia on their own as it can lead to more problems. In severe cases, it's best to seek out mental health professionals.

Unlike what some people think, dealing with phobias isn't always as simple as just exposing oneself to their phobias until they become used to it. In fact, depending on the case, just forcefully exposing somebody to their phobias can have the opposite effect, or in rare cases, be dangerous. There are things to consider such as the cause of the phobia (traumatic events, for example), the severity, the person's age, and the person's existing medical conditions. It may require personalized methods from experts, or they may tell the person to just avoid it if there are risks. If it’s serious, don't listen to "treatments" from random people with no expertise (especially idiots who think they know better than the experts). Even if somebody else dealt with the same phobia, it doesn’t automatically make them an expert. For severe cases, it’s best to seek professionals since different people require different methods.

Edited September 18, 2023 by BlueJin.4127

[HawkMeister.4758]

2 minutes ago, BlueJin.4127 said:

I highly recommend seeking out a mental health professional.

Here's a little life lesson for you,

Quote

professional

they are not.

The only one who can cure your phobias is yourself.

Because YOU are the only expert of yourself that counts.

[QueenKeriti.5176]

4 hours ago, Danikat.8537 said:

I do have this completely irrational thing where seeing images of them, or even thinking about them (like writing this post) makes me worry there could be one around me. As I'm writing this I'm getting an increasingly strong urge to check the underside of the desk, just in case.
 

That's me and wasps/hornets. I can't look at pics/vids of them (or really even think about them) without wanting to throw up and then having nightmares about them (just did last night; 0/10 do not recommend). My bf is totally chill with them (I watched him smash a yellow jacket with his bare hand, wtf, my hero 😂), but he does not like spiders IRL. I take care of those. 😂

I can generally handle the flying stinging aholes of seething hatred in games because they're so ridiculous looking (like, the Queen Bee in Terraria, I'm totally chill with), but any game with a realistic looking wasp/hornet is going to have me borderline feeling sick.

Just now, BlueJin.4127 said:

If your friend has a really strong fear of spiders and it really gets in the way, I highly recommend seeking out a mental health professional. Unlike what some people think, dealing with phobias isn't as simple as just exposing oneself to their fears until they become used to it. In fact, depending on the case, just exposing somebody to their fears can have the opposite effect, or even worse, be dangerous.

Yup, that's me. Done all the exposure in the world, and now it's infinitely worse. 🫠Going to the renaissance festival here is an exercise in torture because there are so many yellow jackets.

[Caitmonster.9036]

I was afraid of / loathed all spiders until Lucas the Spider became a thing. Then I watched PetTubers who keep Jumping Spiders as pets and saw how cool they are as an animal. Then I went down the rabbit hole a little more and discovered Peacock jumping spiders and their funny little dances. I still hate the rest of 'em but if I see a jumping spider I'll hand catch that little dude and release it outside because they're so good for eating nuisance pests (including other spiders) and I know they literally cannot hurt me.

Point is, sometimes exposing yourself in a way that you can tolerate can help ease a bit of that phobia. The spiders in GW2 have never really bothered me because I at least know they're fake and some of them are pretty obviously fake.

...Though the Risen ones that yank me across the map for no reason can absolutely burn.

[Zebulous.2934]

Is Op's friend aware of Lucas the spider on youtube?  He is fairly cute.  It may not help, but they may have an interesting experience watching a 2 minute episode.

[stormemperor.3745]

13 hours ago, Rinhara.6450 said:

So I have a friend who is considering getting into the game, and who I'd love to be able to play with.  But spiders are a pretty massive phobia of hers, including the visuals/movement in a virtual setting. Does anyone know of a way to make spiders appear as something else, at least on a personal basis? Is there a toggle or any other way I she might be able to play the game? A visual overlay?

Sadly no, also if you friend ever wants to play wvw and likes it she might see people turn into spiders. In fact you can see them in open world as well but wvw more common due to festival gobbler.

[Mattahood.9423]

I would say this is where guilds and friends come in very handy.  We have a guildie who is very afraid of spiders.  So, in story steps and places where you are likely to encounter spiders such as deepstone, we party with him and he looks away from the screen while we fight them for him and then let him know when it is safe to look back.  So i would say, "be her accessibility" and step in when she needs your eyes on the spiders.

[Zebulous.2934]

Hmm would ridged plastic Halloween spiders trigger arachniphobia?   Those don't have eyes and the legs can't move.  I am not sure that the gobbler transformation would be a problem.

Now if there were a setting, or even an ingame item, that replaced the regular enemy spider model with the cheap toy spider model, that would be fun.  

We already have the chatoyant lense and the VirtualBox helmet that change game visuals when you equip them.

[WaifuJanna.9108]

You could try use the Bobblehead Laboratory and make your friend see the spiders with a giant funny head. then it might be better for him 😄

 

[Zaraki.5784]

17 hours ago, Ghastly.3914 said:

O_o I never understood aracnophobia....what happens to the person? Like do the they freeze up? I know google exists, but having it explained and archived here leads to more awareness.

Quite the opposite, I usually panic (the bigger the spider, the bigger the panic) and I run to create "safe distance" between me and the spider (trying my best to hide the panic when I'm with someone else), then I start monitoring its movements until it or I leave. I don't have any problems with images or videos though. 

But as others have said, it varies from people to people and it's also heavily influenced by the country you born into (it's particularly common in europe, while it's more rare in asia for example).

[Danikat.8537]

13 hours ago, BlueJin.4127 said:

Unlike what some people think, dealing with phobias isn't always as simple as just exposing oneself to their phobias until they become used to it. In fact, depending on the case, just forcefully exposing somebody to their phobias can have the opposite effect, or in rare cases, be dangerous.

Yeah that's me. I tried doing a 'home treatment' course that was supposed to help and it just made it worse because it meant regularly seeing and thinking about spiders.

I also had a co-worker who thought it would be funny and/or helpful to run her own form of "exposure therapy" by randomly emailing me photos of spiders, posting them to my Facebook, hiding them in the middle of files she knew I'd look at, signing me up for a spider monitoring groups mailing list, coming to my desk and going "hey check this out!" then opening her hands right by my face to reveal a spider she'd caught (yes, exactly like a little kid). I think it came as a surprise to both of us that it counted as workplace bullying but at least it put a stop to it.

Maybe I could get actual treatment if I went to a specialist, but I don't think it's worth the time, money and stress when I can deal with them, I just don't like it. Yesterday there was one in my bedroom just before I went to sleep, and today I was doing habitat management work (brush cutting basically) in waist high grass where I'm sure there were a lot of spiders around, I saw a lot of them, I just made sure to stay away from the ones I saw and tried to avoid pushing through areas there might be webs.

It's the same in games (and books and films). I hate having to deal with them, but I can do it and I've found ways to manage it (which does include downloading mods to change them when that's an option) so I'm not going to avoid games I'd otherwise like because of them.

Edited September 18, 2023 by Danikat.8537