😢Depression Quest

There's a chapter on Depression Quest in Videogames for Humans. It starts on pg. 383!

This game is also mentioned in an article entitled "Autonomy,Heteronomy, and Representations of Illness in Digital Games" by Arno Görgen and Stefan H. Simond from Games and Ethics Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures.

Depression Quest was a game that was part of a storm of harassment perpetuated against its author, Zoe Quinn during "Gamergate." It seeks to simulate the negative feedback loop that depression creates in people.

Here's a good critique of Depression Quest: https://web.archive.org/web/20160401144718/http://theorts.tumblr.com/post/54658499774/creating-without-power-narratives-of-madness

Now play Anhedonia

chapter in VfH; contrasts description of depression w/Depression Quest
read the commentary by Emily Short in Videogames for Humans
techniques: timed text, cycle-link
from the intro of VfH:

From Teaching Games and Game Studies in the Literature Classroom

Depression Quest is particularly suited to Introduction to Women’s Writing because the majority of texts we read focus on mental health. However, many other independent games could be used depending on the focus of the course: Anna Anthropy’s Dys4ia examines the societal stigma around transitioning, while her poetic and abstract queers in love at the end of the world facilitates productive conversations about love and sexuality. These games are free and can be played in a browser in under ten minutes. Similar to Depression Quest , they are text based and do not require a familiarity with gaming conventions. I structure our conversation of Depression Quest around a series of questions intended to help students think about games as rhetorical objects. These questions can be adapted to other games: ●● ●● ●● ●● How is Depression Quest different or similar to other games you have played (or, how does it compare to your expectations about video games)? What emotions does Depression Quest evoke? How does it evoke these emotions? Does Depression Quest fully convey the experience of living with depression? Teaching Games and Game Studies in the Literature Classroom, edited by Tison Pugh, and Lynn Ramey, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central

In response to the first question, students note that Depression Quest is different because it is text-based, lacks violence, and focuses on a “serious” topic. These answers highlight the problematic homogeneity in the mainstream game industry. While most students note that Depression Quest differs from games they are familiar with, they are quick to note thematic similarities with the texts we have read in class. For example, multiple students have noted that “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Depression Quest both argue that individuals suffering from mental illness cannot simply choose to “feel better.” Students have responded to the second question using words such as anxious , sad , stressed , and trapped . When we discuss how the game produces these emotions, students typically start by focusing on the plot and characters, with responses such as, “It made me sad when the player-character’s girlfriend broke up with him.” However, students realize that the game’s mechanics emphasize these emotions. Students note feeling frustrated and trapped when they cannot choose a certain option in the game. This is an important moment in the conversation and introduces the concept of procedural rhetoric, or the notion that the actions allowed by a game’s systems are rhetorical (Bogost). When discussing Depression Quest ’s argument, students focus on empathy— the game is supposed to help players relate to those suffering from depression. Students typically note that the game is intended for those who have not experienced depression firsthand. Discussing audience can draw students’ attention to the limits of empathy. As feminist critics have argued, empathy should not always be regarded as a positive rhetorical tool. We can view moments of textual empathy as “fantasies of mutuality” that ultimately produce self-congratulation rather than social change (Lather 19). Asking students whether the game fully conveys the experience of living with depression underscores the difference between empathy and experience. While Depression Quest might cause players to feel emotion for the player-character, this does not mean that players can fully understand another positionality. In my experience, students sometimes share their own experiences with depression as part of this conversation. While connecting course material to personal experience is a key aspect of feminist pedagogy, instructors should never put students on the spot. Discussing the game’s rhetorical effects among hypothetical user groups (e.g., what different types of users can we imagine playing this game? How are their needs different? How might they respond differently?) allows students to engage with the material without “outing” those who have experienced depression firsthand. Teaching Games and Game Studies in the Literature Classroom, edited by Tison Pugh, and Lynn Ramey, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2022. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/byu/detail.action?docID=7048702.

After analyzing Depression Quest , students learn to make their own games using Twine, the same platform Quinn used for creating Depression Quest. My motivation for including game creation is largely to “resist passive contemplation of change” in the classroom space (Hurst). The move from analysis to creation provides students with agency, an important value in feminist pedagogy. However, students often express anxiety about game creation because of low confidence levels in programming and technology. I structure our class session on Twine to ensure that students have sufficient time to create their first game in class, which allows for communal learning and bolsters confidence levels. Twine is remarkably accessible; it was designed for storytellers rather than for programmers. Twine allows writers to create stories in which players can click on different choices, or links, to pursue different paths. It requires no programming experience, and most students can produce their first game after ten minutes of instruction.

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