Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines has an option to play as a vampire lunatic from the Malkavian clan¹, where craziness is also a form of communication with the world around you. It's arguably the best option in the game, since it gives many hidden hints about the plot that aren't available otherwise. But you really need to pay attention to get that.
Video games that are tackling mental health issues
21–30 of 41 posts
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#22Can't recommend Night in the Woods enough. I played it on the Switch while visiting home for Christmas, which made for a surreal overlap of fiction and reality. Shows just how pitch-perfect the writing is.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#23I've been playing a lot of Stardew Valley lately, glad to see it mentioned in this article. The game in combination with with a sativa vape has made me much better equipped to deal with my own stress and anxiety caused by working so much.
Isn't Stardew Valley an anxiety creator? I haven't played it, but I'm deliberately not because I hear people talk having to plan their days to maximize the output of their crops and such. I really don't want to have a new virtual job to go with my real daytime job.
it's what you make of it, i suppose.
there's no score, no deadlines, and no punishment for missing things in the game, so it's a very relaxing game for me. some 'days' in the game i'd get up, water my plants, and just go back to sleep because i didn't feel like doing anything.
other people naturally like to min-max, though, and the game certainly allows you to do that. there's people who'll make farms that are entirely optimized for maximum gold production; there's practically nothing to do with that much gold but seeing the numbers go up is what they enjoy.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn't Stardew Valley an anxiety creator? I haven't played it, but I'm deliberately not because I hear people talk having to plan their days to maximize the output of their crops and such. I really don't want to have a new virtual job to go with my real daytime job.
I haven't played it too but from what I've read about it, I suspect it might cause a so called Tetris Effect when the game mechanics basically invades people's though patterns.[0] It can be used as a somewhat effective "distraction" for your brain during episodes of anxiety[1] helping to overcome it. So if someone is planning their crops, they're probably just distracting themselves from anxious thoughts. Just my und…
You sound like someone who has never had Tetris vision. It’s mildly frustrating. You close your eyes and your brain starts simulating whatever game you’ve played too much (in my case, dungeon crawl stone soup). But it’s not a fun simulation, it’s more so just a random imagined game state and then predicted next state, vaguely dream like.
Honestly it’s probably the same mechanism as dreaming. Just your brain training itself too hard while you’re still awake.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#25Pick a narrative here, are they for awareness or helping? Which game is which?
> Some in the industry said the interactive nature of games made them more effective than film or television at dealing with mental health. Embodying a video game character who suffers from depression might leave a deeper impression of the challenges of the illness than simply watching a film about the same character, for example.
Ok, so Grand Theft Auto probably isn't good then?
Zero science going on here, just people making up what best fits their business model. Good as any business I guess.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
I haven't played it too but from what I've read about it, I suspect it might cause a so called Tetris Effect when the game mechanics basically invades people's though patterns.[0] It can be used as a somewhat effective "distraction" for your brain during episodes of anxiety[1] helping to overcome it. So if someone is planning their crops, they're probably just distracting themselves from anxious thoughts. Just my und…
You sound like someone who has never had Tetris vision. It’s mildly frustrating. You close your eyes and your brain starts simulating whatever game you’ve played too much (in my case, dungeon crawl stone soup). But it’s not a fun simulation, it’s more so just a random imagined game state and then predicted next state, vaguely dream like. Honestly it’s probably the same mechanism as dreaming. Just your brain training…
when i was a kid i fell asleep on a pokémon game and for a few hours after waking up lived in a world echoing with one pokémon song. sleep deprivation from staying up all night playing pokémon surely doesn’t help. toying around with the tetris effect is fun. human sensory perception is whack, even without drugs! our brain can play us scenes if we guide it a bit.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#27I've been playing a lot of Stardew Valley lately, glad to see it mentioned in this article. The game in combination with with a sativa vape has made me much better equipped to deal with my own stress and anxiety caused by working so much.
Isn't Stardew Valley an anxiety creator? I haven't played it, but I'm deliberately not because I hear people talk having to plan their days to maximize the output of their crops and such. I really don't want to have a new virtual job to go with my real daytime job.
i have played a ton of stardew, and it really is a great game to relax too, the planning and such you are talking about is so minor in terms of seriousness, that it can help teach planning and management of time. it lets you focus on what you want, the relationships you build feel real, and the reward of growing these digital plants feels good!
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#28One of the few videos I have bookmarked because they are inspiring and relatable is [0], which is a "Top 10 games you should play"-style list, but is actually called "Top 10 Games to help you through the holiday season".
It is incredibly heart-warming to hear that others like me struggle in the same manner, and much of the narrator's intro focuses on the genuinely helpful intentions behind the recommendations.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#29Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines has an option to play as a vampire lunatic from the Malkavian clan¹, where craziness is also a form of communication with the world around you. It's arguably the best option in the game, since it gives many hidden hints about the plot that aren't available otherwise. But you really need to pay attention to get that. 1. https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Malkavian_(VTM)
But for the sequel, recently announced by Paradox, it doesn't seem we'll have the same opportunity, according to some comments of the devs.
Re: Video games that are tackling mental health issues
#30Vampire: The Masquerade — Bloodlines has an option to play as a vampire lunatic from the Malkavian clan¹, where craziness is also a form of communication with the world around you. It's arguably the best option in the game, since it gives many hidden hints about the plot that aren't available otherwise. But you really need to pay attention to get that. 1. https://whitewolf.fandom.com/wiki/Malkavian_(VTM)
But for the sequel, recently announced by Paradox, it doesn't seem we'll have the same opportunity, according to some comments of the devs.
Not much is known about the sequel yet, so it's too early to tell. I doubt they'll skip such opportunity.