Neuroaesthetics Researcher Tomohiro Ishizu Explains Why Sad Games Feel Beautiful
Ishizu's framework offers game designers a scientific basis for crafting emotional experiences, positioning beauty as a core human need rather than a decorative extra.
Reporting from 1 source: 4Gamer.net.
At CEDEC 2026, neuroaesthetics researcher Tomohiro Ishizu presented a session on the brain science behind moving and quiet games. He argued that beauty is a necessity, not a luxury, and that diverse aesthetic experiences share a common neural basis. He also explored why people enjoy sadness in fiction through psychical distance, mixed emotions, and virtual emotions.
Tomohiro Ishizu, a professor at Kansai University and researcher at Hiroshima University's Brain, Mind and Sensibility Science Research Center, opened his CEDEC 2026 talk by correcting the title: it is neuroaesthetics, not neuroscience. He studies how the brain processes beauty across art, music, morality, and games, identifying the medial orbitofrontal cortex as a common region activated by diverse aesthetic experiences.
Ishizu argued that beauty is a necessity, not a luxury, citing economic and social evidence. He then explained why people enjoy sadness in fiction through three concepts: psychical distance, mixed emotions, and virtual emotions. For game designers, the takeaway is that negative emotions can be harnessed for powerful experiences when the player maintains enough distance to feel without being overwhelmed.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.