[nonbirithm]

I don't remember where but I once read a blog article about non-gamers who are introduced to Skyrim for the first time and recall one player accidentally killing an important NPC and not having any saves to reload, and felt strong emotions over virtually losing someone they knew.

I think some players of games (or watchers of movies, etc.) are more sensitive to that kind of "pain" than others. Sometimes I think they might feel as exhausted as their character after pushing through an entire fighting tournament with their avatar, as they were also kicked around in a sense.