Games are tools for learning and empathy as much as they are methods for having an entertaining and enjoyable thrillride. There’s no other medium that will allow you to have an experience from the perspective of another person, to interact with the world hampered by all of their personal limitations. Depression Quest is a way to experience the life of someone that’s coming to terms with, then working to overcome, a horrible mental illness. I’ve written about it in better detail here.
The excellent game is seeking Greenlighting on Steam, though it’s fully playable now through the developer’s website. Playing through just long enough to get the idea of what it achieves will sell you on the idea of why it’s important enough to warrant being pushed to a wider audience. You should check out the page here.
Not everyone seems to agree that it’s worthwhile. The negative reaction has been roughly equal to the positive, with people disagreeing with the subject matter and the method with which it’s conveyed. Some aren’t seeing the merit in a game discussing depression at all, noting that games should have to be fun in order to be enjoyed.
If that’s not an idea alligned with yours, and you’d like the ability to not only get this game out into the world but to further the likelihood of similar games appearing that attempt more than specatcle and enjoyment, please consider voting and leaving nice comments. That’d be cool. You’d be making video games measurably better for your efforts.
Amended disclosure (August 2016): Then-EIC Ian Miles Cheong contributed a donation to the development of Depression Quest.
