[Yawnson]

Spoilers for Happy game.

I was playing happy game, and without spoiling it, its kinda nonsensical on the surface, but the story underneath is about mental illness.

With the lack of horror games out side of indie titles, there isn't much choice, and a large amount of them are about mental illness and depression.

It seems to be a common trope outside of mainstream games (unless you count the nonbinary character in Battlefield as having a mental illness. ) where the gameplay and story are blatantly about mental illness or an allegory for mental illness.

Maybe I've been playing too many indie games, and since mental illness is a huge issue with our generation, its just an easy thing to base a story on, but it just starts to feel lazy and at worse, hopless.



Here's an overview of Happy game if you haven't and don't want to play

 

[and 3 others]

Immediately thought of Hellblade.

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Devs know what they'er doing because fucking retards from twitter won't shut up about these games. Sadly easiest pr points ever. I actually fear next step - trannies forced as a protags, ugh.

 

[Yawnson]

Devs know what they'er doing because fucking retards from twitter won't shut up about these games. Sadly easiest pr points ever. I actually fear next step - trannies forced as a protags, ugh.

Thats my theory, either its developers (not programmers but the game designers) from twitter or who listen to twitter making mental illness games. Its why its prevalent in the indy scene.

 

[Neil Young]

Psychonauts 2 was incredible, easily one of the best platformers I've played. It delved into mental illness but did it in a super creative way. Also, Edith Finch delved into that a bit and was also very well done. I guess it depends on the game and what they're trying to say.

 

[The Bloody Nine]

I fucking love not buying these games.

 

[teezzy]

Quit playing weird shit

 

[Dreamlord]

Only Hellblade did a good job (admittedly, very good job) at depicting mental illness and incorporating it into the gameplay. It was top notch.

Other than that, I agree that it is just a very easy way to make something "edgy" in today's twitter era.

Worth mentioning, even though it does not fall under mental illness, that To The Moon is a game that deals with "feelings" but does an absolutely excellent job with the premise. Also well worth playing.

But yeah, you'll never catch me playing nonsense like "Depression Quest" or some such.

 

[lock2k]

Indie games are made by trannies. Of course they're going to be about mental illness. lol

 

[brap]

That's why I stopped playing indie games. No I don't want to play your platformer with forced fucking cut scenes about muh metal health. Fuck Celeste.

 

[Bunta]

Silent Hill did it right, Postal as well, others I can't come up with right now probably too. Due to the current climate in gaming, this is not a field I want games to explore, and I'm actively avoiding it.

 

[FactsAreDead]

Immediately thought of Hellblade.

That was the worst game. Especially how the developer abused mental illness to promote the game.

In general, I like it when games incorporate mental illness in their story, because mental illness afflits so many people, most who don't even know or refuse to acknowledge their own mental illness. However, it always comes of as cheap and "look at me!" when the ENTIRE game is based on being a metaphor for the developer's mental illness.

One or two characters in a greater cast of characters being afflicted by mental illness and that being part od their character arc? Fine. Mental illness being THE core of the game and everything is a "hint" at it? Meh.

 

[Dreamlord]

That was the worst game. Especially how the developer abused mental illness to promote the game.

In general, I like it when games incorporate mental illness in their story, because mental illness afflits so many people, most who don't even know or refuse to acknowledge their own mental illness. However, it always comes of as cheap and "look at me!" when the ENTIRE game is based on being a metaphor for the developer's mental illness.

One or two characters in a greater cast of characters being afflicted by mental illness and that being part od their character arc? Fine. Mental illness being THE core of the game and everything is a "hint" at it? Meh.

I disagree. The whole game was about the protagonist's mental illness and inner voices. I believe the devs did a great job in this game. I found the gameplay to be a tad on the boring side, but everything else was top notch. Especially the sound design.

 

[Allnamestakenlol]

I just don't like it when an altered state of mind is the surprise twist. Like, "It wasn't monsters at all! Your character just has ptsd from being horribly molested as a child!"

 

[Goatmilk]

Write what you know

 

[FactsAreDead]

I disagree. The whole game was about the protagonist's mental illness and inner voices. I believe the devs did a great job in this game. I found the gameplay to be a tad on the boring side, but everything else was top notch. Especially the sound design.

It just wasnt special in that regard. The whole "binaural audio" bs has been done so many times. Voices that talk about your inner suffering? That's so old. And then using that for promotion? Disgusting. Mental illness shouldn't be a "feature".

 

[brap]

I just don't like it when an altered state of mind is the surprise twist. Like, "It wasn't monsters at all! Your character just has ptsd from being horribly molested as a child!"

