The Anamorphine Video Game Explores Depression in Interactive Ways
Justin Lam — January 31, 2018 — Tech
References: store.steampowered & gamasutra
The Anamorphine video game is a beautiful adventure that explores and depicts mental health. Described as a surreal adventure game, Anamorphine aims to depict depression and trauma through the lens of imagery, music and art. Developed by Artifact 5, Anamorphine functions around a distinct gameplay mechanic that the developers have called "rendering emotions." In the game, the world literally falls apart as the character's mental states deteriorate. This leads to a visual representation of debilitating mental health in a way that translates metaphorical to literal.
The Anamorphine video game places players in control of a young man named Tyler. Tyler and the player must navigate their understanding of mental health in order to support Tyler's wife Elena, who is quietly slipping into depression. Herein lies the message of the game, as Anamorphine attempts to show players the difficulty of living with depression and how to aid people surviving trauma.
The Anamorphine video game places players in control of a young man named Tyler. Tyler and the player must navigate their understanding of mental health in order to support Tyler's wife Elena, who is quietly slipping into depression. Herein lies the message of the game, as Anamorphine attempts to show players the difficulty of living with depression and how to aid people surviving trauma.
Trend Themes
1. Mental Health Gamification - The Anamorphine video game represents a shift toward using games to examine and depict mental health issues.
2. Interactive Storytelling - Anamorphine highlights the potential for immersive storytelling and exploration as a tool to raise awareness and understanding of mental health.
3. Emotional Rendering in Video Games - Anamorphine features gameplay mechanic called 'rendering emotions', indicating a trend toward using video games to convey complex emotions and mental states visually.
Industry Implications
1. Video Game Industry - The success of Anamorphine highlights opportunities for video game designers and developers to create game experiences that both entertain and educate players about important mental health issues.
2. Mental Health Industry - The rising popularity of mental health-focused video games, such as Anamorphine, underscores the potential for video games to complement traditional forms of therapy and mental health treatment.
3. Entertainment Industry - Collaboration between video game developers, filmmakers, writers, and other creators can open up opportunities for unique and artistic ways of visualizing and exploring complex mental health issues for the sake of entertainment and education.
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