My idea is to create a game which raises awareness on depression. I want to do this because this is a sensitive topic, from my point of view. Without a doubt the gaming experience will not be as intense as experiencing the issue itself, but Depression caused drastic impacts to the character’s emotions. I would consider depression as an emotion, not a felling. An emotion is the actual experience and a feeling can be sympathetic, the same as the difference between knowing something and realizing it. If I was going to the doctor to take out my wisdom tooth I know it will hurt. I will realize the pain when he is aggressively trying to take it out.
The game will be based on a true story that I have personally experienced. I will make the game as depressing as possible to make the player experience the closest thing to a depressed life. The theme of the game will be as follows;
- The background will be black
- The writing will be in grey
- The main words, names and phrases that keep carving the depressed person’s thoughts will be written in red.
The psychology of colors is an important factor that many people do not realize because it is buried in the deepest darkest parts of their emotions. The brain subconsciously creates the emotion depending on the colors you see.
Black represents:
- Sadness
- Mystery
- Unhappiness
- Guilt
Red represents:
- Anger
- Intensity
- Danger
- Multiplier the emotion felt when used in language
Grey represents;
- Depression
- Loss
- Dullness
- Negative connotation
The story will be a walk through of the main events I have passed through while also including more intense events that might multiply the player’s feeling. The intensity of each event will gradually increase till the moment of climax. It will not make a difference which path the player will choose as both ways will have the same effect but from two different perspectives.
Certain conditions must be applied when playing the game to gain the full experience, such as applying the story to the player’s life. Also adding the famous phrase ‘based on a true story’ impacts largely on emotions.
References:
Digital Literacies 