And that's why they are gay and/or lesbian and/or trans

 

[Yawnson]

I just don't like it when an altered state of mind is the surprise twist. Like, "It wasn't monsters at all! Your character just has ptsd from being horribly molested as a child!"

Lot of this is just copying a misconception of silent hill

 

[Nush]

More bullshit in indie games. I don't play them.

 

[Dr. Farnsgoth]

And that's why they are gay and/or lesbian and/or trans

So if most pedos were molested as children, and you're telling me that gay/lesbian/trans were too…

 

[Saruhashi]

To me it just seems like a really cheap way to make a game seem "deep".
I also feel at times it can be used to deflect criticism of a game.
So yeah maybe the game is crap but it's trying to do IMPORTANT things.
Plus game journalists lap this shit up.

For what it's worth, I thought Hellblade was a super cool game and I really enjoyed it. Excellent use of sound and graphically it looked amazing. The combat I felt was actually kind of satisfying even if it was a bit simple. The puzzles were just OK. Actually one I wouldn't mind playing again to be honest.

I didn't "get" the whole "mental health" angle though. For me it would be kind of like making a game about a guy with a broken leg. I haven't got a broken leg personally so any gameplay elements or design elements that are supposed to reflect that isn't going to be particularly amazing to me because I don't personally have that context. Similarly I don't know what it's actually like to hear voices or have weird visions etc so I have no idea if the game is doing a good job or not. Then you could just take any sci-fi or fantasy setting and claim it's about mental health because crazy shit is happening. It's just a bit silly.

Something that did stand out for me with Hellblade was that Jim Sterling gave it a brutal review probably thinking he was just trashing some shit indie game and then all his wee buddies reminded him that actually this game is about mental health and so it's super important and then he backtracked like an complete pussy.

This even went as far as Metacritic removing his 1/10 score and allowing him to change it to a 7/10.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice critic reviews

Metacritic aggregates music, game, tv, and movie reviews from the leading critics. Only Metacritic.com uses METASCORES, which let you know at a glance how each item was reviewed.

www.metacritic.com

That's fucking embarrassing. All because the game is "about mental health".

Developers can make whatever games they like, of course, but I will never understand this hard-on people have for games that are supposedly about mental health. Like, yeah depression sucks and that but if your game is a straight platformer then putting a coat of paint over it to make it seem like some deep insight into the human condition is just cheap.

I've made a pretty solid platformer but check it out. The platforming represents climbing out of depression. "OMG! So deep!"

The truth is that I don't think videogames can really do a good job of exploring these kind of issues.
Sure, videogame dialogue and cutscenes can cover that but gameplay itself is not really open to the same deep levels of interpretation. With a movie the meaning can be conveyed through color, music, acting, costumes and the way shots are constructed.

A film about mental health has it baked into every aspect. The audience participation comes from like showing up to the theater and sitting down and paying attention.

A game about mental health kind of takes a few simple gameplay concepts and slathers on the "deep" stuff while having the player click buttons or push left or perform some other basic tasks to get on with the "story". It's a weird concept to me.

Funniest of all is that if a developer wants to portray a brutal and crushing world in their game and uses difficulty to express this you have an endless parade of clowns complaining that the game is too difficult and they just want to explore the world and not be stressed out.

 

[Mista]

Hellblade only that got my attention and did a magnificent job. Other than that, fuck those idiots. They can choke on my mental dick

 

[Ferdinand the Cowfish]

I said this is a "World" post last week but it is worth repeating here:

We've normalized and accepted mental illness as a society and it's slowly destroying us. We've also allowed the pharmaceutical industry to flood the market with products that treat symptoms and allow people to ignore the underlying cause of their issues.

You're feeling sad? Here, take this pill - the underlying reason for your sadness is still going to exist, but you won't feel sad. Wait, now you feel anxious? Well, take this pill in addition to the pill you're taking because you felt sad.

A lot of people talk about the pharmaceutical industry's crimes in relation to opioid addiction, but what they have done with anti-depressants/anti-anxiety, etc... is just as bad, if not worse. There's an entire generation of adults who think it's "normal" to be depressed and pop pills that alter brain chemistry like candy.

Scientology is a quack cult but their take on psychiatry/psychology is right on the money.

While it's harsh to say this, shame is a great motivator. Mental illness used to be something to be ashamed of, not put on display. People sought treatment but didn't want anyone else to know. They worked hard to deal with their issues because they were ashamed of them. We now live in a society where people are proud to be mentally ill and there's no motivation to change.

 

[teezzy]

@Ferdinand the Cowfish

It's the strangest thing to me how projection and lack of personal responsibility have genuinely shaped our current culture for the worst. Nothing is ever your fault, and there's always a finger to point. Be it mental health concerns, racism, economic discrepancy, homophobia, the patriarchy, etc.

