Trophies for Mental Health II

[ZOMBIESLAVES]

First off, I would like to thank the creator of this event for making it because mental health is super important and something I'm passionate about. I'm currently going to school for a psychology degree so I can help others suffering from mental illness in the future. Anyways, the game I'd like to submit is Persona 5 Royal. I'll be focusing on one specific character in the game, Futaba Sakura, so the following has spoilers for her character arc.

 

 

Futaba Sakura is a character suffering from isolation. Having witnessed her mother's death at a young age, she holds herself responsible for it. To punish herself for this, she keeps herself locked up in her room, which she thinks of as her 'tomb'. She reaches out to the Phantom Thieves and asks them to 'steal her heart' and make her better. This is the most important part of her arc because she takes the first and often hardest step: reaching out for help. With some help from the Phantom Thieves she is able to face her inner demons, and she takes the first steps towards healing. Even though she's afraid of the outside world, she slowly overcomes her fear with the help of her newfound friends.

 

 

Futaba's arc shows that it's okay to ask for help, and it's okay to rely on others. Those first few steps towards getting better can seem impossible on your own, and getting help from friends or family can give you the push you need to get better. When I first played the original Persona 5 a few years back, I felt exactly like Futaba. My room felt like a jail cell; I was both prisoner and warden. Seeing Futaba improve inspired me to do the same, so I took that first step and reached out for help. Progress may seem slow, but even small improvements go a long way. The person I am today is much different than who I was back then. It takes time and dedication to get better, and it won't be easy, but you don't have to do it alone.

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by ZOMBIESLAVES

[Mr-ttaM]

Thank you for the event! I played a game I've wanted to play for a while, and think I played it more mindfully than I may have otherwise if I didn't have this event and mental health in mind.

 

That game is Detroit: Become Human. Early- and late-game spoilers follow.

Note that this is all pretty heavy stuff, so have tried to highlight potential triggers.

Where to start... There are so many different factors of mental health at play here. I'm gonna mostly talk about the routes I ended up on and how I was impacted by the things.

Todd + Kara + Alice (Trigger warning: child abuse, drug abuse):

Spoiler

Right near the start of the game, Todd (a drug-abusing, aggressive father, who recently had a divorce and lost his job to androids so has some resentment because of that) picks up an android Kara (who you play as). You learn that he's picking Kara up from repairs after he damaged her with physical violence. And then threatens violence on both Kara and his daughter, Alice. I found this particularly difficult to watch as someone who had an abusive parent. There are a few ways that scenes can play out. Some resulting in death of Kara and Alice (this daughter), some resulting in killing Todd. From his point of view, I think he felt justified. An android isn't a person, they can't feel things so yelling at them and expecting them to obey is pretty normal—but playing as the android and being on the receiving end was just scary, triggering, and nostalgic (in a bad way).

 

The path that I got from this early chapter was (I think) the best one; there would be much guilt if I killed him off, but also they both got to safety.

 

A little later in the game, Kara and Alice ended up in a motel and saw a news report of Todd talking about how he was attacked by Kara and blatantly lied, playing as a victim. That too was pretty real too as I've experienced that too (not-good people putting on a show to others, lots of lies and keeping up appearances with no regard for others because that's more important)

 

Much later in the game (about a week later in terms of time) Kara and Alice are trying to escape the country and run into Todd at the bus station. I'm sure that scene can play out a number of ways, but the path I encountered was pretty hopeful and showed huge change which was nice. Alice and Todd hug it out a bit and the 3 of them seem on good terms; he probably had that 'wake up' call and lots of time to reflect both about the two of them, but also his wife, his situation, drug usage, etc, and accepted some things, getting out of the rut becoming a better person because of it. That was quite miraculous to see that much of a turnaround in such a short time, and it felt genuine too.

 

Hank + Connor (Trigger warning: s**cide, death, alcoholism)

Spoiler

I guess context is important for this story too.

 

Hank and his kid were in a car accident, and his kid didn't make it. The doctor who was going to do the emergency surgery had taken drugs so an android operated instead and his son didn't make it. This resulted in Hank becoming depressed and he took to alcohol as a way to cope. He was a high-functioning alcoholic who would always be drunk on the job, which is highlighted super early when Connor finds Hank at a bar instead of the station. Connor is his newly-appointed android partner, and based on what interactions they have, leads to Hank either becoming a friend, or hostile towards Connor which has drastically different outcomes.

 

For one trophy, I needed Connor to be killed off at every possible opportunity. After that, Connor would just come back in a new android body as if nothing happened. That constant death of his partner caused Hank much stress, and got him thinking about his boy and how he wished he could come back. That lead to more resentment towards Connor and he lost friendship points. Anyway, on one occasion Connor went to Hank's house to find him passed out with a bottle of booze and a gun with one bullet. The chapter was called Russian Roulette... Hank is not okay but he's isolating himself and not getting any help. Later on, a similar interaction happens where Connor goes over to Hanks place and he either goes with Connor on a case (friends) or tells Connor to f*ck off (hostile). In the latter case, when Connor does leave, Hank commits s**cide.

 

This was hard. I like Hank as a character, and befriended him in my first playthrough, but seeing him go through all of this alone, despite being right next to him and having the power to help but chosing not to, to fulfill requirements for a trophy was hard. I felt like a gross bystander who let bad things happen and I hated that. I'm glad it's a game is all I can say, because f*ck letting someone suffer like that without at least trying to be there for them.

 

This really goes to show that just being a good friend to someone, and actively listening to them even if just a little, can have impacts way bigger than you may ever know.

 

I haven't been s**icidal myself, but a couple close friends have had intrusive thoughts and even attempted. I'm glad they're safe now and getting professional help, and I'm super proud because I know how hard that can be. There are also many others who I know, who are probably going through some tough times which I don't know about.

Whoever you are reading this, please never forget that people care about you (even if it doesn't feel like it) and it's okay to not be okay. ?

 

There are many other instances where mental health plays a part in the game. But I'm just gonna focus on the two above. Here's a few other things that come to mind, without the details if interested (Trigger warning: r*pe, violence)

Spoiler

The moral dilemmas that Markus faces; hurt other people to protect his own people, or trying to be peaceful and co-exist with humans, despite the risks, incl. getting betrayed and back-stabbed.

