Assesment

1. What is your reaction to the game you just reviewed?

I played the depression quest game. I think the type of game itself is interesting as I've never really come across something like a game to experience depression. At first I felt uncomfortable, as putting myself in this state of mind willingly felt like I was purposefully putting myself down. And I felt a bit scared that it would make me feel bad or put me in a mood if I played it for too long. I at first had to purposefully not immerse myself into it so I could get out of it after playing.

But once I got into it a little more, it was nice to see how another person views it and experience it. It felt sad to put yourself in that position and as I read and the options were limited it also felt almost like there was no choice but to feel a certain way. I thought that was quite an accurate feeling because having had depression before, it does feel like a familiar feeling of wanting to do something but not being able to. I felt sad as I was reading it and also familiar and relatable. It was a slow read and easy enough read to really feel what the writer is saying and feeling and how they are constructing the situation so I could feel like I am really in it.

2. What connections did you make with the story that you read. Discuss the elements of the work with which you were able to connect.

I connected with the part where there were options but some options were cancelled out and I was not able to pick those. I think that was so smart and such a good way to show. The way someone without depression would react to a situation, the 'correct' way was cancelled out and I was only able to select the option a depressed person would choose. In real life, it does feel like that. I know the answers and the better choice, better route to pick, but because of the sadness and overwhelming negativity I feel, it is almost like the emotions are so strong that I am unable to choose the right option even though in my brain I know the healthier choice to pick. We are always 'forced' to pick the other choice. Or rather only capable in this state of mind to do so.

I also connected with the part about the players mom, where she would tell them that they just needed to try harder. But with emotions like that, we really are trying our best, it is just that it is so overwhelming it makes you feel like just sulking all the time and it is hard to try harder. If we feel what we feel it is hard to feel a different way by force. And it is also relatable that their mother didn't understand and just tried to brush it off. The player then regrets even trying to explain the situation which is really what happens when you open up to someone and it is not well received.

I was also able to connect with the part about the girlfriend asking to attend the party, and the girlfriend not understanding what it feels like. For people who don't experience this, they will not understand what it feels like to be constantly sad or in a mood. It is not a phase, it is a constant state of mind that is incredibly hard to break out of even if we try every second to do so. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but the way the writer showed that the player couldn't tell their girlfriend because they wouldn't understand, is very relatable. They are also forced to make a choice they don't really feel like doing sometimes, like go to the party to please someone else.

3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium, what medium would you use, what changes would you make?

I would add more descriptions of sounds and smells. I also would not add the backstories separate from the main story as that make it harder to read too many things. I would use VR as a medium. I think it would be interesting to really have a full immersive experience of this in a VR short film. I would add more effects and camera movements to really experience what the player is experiencing. However VR might be too immersive if it is hard to handle, then film might be a better option. Definitely in both cases, I would have the player have more dialogue thoughts. It would be nice to hear their thoughts exactly word for word as they are thinking it and not just being described. I would also use the grain effect in the film, to set the mood.