Such a shame too because things aren't perfect, and those who hold the power are laughing all the way to the bank as they genuinely take advantage of the vulnerable by filling their minds with this hogwash rather than allowing them to focus on genuine solutions.

Smdh.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

I concur with a lot that has been said here, but on the topic of anti depressants: there are genuine problems with brain chemistry existing that are not caused by underlying reasons.
I have seen the most confident and able people getting struck by crippling depressions. And I am happy we have something to help these people. Before the advent of SSRIs people's only chance to at least somehow alleviate these symptoms was to become an alcoholic.

My guess is that in the end, all we have are a bit further advanced monkey brains that have to deal with modern society, technology and more and more rapidly changing life circumstances.

That said, I don't think we should parade these illnesses around, and I certainly don't want to play games that center around them.
Which is one of the big reasons I didn't play Hellblade.

 

[Optimus]

I said this is a "World" post last week but it is worth repeating here:

We've normalized and accepted mental illness as a society and it's slowly destroying us. We've also allowed the pharmaceutical industry to flood the market with products that treat symptoms and allow people to ignore the underlying cause of their issues.

You're feeling sad? Here, take this pill - the underlying reason for your sadness is still going to exist, but you won't feel sad. Wait, now you feel anxious? Well, take this pill in addition to the pill you're taking because you felt sad.

A lot of people talk about the pharmaceutical industry's crimes in relation to opioid addiction, but what they have done with anti-depressants/anti-anxiety, etc... is just as bad, if not worse. There's an entire generation of adults who think it's "normal" to be depressed and pop pills that alter brain chemistry like candy.

Scientology is a quack cult but their take on psychiatry/psychology is right on the money.

While it's harsh to say this, shame is a great motivator. Mental illness used to be something to be ashamed of, not put on display. People sought treatment but didn't want anyone else to know. They worked hard to deal with their issues because they were ashamed of them. We now live in a society where people are proud to be mentally ill and there's no motivation to change.

An even more complicated problem around this normalization and acceptance is granting it a protected status. It used to be that if you were having mental issues, you knew to keep that luggage hidden at work so your boss wouldn't become aware. You didn't even want that stigma anywhere near you for fear of not being able to be hired for a job. Now we have a whole generation of future workers who are identified by their quirks and hang ups. We've gone from saying "people with disabilities" to being identified by our quirks.

As with most things that veer into extremism, I sense a big correction is on the horizon where this crap isn't going to fly anymore. I've been saying it for two years about how I won't be even a little surprised if in 10 years teens are wearing t-shirts with blatant slurs boldly printed on them. It's the natural consequence of an overbearing ideology that will breed such rebellion that it will become re-normalized for worse or better.

 

[QuantumZebra]

Hellblade only that got my attention and did a magnificent job. Other than that, fuck those idiots. They can choke on my mental dick

Yeah Hellblade is fantastic.

The "gotcha! you were actually in an insane asylum for wanting to wear a wig to school and now you've been lobotomized" thing is a bit much. Shutter Island beat y'all to it already and that wasn't even close to the first.

 

[DonDonDonPata]

I'm sick of games being about "issues", period. I'm sick of games using muh Hollywood plotline as an excuse for railroading the player through boring corridors. Mental illness is just one out of many darling topics that modern devs use to check those PR boxes.

 

[Nymphae]

I don't think I've ever played one

 

[Ferdinand the Cowfish]

It used to be that if you were having mental issues, you knew to keep that luggage hidden at work so your boss wouldn't become aware. You didn't even want that stigma anywhere near you for fear of not being able to be hired for a job.

The issue is that it's gone from something you'd keep hidden because you didn't want it to impact your ability to get hired to something that you want everyone to know because you've become a protected class. It can be used as an excuse to not do your job fully and it can protect you from being fired at the same time.

 

[Optimus]

The issue is that it's gone from something you'd keep hidden because you didn't want it to impact your ability to get hired to something that you want everyone to know because you've become a protected class. It can be used as an excuse to not do your job fully and it can protect you from being fired at the same time.

TOO TRUE. lol

I've got a family member who, I kid you not, requires a hand full of days off every month for mental well being. They get to take these days off at no cost to their PTO. They don't get paid while taking them. They get to just not show up to work because.... didn't feel like it.

I don't know what the f--- I've been doing with my life anymore. lol I think about all the times I've gritted my teeth and come on into work under the auspices of keeping and building good standing with my boss(es). Fast forward 15 years, and we've got these people who think they should just take days off because of things like the weather is gloomy or they're just feeling kind of sad for no reason.

I like this family member, but all I can do is shake my head when I hear this stuff coming from them. It's not at all clear to me how they manage to stay employed.