The loneliness of Carl, an elderly guy who gets companionship from Markus until he has to leave.

People's entitled / aggressive relationship with s*x through magazine articles (one was titled something like: Androids better than humans because they can't say no...) and the Traci's / Eden club where a dude literally kills an android for his own pleasure.

Overall humanising / dehumanising of androids as a metaphor for racism / xenophobia and general oppression.

 

Anyway, yeah. This game is a really good experience and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite not everything being 'fun', it was impactful and an experience I'm glad I had. The trophy guide time estimate is 20 hours, and according to exophase, I took 108 hours. Some of that was reading all of the magazines and browsing the art galleries / music, etc. But a lot of it was also putting the controller down and thinking. About what happened, about choices I was about to make and what the implications may be, etc.

 

This game also made extensive use of media (television news, magazine articles, radios) which to an extent shared info between the 3 different playable characters, and also gave the androids a sense of what the court of public opinion thought of them as a whole. It was pretty bleak at times, or almost hopeful, depending on decisions made and actions taken.

Edited May 25, 2022 by Mr-ttaM

[Briste]

I've finished up my two games for the event. The mental health game that I chose was Horizon Forbidden West. Since it is so new and with spoilers, my reasoning will be in box below.

Spoiler

While not necessarily an obvious choice, I felt like HFW took an unexpected look at mental health issues with some interesting commentary. I felt like the primary source of this was done through the character Beta. I thought it was very interesting how the game juxtaposed Aloy with Beta and commented several times on the nature of their relationship. Aloy could not understand how they could have identical DNA, yet be so different in their core. Aloy felt a deep responsibility to the people and her role as 'savior' due to the DNA she received from Elisabet while Beta, despite having that same DNA, was more despondent and pessimistic about their chances. She was apathetic about helping and felt everything was futile. She separated herself from the group and really only seemed to speak with Varl. The trauma that Beta suffered at the hands of Far Zenith would not allow the more positive traits she inherited from Elisabet to shine through. She lived in constant fear of being taken again by Far Zenith and when she saw how great Aloy was, she felt like she was broken and that there was something wrong with her.

 

While not a twin, I've had the same thoughts in my life with regards to my brother. We have very similar DNA and the same upbringing, yet he has chosen a path in life that I don't quite understand. In my situation, I would be the Aloy and he the Beta. We both went through the same bs growing up and while I have vowed never to do to others the things that were done to us, he has used our history as a justification for his current life choices. It was actually kind of odd how this game made me reflect on my own relationship with my brother as it's not really something that has happened before.

 

At one point in the game, Varl asks Aloy how she had coped with the loss of Rost and she casually tosses the question aside and responds that she doesn't have time for that kind of grief. Varl has the insight to see that she'll need to face her feelings about that loss sooner or later and when Aloy finally does, it ends up making her understand her sister better than she ever thought. It is true that both Beta and Aloy suffered great trauma's in their life. It's when Aloy realizes that she had Rost to help guide her through her traumas and that Beta was all alone with no guidance that Aloy has the epiphany that she owes a lot of her strength to Rost. She realizes that she may be judging Beta too harshly. If Aloy had grown up without Rost as her father figure, as Beta had, without that rock, Aloy may have been just as lost. After speaking with Gaia and Varl, Aloy confronts Beta and through their communication, Aloy is able to see how she had something that Beta didn't and she is able to convey that to Beta. She makes Beta understand that she isn't broken and that Aloy is no better than her, Aloy just had Rost to point her in the right direction. Beta ends up trusting Aloy and the team finally and she is able to move past her fears and do her part in the cause.

 

While all of the main characters are dealing with their own mental health issues, whether it is Kotallo with the loss of his arm and the shame of his 'uselessness' or Erend with the loss of his sister, or Zo with the loss of Varl, I chose to highlight the Aloy-Beta dynamic for this event because of how it made me reflect on my own relationship with my brother. When our father died, I was a junior in college and had established friends who helped me through the grief. I was also closer to home and able to get back for the funeral without incident. My brother on the other hand was only in his second week of college and was virtually alone. He also had a nightmare of a time trying to get home being so far away, but the big thing was that he was alone to deal with his grief. In my life, my friends were my Rost and my brother was missing that piece. As I started to realize that even though we had similar trauma, I was in a better situation to handle that trauma and it probably is a big reason why things are the way they are now. While I won't excuse his behavior, I've started to understand that I maybe have been too hard on him and should have been more receptive to the challenges he has faced instead of expecting him to respond the same way I did. I've talked to my brother recently about this (not referencing Horizon, but about my father's death) and it helped bring me perspective and I think him some as well.

 

While I'm not sure that was the intent of the relationships within the game,  Horizon does an excellent job of showing the many ways that people cope with loss and how with the support of each other, are able to depend on one another to get through it. I didn't enjoy the game as much as the first one, but I did appreciate how well they developed the relationships between the main peripheral characters and I ended up feeling like it was a good fit for this event.

 

My bonus game was Oxenfree. This game was recommended as a good game for the main event and I originally started playing it for that spot, however I felt like it dealt more with the supernatural than mental health so passed on using it for the main game. It was a good game with a compelling story. It was exceptionally easy since you really can't lose and the use of a radio is crucial to the story. I decided that Oxenfree was a better fit for the bonus badge.

 

Thank you again @Beyondthegrave07 for running the event this year and I would like to pledge $1 for each game competed in support of the event.

[Starrk_01]

Finished my bonus game of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Remastered. Throughout the story media is being exchanged through newspapers (at the beginning with the announcement of Makaorv being the new leader) or television (first reporting of the fight in the US and the emergency broadcast system).

 

This increase my contribution for the event from $3.04 to $3.66, so enough to possibly have to round up.

 

Thanks for hosting the event again @Beyondthegrave07 and putting mental health in the forefront of people's minds.

[Im2Fast_4U]

I have completed both my main game and my bonus game. My plan quickly changed away from Celeste, and may stay on the shelf for quite some time yet lol. Anyways, my write ups for the event:

 

Main Game: Alan Wake Remastered (PS5) (Rarity: 16.72%)

Alan Wake uses light and dark throughout its core gameplay mechanics and the overall story. Avoiding spoilers, Alan Wake is dealing with a confluence of nightmares and delirium and attempting to escape from the madness. His primary goal is to return to his wife, Alice. Alice is able to ground Alan and keep him focused on his work, while Alan is able to provide for Alice, especially when it comes to her fear of the dark. In that sense, they are each other's light in their respective darknesses. When Alan loses Alice amidst his delirium, he is swallowed up by the darkness of his imagination, with light being his only safety (and blatantly stated to be his hope to reuniting with Alice), be it light in the environment or from his flashlight.

