Darkness and Haven
Tran, Nam
Abstract
Despite being a common illness, the stigma against depression is still widespread and a common barrier for people to receive appropriate medical help. This is not helped by the representation of depression in popular media (as with other mental illnesses in general) being either non-existent, unrealistic, or even harmful. This project aims at using a video game to portray multiple narratives of depression based on real-life experiences in an effort reduce the stigma. The stories being told also center people from marginalized backgrounds, demonstrating the capacity that video games have to not only to tell engaging stories but also to facilitate empathy and understanding.