Assessment of Depression Quest
1. What is your reaction to the text you just read or viewed?
Although surprised at first by the depth of the virtual experience, I think that the writers of this game did a fair job of creating a realistic choosing experience for the player. There was a proper amount of backstory to give the feeling that this depression is something our protagonist is new to, and the options presented as questions, paired with the inner game dialogue, gave the whole experience a more realistic and cognitive feeling. I feel that this game may perhaps be a little outdated, regarding the therapeutic taboos that are established later in the game that no longer reflect today's society as accurately, but I think that these individualistic experiences could be applied to certain individuals in a more realistic sense. I thought the dialogue was well written and choices presented were accurate to those struggling with depression. This game could perhaps be used as a way to help others understand what depression could be like if they take the implications of the game and assess them seriously.
2. What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work which you were able to connect.
First off, this game was eerily accurate to my own life in circumstance. Being in that I have a best friend named Alex, an out of town friend named Amanda, a cat, I drive a Civic and I have a friend who drives a Blue Camaro. Besides those ironic pieces that also apply to my own life, the way that the story was written reminded me of a book that I had read in the past, beginning of middle school era, called TTYL. In this novel the entire storyline takes place in a chatroom and the reader has to determine what is happening outside of the written text (or chatroom in that case) that helps to move the story forward. I felt the way the scenes and dialogue were composed was similar to 2004 novel, giving the player little context to what is happening outside of this very isolated environment. Although published in 2013, Depression Quest has a similar aura of stress and isolation, but overshadowed by embarrassment which is something that our main character struggles with in spades when handling their situations.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium. What medium would you use and what changes would you make?
If I were to adapt this story into another medium besides a game, perhaps a visual album, I would first have to apply more modern stereotypes of mental health throughout. Therapy is not as strong a taboo today as it were in 2013, but that cannot be done away with completely. The difficulty in writing a game or any type of media regarding depression or mental health is that these circumstances surrounding the individualistic characters are evaluated differently by each individual. Depending on a persons belief systems, how they were raised, where they live and what cultures they interact with, etcetera. I feel that the best way to be able to make the album as applicable as possible is to have no text or words other then visual, but drive the story with imagery and feeling. Visuals are an almost universal language, with each listener able to derive their own feelings from what they see or experience. The songs, in my opinion, should not have lyrics, but instead sound effects of surroundings and melodies that effect our protagonist and drive the piece forward. The visuals should also be if possible in the first person, giving an in/ out of body experience for those participating in this.
Although surprised at first by the depth of the virtual experience, I think that the writers of this game did a fair job of creating a realistic choosing experience for the player. There was a proper amount of backstory to give the feeling that this depression is something our protagonist is new to, and the options presented as questions, paired with the inner game dialogue, gave the whole experience a more realistic and cognitive feeling. I feel that this game may perhaps be a little outdated, regarding the therapeutic taboos that are established later in the game that no longer reflect today's society as accurately, but I think that these individualistic experiences could be applied to certain individuals in a more realistic sense. I thought the dialogue was well written and choices presented were accurate to those struggling with depression. This game could perhaps be used as a way to help others understand what depression could be like if they take the implications of the game and assess them seriously.
2. What connections did you make with the story that you read? Discuss the elements of the work which you were able to connect.
First off, this game was eerily accurate to my own life in circumstance. Being in that I have a best friend named Alex, an out of town friend named Amanda, a cat, I drive a Civic and I have a friend who drives a Blue Camaro. Besides those ironic pieces that also apply to my own life, the way that the story was written reminded me of a book that I had read in the past, beginning of middle school era, called TTYL. In this novel the entire storyline takes place in a chatroom and the reader has to determine what is happening outside of the written text (or chatroom in that case) that helps to move the story forward. I felt the way the scenes and dialogue were composed was similar to 2004 novel, giving the player little context to what is happening outside of this very isolated environment. Although published in 2013, Depression Quest has a similar aura of stress and isolation, but overshadowed by embarrassment which is something that our main character struggles with in spades when handling their situations.
3. What changes would you make to adapt this story into another medium. What medium would you use and what changes would you make?
If I were to adapt this story into another medium besides a game, perhaps a visual album, I would first have to apply more modern stereotypes of mental health throughout. Therapy is not as strong a taboo today as it were in 2013, but that cannot be done away with completely. The difficulty in writing a game or any type of media regarding depression or mental health is that these circumstances surrounding the individualistic characters are evaluated differently by each individual. Depending on a persons belief systems, how they were raised, where they live and what cultures they interact with, etcetera. I feel that the best way to be able to make the album as applicable as possible is to have no text or words other then visual, but drive the story with imagery and feeling. Visuals are an almost universal language, with each listener able to derive their own feelings from what they see or experience. The songs, in my opinion, should not have lyrics, but instead sound effects of surroundings and melodies that effect our protagonist and drive the piece forward. The visuals should also be if possible in the first person, giving an in/ out of body experience for those participating in this.
Comments
Post a Comment