 

This game immediately spoke to me on many levels as a creative mind myself (engineer that writes on the side), and Alan is a successful author. Additionally, as an overthinker, I can easily relate to the helplessness that can ensue getting caught up in the "if a happens then b then c and that will be very bad" thought trains, leaving me to worry about the craziest situations, despite their incredulous nature to begin with. It can get very overwhelming very quickly, and easily parallels/translates to depression. Getting trapped in worry will often lead to a loss of sight of what really matters. In real world terms, that hope (light) can take on the form of a life goal, aspiration, hobby, lover, etc, depending on the individual. For Alan, his hope of reuniting with his wife allowed him to fight the darkness. When there was a lack of light in the game, it was far more harrowing to try and defeat the darkness and survive, which is an incredibly realistic implementation of these effects. As someone who has battled depression for years, I could easily relate to the harrows Alan was enduring throughout the game, especially on the Nightmare difficulty playthrough.

 

Bonus Game: Gran Turismo 7 (PS5) (Rarity: 6.16% = $3.88)

In regards to the theme for the bonus badge, GT7 prominently has a feature to share video clips of race segments (and even full races) with your network of friends and the entire GT7 community. The option to do so is presented after every race event, be it a short time trial on a segment of track, or a 15 minute race on a long circuit! These features are easily searchable through the "Showcase" hub in the world map, where filters can be applied to find specific things. The platform is very similar to a car-afficionado Twitter, with the ability to like, save, and share/repost any post you see. This feature works identically for the photo mode in the game, which can be accessed at any point in a race, or in the custom photo suite "Scapes" for a more scenic and artistic shot. Point being, the game is built around showing off both video and photos to the entire community, with its own social infrastructure to do so. Many community shares have even resulted in the discovery of easter eggs, such as UFOs flying around in the background mid-race (and abducting cows!), popping a spark-laden wheelie, or a glitch to get your vehicle launched into the air.

[Violino]

Bonus game done. Went for finishing Life is Strange on PS3. It uses various ways of spreading messages. Texts, social media, the Life is Strange version of YouTube. That being said, not all the messages were nice!

 

P.S. Still one of my favourite games I’ve played!

[DrBloodmoney]

@Beyondthegrave07 Hey dude, noticed the list has been updated, but not my bonus badge entry - did I mess up the remit, or is that just oversight?

[Beyondthegrave07]

1 hour ago, DrBloodmoney said:

@Beyondthegrave07 Hey dude, noticed the list has been updated, but not my bonus badge entry - did I mess up the remit, or is that just oversight?

Oversight, my apologies! I have a bit to update still it seems (looks like I just missed a cluster of updates). I've been pretty busy with work this month so I haven't be online here as much. I plan to get it ironed out this weekend.

 

If anyone else notices something, please point it out to me.

[Breakingthegreen]

Sorry for relatively late entry, I only spotted this campayne today, fortunately I have happened to achieve games that could apply.

 

Main game: A Sketchbook About her Sun (EU) (PS4) - 99.16%

Spoiler

A quick review to description of the game, it's a music album that lets you pick between words to create a poem about the characters feels and mental state while songs from the album play. 

Even without the poems, from the songs, music videos, and even the title of the game, you can infer that the protagonist is got depression and the story is about her low mental levels and what she does to help herself.

What I've learnt from this game is how depression is handled in different people, a family member I knew handled things by becoming more insular, but this story details how she copes by seemingly moving away and distancing herself from the memories of pain, it's not exactly uncommonly known coping mechanism , but I should have been more aware of people outside of my bubble needing to have different ways of handling their mental health.

 

Bonus Game: Road 96 (PS5) - 55.48% ($2.89)

Spoiler

Posting this aware that Road 96 has been mentioned by @DrBloodmoney previously.

Road 96 is a narrative, resource management, roguelike, and I love it, sorry this game is one of my newest favourite games and I don't wanna gush like a unpaid salesman.

The media is an aspect of the game that is more of a symptom of the anti-fascist message, with television news being partially funded by the government party of the leader, (Tyrak,) there is an unspoken incentive to speak positively of Tyrak and his actions, due to the fear of funding being pulled. Not that the news network seems to want to away, Sonya (the mouth piece of the network,) states that the current regime is treating her well and sees little reason to change.

There is a chapter all about being a cameraman for Zoe's father's speech (forgot his name) and you decide the audience reactions to what he says, employing a quite literal fake news into the world, whether you follow your orders or not. Another aspect to this chapter is the presence of protestors who as the cameraman, you can choose to ignore, even as they get beaten by security, showing that what isn't shown is as important as whatever is shown.

Of course how you act in this chapter affects the beliefs of the people, making people self interested, democratic, or anarchists. But this one event isn't enough to tip the scales by itself, it's the culmination of everything people do and how they act all the time, inside and outside of the media bubble.

 

I'm not sure if I've done this right, so if I need to do anything more let me know.

And @Beyondthegrave07 It's so cool to see someone organise such a cool thing

[Beyondthegrave07]

1 hour ago, breakingthegreen said:

Sorry for relatively late entry, I only spotted this campayne today, fortunately I have happened to achieve games that could apply.

 

Main game: A Sketchbook About her Sun (EU) (PS4) - 99.16%

  Reveal hidden contents

A quick review to description of the game, it's a music album that lets you pick between words to create a poem about the characters feels and mental state while songs from the album play. 

Even without the poems, from the songs, music videos, and even the title of the game, you can infer that the protagonist is got depression and the story is about her low mental levels and what she does to help herself.

What I've learnt from this game is how depression is handled in different people, a family member I knew handled things by becoming more insular, but this story details how she copes by seemingly moving away and distancing herself from the memories of pain, it's not exactly uncommonly known coping mechanism , but I should have been more aware of people outside of my bubble needing to have different ways of handling their mental health.

