mental health issues
A team of game design students created a video game that focuses on depression and anxiety, which the developers have experienced first-hand.
“The Other Side” depicts mental health by having players interact with non-playable characters in the game and fight enemies with names like “Fear,” “Anger,” and “Depression,” allowing someone to express their feelings. Simulate what it's like to fight.
Most video games are about fun gameplay and a good story, but Joshua Chaffeé, lead game designer and senior game design major at The Other Side, has created a story about people with mental health issues. We wanted to create a game that specifically focused on the experience that people can have.
“A lot of people go through this every day. It's depression, it's anxiety, it's all the invisible things,” Chaffee said. “When you're struggling with your mental health, I want you to remember the fact that everyone is going through something, whether you know it or not. So remember to be kind to everyone. please.”
Game Development is part of a capstone class for advanced game design students who actually need to develop their own games. Students suggest game ideas in class and vote on which one to implement. Groups are then formed by students choosing which projects they would like to work on. “The Other Side'' was one of his projects.
Chaffeé worked with Bill Guschwan, a teaching associate professor in the Department of Interactive Arts and Media, to assemble a team of game designers, producers, artists, composers, and programmers to help create the game.
Game development is funded by a grant from the Solutions Journalism Network.
The game, which has been in development since February 2024, features platform gameplay with a Pokemon-like fighting style that is relevant to people who have to battle their emotions.
Chaffee set the story of “The Other Side” in a fictional city in Illinois. The main character, Aurora, attends high school, but she soon notices that her good grades begin to decline. As her days pass her thoughts become darker and she spends most of her time trapped inside her own head.
“Instead of thinking about how to fix it, she just does what most people do and hides it,” Chaffee said. “So she wears this mask every day to seem normal to other people, her friends, her family.”
Nicole Finnegan, a senior game design major, is the game's producer and is responsible for managing schedules, fundraising, and coordinating with the development team to ensure the prototype is released by May 10, which is this year's manifesto. We are doing We are aware of the problems that people may face.
“A lot of people don't understand how mental health issues can affect you,” Finnegan says. “Everyone on my team has been working on something related to it.”
Chaffee said she modeled the main character Aurora after herself, as she has dealt with various mental health issues over the years. Chaffee, who primarily deals with depression and anxiety, said he hopes the game brings awareness to the storm that may be raging beneath someone's “mask.” Masu.
Chaffee has stated that the character is modeled after herself, but that Aurora represents most people who feel the need to hide their emotions.
“I'm not good at hiding things, even when I think of ways to open up,” Chaffee said. “As for masking, you get used to it, so [Aurora is] In a way, me too. ”
The development of entertainment media that focuses more on mental health could help people who are going through difficult times and experiencing difficult emotions. The developers of 'The Other Side' are focused on recognizing what people are experiencing beneath the surface, but more games may be made that depict the experience of mental health issues .
“I think there are a lot of people who want to bounce back from their experiences and create games that they didn't have,” said Grace Anders, a senior programming major and the game's lead programmer. “I love media that treats me responsibly, whether it's games or writing.”
Other students involved in the creation of “The Other Side” include:
- Madeline Rogers (Art Lead), Senior, Game Design Major
- Patryk Kijek (Sound/Music Lead), Senior, Game Design Major
- Angelo Esparza (Programmer), Senior, Programming Major
- Samantha Go (Programmer/Level Design), 3rd year, Game Design major
- Claire Alves (User Interface Design), Senior, Game Design Major
- Zoe Lim (Sound/Music), MFA Student; screen music composition
- Eden Szopa (Narrative Design), Senior, Game Design Major
- Jared Eyler (Game Balance), third year, game design major.
Copy edited by Vanessa Orozco
spanish resume
“The Other Side'' is about a man who faces a desperate situation, falls into a hopeless situation, falls into a hopeless situation. We will reconsider mental issues through dialogue with people who have experienced this problem.
Joshua Chaffe, principal of El Diseñador, helps you live a safe life by training you to live your best life and gaining experience to solve your mental Podoria tenor problems. Free Life – Solutions Journalism Network Subordinate Financial Institution – In the final meeting, you will have to play the role of mayor of the mayor and maintain your own life. Please proceed with your project.
Andres Guerra's Spanish resume
