In many games, mental disorders are very much defined as auxiliary to the characters within the game. They are used to derive a sort of mechanic and are ignored narratively as they relate to character development and seriously dealing with these topics. Games like Amnesia, Don’t Starve, and The Evil […]
Games and Health
11 posts
I have to admit that in the last year or so I have played several games that have really made me question the existence of a time sucking black hole…but not in a bad way. These games have made me lose track of time as I got sucked into their […]
A few weeks ago, episode 145, Sometimes You Have to Kill Things: On Games and Self-Care focused on self care and games. Basically the folks chose the games that they play when everything else seemed to be slightly unbearable. The games to “soothe the soul,” as it were. I wasn’t on that podcast […]
It’s no secret that I have depression. I’ve been chronically depressed my entire life, and even though it’s impacted by external events and forces, for the most part it’s just a chemical imbalance in my brain that makes me wake up mid-afternoon instead of when my alarm goes off at […]
Late to the party, or valley, I plant crops months after everyone else. I water parsnips, consider sprinklers, plan optimal placement for trellises. I buy cows. I resisted Stardew Valley for so long, but now it’s the first place I go when I have a moment to myself. This game […]
The issue of mental illness in games has been an important topic in the games community for the past few years, though it has yet to really breach the world of game studies in academia. Here at NYMG we have published two pieces dedicated to the issue, and have mentioned […]
This contains possible spoilers for The Last Guardian. It was like coming home. For a brief moment I looked around the room for my mother, or brother, or sister, or father. The people who had been around when I started the journey with these games. Shadow of the Colossus, a […]
I discovered Thumper on Steam (also available on PS4) when my friend recommended it to me last week, figuring I’d be interested in the soundtrack more than the game itself. Thumper (Drool) is based around a simple premise: ‘classic rhythm-action, blistering speed, and brutal physicality’. You play as a space beetle careening […]
Some spoilers here for the second episode of the third season of Black Mirror, “Playtest.” The shift of Black Mirror to Netflix, with the release of the third season of the dire science-fiction show just in time for Halloween is making some waves. Black Mirror has got to be one of […]
I’m a year late, but I’m finally playing Until Dawn. I feel like I’m having an entirely different experience with the game this year than I would have last year because this year, I’m playing during the election. I imagine that had I played last year, I would have plowed […]
I am going to start this with the simple fact that I have not actually been diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. by a professional. Nor have I been diagnosed with social anxiety. I have many of the symptoms, however, down to the panic attacks, and if I could get over […]