 

Bonus Game: Road 96 (PS5) - 55.48% ($2.89)

  Reveal hidden contents

Posting this aware that Road 96 has been mentioned by @DrBloodmoney previously.

Road 96 is a narrative, resource management, roguelike, and I love it, sorry this game is one of my newest favourite games and I don't wanna gush like a unpaid salesman.

The media is an aspect of the game that is more of a symptom of the anti-fascist message, with television news being partially funded by the government party of the leader, (Tyrak,) there is an unspoken incentive to speak positively of Tyrak and his actions, due to the fear of funding being pulled. Not that the news network seems to want to away, Sonya (the mouth piece of the network,) states that the current regime is treating her well and sees little reason to change.

There is a chapter all about being a cameraman for Zoe's father's speech (forgot his name) and you decide the audience reactions to what he says, employing a quite literal fake news into the world, whether you follow your orders or not. Another aspect to this chapter is the presence of protestors who as the cameraman, you can choose to ignore, even as they get beaten by security, showing that what isn't shown is as important as whatever is shown.

Of course how you act in this chapter affects the beliefs of the people, making people self interested, democratic, or anarchists. But this one event isn't enough to tip the scales by itself, it's the culmination of everything people do and how they act all the time, inside and outside of the media bubble.

 

I'm not sure if I've done this right, so if I need to do anything more let me know.

And @Beyondthegrave07 It's so cool to see someone organise such a cool thing

Typically, I like when members join the event before submitting games just so they think about it while playing, but it's fine as long as the member took time to reflect on the game and it's mental health aspects they played after signing up, and I think you nailed that part so I'll count it!

 

I also just gave you the same amount as DrBloodmoney for Road 96 since the rarity changed slightly, but I'm rounding up anyways so 2 cents won't make much of a difference.

 

[nov_17th]

Nice idea.  I will do this next year.   

Edited May 29, 2022 by nov_17th

[Mesopithecus]

Thank you again for hosting this event @Beyondthegrave07 I truly appreciate your kind donation and creating these events for good causes.

 

I just got done with my game for the event Sea of Solitude which is very heavy on mental health themes - including trauma, anxiety, depression and loneliness at the forefront.  I will place most of my write-up within spoilers so as not to spoil the story for anyone else wishing to play.  If anyone has played RiME, this game gave me similar vibes.

 

Spoiler

You play as a young girl called Kay, navigating through a submerged city where dark and light are two very strong themes.  The darkness is when there is something bad happening, and the light is when you've managed to overcome those bad things.  The story is split into parts and follow the stories of family members of Kay - the first part is about her brother who experienced severe bullying in school and at the time Kay ignored him, made him feel even more lonely.  A theme during this chapter is hands in the water that pull you under if you step foot in it.  It reminded me of a time in my life where I was struggling with depression, and surrounded myself with the wrong types of people so they were like hands pulling me under.  There is a part during this chapter where you have to help your brother fight off his bullies and it truly is heartbreaking and a reminder of some of the awful things people can go through at the hands of their tormentors.

 

The second part follows Kay's parents, primarily her father who is suffering a lot of anger issues and resentment because he feels like he's trapped in marriage.  The parents do clearly love each other, but they lack communication issues to resolve their differences and you get to see the negative impact their relationship also has on Kay.  

 

The third part follows Kay's boyfriend who takes the form of a beautiful white wolf, however fragments start to fall away and you begin to see the darkness underneath which represents tragedy and depression.  You can see that Kay wants to be close to him and try to help, but in some ways she's making things worse for him.

 

Then at the end, we can truly see the grief that Kay has gone through but also the lessons she has learned.

 

[Mr-ttaM]

For the bonus, I'd like to put forward Control!

 

I don't think this is overly spoilery, but for caution's sake, have a spoiler tag anyway ?

 

Spoiler

 

In particular reference to media, there are a lot of well-documented events (collectible case files, audio recordings, and radio segments) that have happened in the world which you discover throughout the game, and the Federal Bureau of Control does a lot to keep public awareness of such events to a minimum. Some could see that as media censorship, others as protecting the world from mass-panic due to there being many things that people don't understand. Either way, I feel like that fits the theme well.

 

For the radios around the place, they are sometimes just playing music, but they also often explain some of the strange phenomena that are happening in the form of a podcast / radio show segment, which is a really organic way to shed light on weird and wonderful things.

 

There's also a TV in the game which essentially brainwashes enemies. Whenever the light from the TV shines on them, they sit happily and watch it. Addiction to media (social or otherwise) is a really real problem which I believe that is trying to highlight.

 

And finally, one of the big parts of the game is a telephone (called The Hotline). Social media before it was smartphones, websites, apps, and forums. I have huuuge telephone anxiety (which just now I learned is also called telephobia!) so I'm super glad that those days are (mostly) behind us.

 

 

Anyway, that's that. Hopefully I've explained things well enough, and if it doesn't fit the theme, well, then that's okay.

 

Have a wonderful day everyone.

[Platinum_Vice]

So my bonus game is Dishonored. I managed to get the platinum but I won’t have anywhere near enough time to 100% it. ? I think that still counts but even if it doesn’t, I’ll put up this little post in the spirit of the event.

 

I chose Dishonored with the suspicion that the lore had some loose themes regarding the corruption of power and the subsequent suffering of a civilian populace. Technological advancements in the a government's ability to flood a population with propaganda, information and misinformation will always go hand-in-hand with those settings so I was confident that Dishonored would have at least SOME substance of a media’s widespread messaging during the campaign. And I was right (spoilers).

 

There’s a series of speakers throughout the city of Dunwall which regularly broadcasts messages informing citizens to ReMaIn AlErT. As a wanted assassin, the player’s identity and recent actions are frequently broadcast in the hope that witnesses will alert the authorities to your presence. Curfew notices and comments regarding the lethal and non-lethal takeouts of your key targets are also frequently audible.

 

The man responsible for these broadcasts is given no name, and maybe that is a comment on the role of a media mouthpiece in distributing what they’re told (rather than what they personally want to tell). He is so critical to the stability of the Lord Regent’s hold of power that he is holed up in the inner sanctum of the Lord Regent's stronghold where he is even more secure than almost all others in the Lord Regent's rank and file. He works only 50 metres from the Lord Regent's bedroom. It was in that bedroom that the Propaganda Officer witnessed the Lord Regent's safe code, and it is due to their close proximity that the Propaganda Officer learns about the Lord Regent's audio diary which contains frank admissions of his criminal acts against the people of Dunwall. 

 

In an attempt to save his own life (upon being confronted by YOU), the Propaganda Officer reveals the existence of that audio diary to you in addition to the location of the safe, the safe's combination, and where you can insert the audio diary in the broadcasting station so that all loudspeakers in the city will play it aloud. You can follow these instructions to bring about the immediate arrest of the Lord Regent, thus removing him from power without bloodshed.

 

And so the Lord Regent lives by the loudspeaker and dies by the loudspeaker.

 

Thank you to the host, donators and participants of this event! It was great!
 

[Cassylvania]

So, I originally planned to play N.E.R.O. for this event, figuring it would fit the theme. Well, I did and it did and I hated it. I know I was only one or two sentences away from earning the badge, but I couldn't bring myself to think about that game for a moment longer. I was just about to raise the white flag, and then I started skimming through the current PS sale and came across a cheap little indie game called Figment... What a gem.

 

Alright, so Figment is the most literal interpretation of this event that I think someone could have done. If you've seen the movie Inside Out, it's similar to that, with you playing as a metaphysical construct in someone's mind immediately following a traumatic event. In this case, you play as Dusty, who is supposed to represent courage but now spends his days looking through an old scrapbook of memories and drinking iceless tea. The traumatic incident that takes place, which I won't spoil (despite it literally happening in the first five seconds of the game), happens to an adult, and one of the main themes of the game seems to be that we lose our courage and sense of adventure as we get older and settle into a mundane life. This is represented by the two worlds you visit throughout the game: the creative right side of the brain, which is full of color and imaginative settings, and the logical left side of the brain, which is full of gears and calculations. More than that, you're tasked with defeating three nightmares, who represent fear, despair, and...bad gas? Disgust? Yeah, I didn't really get that one.

 

This was all done in a very creative and fun way, much like Inside Out, but I think there's a lot you can learn from here. While no one mental health issue was addressed specifically (except autism -- I'm pretty sure one of the nightmares sang to me about that), much of the game revolves about depression and hopelessness, which can affect anybody at any time. Just need ol' Dusty to help you out every now and then!

 

TL;DR Figment good, N.E.R.O. bad.

[GuitaristZag]

@Beyondthegrave07 Question- if I platinumed a game this month after playing it for several months, and playing the game helped me personally cope with mental illness, even if the game itself isnt too concerned with it, is that sufficent? I am willing to explain and justify if approved.

[Beyondthegrave07]

2 hours ago, GuitaristZag said:

@Beyondthegrave07 Question- if I platinumed a game this month after playing it for several months, and playing the game helped me personally cope with mental illness, even if the game itself isnt too concerned with it, is that sufficent? I am willing to explain and justify if approved.

If it's well-explained, I'll accept it.

 

 

Also, the OP should be updated fully. If I missed your post on accident, please point it out to me. I also found a second wind this memorial day weekend and am gunning and stabbing my way through DMC in hopes to finish it in the next couple of days. That'll get me a bonus badge and increase the donation amount a little.

Edited May 29, 2022 by Beyondthegrave07
OP is updated

[Beyondthegrave07]

Earned the DMC Devil May Cry platinum just in time for my bonus badge! It fits the theme really well as one of the bad guys in the game is spreading news about Dante and The Order and calling them terrorists on TV.

 

The plat will also increase the donation amount for my games as DMC is a whopping 5.28% plat (TLOU2 was in the high 20s).

[Crispy_Oglop]

I decided to post everything all at once for this event and now that I'm pretty much done, here we go! For this event, I finished two games - Soma & Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. I was actually meant to finish Night in the Woods, but made the mistake of trying to play it after I was done with Hellblade. This was a bad idea because while Hellblade was a fantastic experience imo, it was also one of the most emotionally draining experiences I've ever had. It completely knocked the mojo out of me. So sadly, Night in the Woods has fallen off for this. I'll likely add it if another event crops up later though.

 

As a note - I have Soma in spoiler tags because I talk about key parts of the game. Hellblade has none because I'm actually not going to be spoiling it for anyone bar mentioning one of the key themes.

 

Soma

Spoiler

There was a great deal of interpretation in this game, which I thought was great.

 

From a character point of view, I thought this game tackled quite a few interesting themes. He spent quite a bit of time thinking he was human, when he was in fact a human consciousness grafted haphazardly into a mix of robotics and human body parts. Over the first half of the game, a large part of his journey involved him having to come to terms with himself and his identity. At one point even his sense of individuality and fear of that getting lost or diluted came into question when he has to copy himself into another, less broken body, leaving an identical version of himself behind.

 

It made me think of how we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived by others. How we act and think of our identity is rarely the same as how other people view us. Up until the point where the copying process begins, he generally feels that he is human, when he lifts his hands up, we/he sees human hands. All of this slowly changes as his perspective shifts. But there is a point where you actually assemble your new body out of a suit, some gore and some technology and you realise he has just been this broken person walking around and somehow managing to move around. But to anyone looking on the outside, all they saw was an intact being. It's something that really stuck with me. We never really know what is going on behind the scenes in other people. Some may seem perfectly intact on the exterior, but they might be struggling inside.

 

The gameplay is all overlayed with this prevailing sense of physical trauma, tapping into the time period prior to him waking up on a decaying underwater facility - he was in a car accident resulting in a severe and terminal brain injury. This is something which shows in pretty much every encounter he has with other 'people' in the game. Almost all of them are broken and helpless, some are shattered, others are bent and twisted. Pretty much every act of trying to help them results in them shutting down and arguably dying. If you were to subscribe to the idea that all of these events aren't necessarily real and potentially taking place inside the head of the character, this would correlate with his accident and brain damage.

 

Hellblade

 

This game....this game. I don't think i've ever felt so emotionally spent after playing a videogame before. I threw on a headset as apparently it's best played in this way and I was completely blown away, but it also drained all of the energy out of my tank. I think a huge part of this game taps into the effects of severe PTSD but the studio managed to weave it expertly into areas of mythology and fantasy. So while on the very surface, it looks like an adventure, it's actually a warrior navigating the debilitating effects of a series of traumatic events in her life and the behavioural trauma it has inflicted. The game isn't entirely about PTSD, but it is definitely a dominant theme across the whole game.

 

I actually don't really want to talk about the events of the game here, because it's honestly something everyone should play once and without knowing anything about it. But I will say, it really made me realise how far we've come as a society with mental health awareness. So rather than talk about the game as much here, i'll talk about some life experience instead.

 

I grew up in the 80's and 90's and a large part of my upbringing involved being raised by men and women in my family who all perpetuated the idea that men don't let feelings impact them and they are generally expected to remain stoic and iron skinned. It wasn't their fault, because that's how they were raised too. 

 

I first heard about PTSD during the Gulf War news coverage and later, in history class where it would have been mentioned during lessons on various global conflicts and wars. It was never really associated with non-military examples, so I operated under the assumption that PTSD is what might happen to you only if you come back from an armed conflict somewhere. I don't think I ever heard Post Traumatic Stress Disorder applied to anything outside of the life and experience of a soldier. Nowadays, it's a term used way more frequently and more appropriately on a broader level and I feel that compared to my formative years, society in general is growing to be way more educated on the subject matter.

 

PTSD is a thing that can happen to anyone under the right circumstances and it can sort of creep up on you. It doesn't have to be something that manifests right away too, it can hide for years and suddenly decades later pop up and say hello in different ways. On that note - I'm going to put the next bit in spoilers, because it deals with an actual example of abuse. I'm sharing it because the outcome might help others.

 

Spoiler

When I was about 11 years old, I was at my godmother's work party which I loved because it made me feel like one of the grown-ups. It was very noisy so I spent alot of time in her office drawing and eating a steady supply of cake and treats that she brought in to me. I absolutely loved her in general, she was such a positive and kind force in my childhood and life. Anyway, I remember going into the toilet for a wee and when I came out of the cubicle, a drunk woman was standing there looking at me. She asked me if I knew how lucky I was having someone like my godmother there. I replied that I did and tried to leave, but she grabbed my wrists tight and pulled me closer. She was clearly drunk out of her brains. I told her she was hurting me and tried to leave, but she held on tighter, demanding that I show more gratitude towards my godmother more. She let go of my wrists and then put her hands on my shoulders holding really tight and shaking me. The rest was a bit hazy, because I managed to squirm out and run back into my godmothers office and lock the door.

 

I can distinctly remember just falling into fits of sobs and shaking in my godmother's office. In hindsight something vanished from be a bit that day, I don't really know what it was yet (I'll buy someone a coffee if they can figure that one out). Anyway, my godmother came to check on me about an hour later and found the door locked. After about 20 mins of negotiating with me to open the door followed by another 20 mins of her trying to get me to talk about what happened - the party ground to a halt. The police were called and I can remember hearing the woman screaming in tears from another room "I'm sorry" over and over again. My wrists were sore (later bruising) and there was a small cut on one from one of her rings. My shoulders were also sore and my t-shirt collar was yanked and loose, i'm assuming that was from me squirming.

 

I don't really think my godmother got over what happened that night and she blamed herself. Because I was young and naturally quiet, I didn't really have the words she probably needed to feel better. I think that's one of my biggest regrets, that I didn't tell my godmother that it wasn't her fault and I never blamed her before she passed away in my late teens.

 

Anyway - time passed, life moved on, I didn't really think about it all. I was just me, acting like me and that seemed normal. Fast forward to my thirties - i'm at a work party. I'm no longer a little 11 year old boy. That 11 year old boy is now a little over 6ft, weight training 5 days a week and on the tail end of a charity obstacle run. One of the managers who is a little drunk comes up to my table and puts his hands on my shoulders asking me why I haven't stepped up to do a karaoke song yet. He held on there for an uncomfortably long time and I politely asked him to take his hands off me. He refused and told me not until i sing a song. I then told him to get his hands off of me, turning towards him and standing up as I did. I think he suddenly snapped out of his drunken-state, because he went deathly pale and held his hands up, apologising. I walked out of the room and of all places, ended up in a toilet cubicle in the office with the door closed. I was in an absolute state and felt very very alone. This time though, there was no office to lock myself in and no godmother to take care of me. When I described it to my therapist later on, she told me i had the symptoms of a panic attack because I'd made a live connection to that childhood event and a present one. I must have spent an hour in that cubicle before I just slipped out of the office quietly.

 

Later on I was pretty much pushed towards that therapist I mentioned by my partner at the time. She got me in touch with a really good one who i've been with ever since. I really liked her analogy in that some of these events, especially childhood ones, have a habit of seeping into us and obscuring themselves as we progress through later life, waiting to be triggered by something in the right circumstances. She helped me realise that I actually had a massive issue with anyone who I'm not familiar with making physical contact. Asking my friends they all viewed me as someone who wasn't very physical in that sense. Which is weird, because I actually always saw myself as the opposite and my past relationships have been warm, loving and physical in that sense. But it's pretty clear that I go into a bit of a panic if a random unknown person tries to hug me. Even bumping into me or brushing past me would provoke a silent reaction. I'm alot happier with myself now and working with my therapist has been really amazing as she has helped me develop some internal mechanisms to regulate my panic around that.

 

So with that wall of text in mind - my main advice is to look for help if you need it. Don't assume the effect of something that might happened to you decades ago is gone. Get in front of it and start figuring out a good therapist to talk to. They will help you understand way more about you than you could alone. Not all therapists are equal in terms of skillset and approach - be prepared to shop around a bit to find one that suits your needs.

 

 

[Beyondthegrave07]

2 hours ago, Crispy_Oglop said:

I decided to post everything all at once for this event and now that I'm pretty much done, here we go! For this event, I finished two games - Soma & Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice. I was actually meant to finish Night in the Woods, but made the mistake of trying to play it after I was done with Hellblade. This was a bad idea because while Hellblade was a fantastic experience imo, it was also one of the most emotionally draining experiences I've ever had. It completely knocked the mojo out of me. So sadly, Night in the Woods has fallen off for this. I'll likely add it if another event crops up later though.

 

As a note - I have Soma in spoiler tags because I talk about key parts of the game. Hellblade has none because I'm actually not going to be spoiling it for anyone bar mentioning one of the key themes.

 

Soma

  Reveal hidden contents

There was a great deal of interpretation in this game, which I thought was great.

 

From a character point of view, I thought this game tackled quite a few interesting themes. He spent quite a bit of time thinking he was human, when he was in fact a human consciousness grafted haphazardly into a mix of robotics and human body parts. Over the first half of the game, a large part of his journey involved him having to come to terms with himself and his identity. At one point even his sense of individuality and fear of that getting lost or diluted came into question when he has to copy himself into another, less broken body, leaving an identical version of himself behind.

 

It made me think of how we perceive ourselves and how we are perceived by others. How we act and think of our identity is rarely the same as how other people view us. Up until the point where the copying process begins, he generally feels that he is human, when he lifts his hands up, we/he sees human hands. All of this slowly changes as his perspective shifts. But there is a point where you actually assemble your new body out of a suit, some gore and some technology and you realise he has just been this broken person walking around and somehow managing to move around. But to anyone looking on the outside, all they saw was an intact being. It's something that really stuck with me. We never really know what is going on behind the scenes in other people. Some may seem perfectly intact on the exterior, but they might be struggling inside.

 

The gameplay is all overlayed with this prevailing sense of physical trauma, tapping into the time period prior to him waking up on a decaying underwater facility - he was in a car accident resulting in a severe and terminal brain injury. This is something which shows in pretty much every encounter he has with other 'people' in the game. Almost all of them are broken and helpless, some are shattered, others are bent and twisted. Pretty much every act of trying to help them results in them shutting down and arguably dying. If you were to subscribe to the idea that all of these events aren't necessarily real and potentially taking place inside the head of the character, this would correlate with his accident and brain damage.

 

Hellblade

 

This game....this game. I don't think i've ever felt so emotionally spent after playing a videogame before. I threw on a headset as apparently it's best played in this way and I was completely blown away, but it also drained all of the energy out of my tank. I think a huge part of this game taps into the effects of severe PTSD but the studio managed to weave it expertly into areas of mythology and fantasy. So while on the very surface, it looks like an adventure, it's actually a warrior navigating the debilitating effects of a series of traumatic events in her life and the behavioural trauma it has inflicted. The game isn't entirely about PTSD, but it is definitely a dominant theme across the whole game.

 

I actually don't really want to talk about the events of the game here, because it's honestly something everyone should play once and without knowing anything about it. But I will say, it really made me realise how far we've come as a society with mental health awareness. So rather than talk about the game as much here, i'll talk about some life experience instead.

 

I grew up in the 80's and 90's and a large part of my upbringing involved being raised by men and women in my family who all perpetuated the idea that men don't let feelings impact them and they are generally expected to remain stoic and iron skinned. It wasn't their fault, because that's how they were raised too. 

 

I first heard about PTSD during the Gulf War news coverage and later, in history class where it would have been mentioned during lessons on various global conflicts and wars. It was never really associated with non-military examples, so I operated under the assumption that PTSD is what might happen to you only if you come back from an armed conflict somewhere. I don't think I ever heard Post Traumatic Stress Disorder applied to anything outside of the life and experience of a soldier. Nowadays, it's a term used way more frequently and more appropriately on a broader level and I feel that compared to my formative years, society in general is growing to be way more educated on the subject matter.

 

PTSD is a thing that can happen to anyone under the right circumstances and it can sort of creep up on you. It doesn't have to be something that manifests right away too, it can hide for years and suddenly decades later pop up and say hello in different ways. On that note - I'm going to put the next bit in spoilers, because it deals with an actual example of abuse. I'm sharing it because the outcome might help others.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

When I was about 11 years old, I was at my godmother's work party which I loved because it made me feel like one of the grown-ups. It was very noisy so I spent alot of time in her office drawing and eating a steady supply of cake and treats that she brought in to me. I absolutely loved her in general, she was such a positive and kind force in my childhood and life. Anyway, I remember going into the toilet for a wee and when I came out of the cubicle, a drunk woman was standing there looking at me. She asked me if I knew how lucky I was having someone like my godmother there. I replied that I did and tried to leave, but she grabbed my wrists tight and pulled me closer. She was clearly drunk out of her brains. I told her she was hurting me and tried to leave, but she held on tighter, demanding that I show more gratitude towards my godmother more. She let go of my wrists and then put her hands on my shoulders holding really tight and shaking me. The rest was a bit hazy, because I managed to squirm out and run back into my godmothers office and lock the door.

 

I can distinctly remember just falling into fits of sobs and shaking in my godmother's office. In hindsight something vanished from be a bit that day, I don't really know what it was yet (I'll buy someone a coffee if they can figure that one out). Anyway, my godmother came to check on me about an hour later and found the door locked. After about 20 mins of negotiating with me to open the door followed by another 20 mins of her trying to get me to talk about what happened - the party ground to a halt. The police were called and I can remember hearing the woman screaming in tears from another room "I'm sorry" over and over again. My wrists were sore (later bruising) and there was a small cut on one from one of her rings. My shoulders were also sore and my t-shirt collar was yanked and loose, i'm assuming that was from me squirming.

 

I don't really think my godmother got over what happened that night and she blamed herself. Because I was young and naturally quiet, I didn't really have the words she probably needed to feel better. I think that's one of my biggest regrets, that I didn't tell my godmother that it wasn't her fault and I never blamed her before she passed away in my late teens.

 

Anyway - time passed, life moved on, I didn't really think about it all. I was just me, acting like me and that seemed normal. Fast forward to my thirties - i'm at a work party. I'm no longer a little 11 year old boy. That 11 year old boy is now a little over 6ft, weight training 5 days a week and on the tail end of a charity obstacle run. One of the managers who is a little drunk comes up to my table and puts his hands on my shoulders asking me why I haven't stepped up to do a karaoke song yet. He held on there for an uncomfortably long time and I politely asked him to take his hands off me. He refused and told me not until i sing a song. I then told him to get his hands off of me, turning towards him and standing up as I did. I think he suddenly snapped out of his drunken-state, because he went deathly pale and held his hands up, apologising. I walked out of the room and of all places, ended up in a toilet cubicle in the office with the door closed. I was in an absolute state and felt very very alone. This time though, there was no office to lock myself in and no godmother to take care of me. When I described it to my therapist later on, she told me i had the symptoms of a panic attack because I'd made a live connection to that childhood event and a present one. I must have spent an hour in that cubicle before I just slipped out of the office quietly.

 

Later on I was pretty much pushed towards that therapist I mentioned by my partner at the time. She got me in touch with a really good one who i've been with ever since. I really liked her analogy in that some of these events, especially childhood ones, have a habit of seeping into us and obscuring themselves as we progress through later life, waiting to be triggered by something in the right circumstances. She helped me realise that I actually had a massive issue with anyone who I'm not familiar with making physical contact. Asking my friends they all viewed me as someone who wasn't very physical in that sense. Which is weird, because I actually always saw myself as the opposite and my past relationships have been warm, loving and physical in that sense. But it's pretty clear that I go into a bit of a panic if a random unknown person tries to hug me. Even bumping into me or brushing past me would provoke a silent reaction. I'm alot happier with myself now and working with my therapist has been really amazing as she has helped me develop some internal mechanisms to regulate my panic around that.

 

So with that wall of text in mind - my main advice is to look for help if you need it. Don't assume the effect of something that might happened to you decades ago is gone. Get in front of it and start figuring out a good therapist to talk to. They will help you understand way more about you than you could alone. Not all therapists are equal in terms of skillset and approach - be prepared to shop around a bit to find one that suits your needs.

 

 

You were like, "I'm not sure which game I want to play for the event, Soma or Senua's Sacrifice... So why not both?" I'll mark you down for the better of the two for the donation.

 

Senua's Sacrifice is a game I want to grab and play some time as I heard it's life-changing. It can really change your perspective on the world and is one of the most powerful games out there.

 

For those interested, here's a non-spoiler video of the game that's definitely worth watching if you have even the slightest interest in the game.

 

 

[MattbluePT]

Well I'm not sure if I can finish my game for the main event on time, due to the time I still have available, but in the mean time, managed to  complete a game that fits the bonus badge requirement.

The game is Destroy all Humans! 2 . I remember playing the demo on PS2 when I was a kid and always wanted to play it, had a fun time, but some parts are too repetitive and it turns out to be a bit boring in some parts.

The game fits the requirements as newspapers are commonly used during to the game to announce what is happening and what we are doing.

 

Now let's work hard for completing the main game!

 

@Beyondthegrave07, will you only give the bonus badge if we complete the first game, like you did last year, or will you also consider if we complete only the bonus event?

[Beyondthegrave07]

1 hour ago, MattbluePT said:

Well I'm not sure if I can finish my game for the main event on time, due to the time I still have available, but in the mean time, managed to  complete a game that fits the bonus badge requirement.

The game is Destroy all Humans! 2 . I remember playing the demo on PS2 when I was a kid and always wanted to play it, had a fun time, but some parts are too repetitive and it turns out to be a bit boring in some parts.

The game fits the requirements as newspapers are commonly used during to the game to announce what is happening and what we are doing.

 

Now let's work hard for completing the main game!

 

@Beyondthegrave07, will you only give the bonus badge if we complete the first game, like you did last year, or will you also consider if we complete only the bonus event?

If you do the bonus badge, you have to complete your first game for the mental health as well for it to count. Same as last year.

[ninjamonkee9900]

Hi Team! I got my two games done for this event.

 

For Mental Health, like a few others, I played Celeste. (Rarity 29.96%)

Celeste All 31 Trophies 15th May 2022 • Platinum in 3 days, 12 hours

PS4

 

I enjoyed this game well enough in terms of gameplay. The accessibility features are excellent, which can make the game extremely easy. Without the features, the game is quite a challenging platformer, so there is a little something for everyone. In terms of mental health, I thought there were positives and negatives in this regard. The whole story of Madeline finding her anxiety as another part of herself and working through that, and working together, was solid. The well-known feather scene was a great way to capture relaxing during a panic attack. I found this particularly effective and interesting. There was some good connection and dialogue that resonated in managing anxiety. Madeline had some difficulty accepting this part of herself, which was an interesting, probably realistic, look at how anxiety and depression might manifest in a safe way. One thing I didn't like as much was that some of the random side characters were not treated as well in regard to their mental health. The story is so focused on Madeline that it breezes quickly through the hotel owner and the old lady, who are judged somewhat harshly by Madeline until the end. I would have liked her realization to support these other people a little more obvious or important to the story to close that loop more cleanly. Overall, a good game with some important messages around mental health. This was a good choice for this mental health event.

 

The game that I played for mass media was Oxenfree. (Rarity 28.45%)

Oxenfree All 14 Trophies 25th May 2022 • Platinum in 1 day, 3 hours

 

I actually started Oxenfree a long time ago, but for whatever reason got distracted away from it. The game heavily features radio as a primary story vehicle and a few televisions here and there. I enjoyed this game a lot, but the platinum got a little boring in replaying the story with little variation. Not too time-consuming at all, but repetitive for about 10 hours or so. I ended up not playing anything too rare for this event, but I enjoyed the games that I played and felt like both kept me thinking and reflecting.

[MattbluePT]

So, I managed to complete The Walking Dead: The Final Season, for the Mental health part.

 

Spoiler

As some of you know, Clementine as been struggling during the four seasons, seeing her friends die and losing them constantly. With this, it is almost impossible not to talk about depression in this environment, while losing people constantly and living in fear, fighting for their lifes. Clementine still feels guilty in a way for Lee's death and it remains a scar in her life.

There are more characters in here that show clear signs of mental illness such as depression (Violet) or Survivor's guilt (Brody).

It is also fascinating to see how the events and the decisions we are making along we play have impact on the mental health and status of every character in the game, specially on AJ, who is still a little child and is developing along with the things he sees and experiences, changing is perceptions of right and wrong and his mental health.

 

I love this Telltale series, but this is my favourite Telltale's The Walking Dead game, without a doubt.

 

As the bonus badge was already done, with Destroy All Humans! 2, I managed to finish the event on time. Thanks @Beyondthegrave07 for the event!

[IntroPhenom]

@Beyondthegrave07  Regrettably, I did not complete my goal, peaking at 64% out of 100%. Time was not on my side. Thank you for hosting the event, and kudos to everyone who contributed.

 

Edit: So, it has come to light that today is in fact NOT June 1st. I was too busy this weekend to register the correct date. Time remains to complete the task. I'll give it my all, and hopefully pop a plat before 11:59PM. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by IntroPhenom