Depression Quest Addresses Pain of Mental Illness

[bastardofmelbourne]

yes, it went completely over my head because i am an idiot, mr einstein.

its not like i wish could select other bad to okayish answers, nope.
i am just making a fuss about all this because i really like to give my avatar the chance to pick one of the goody great overly positive answers.

No, it went over your head because you probably don't suffer from depression. That's a good thing.

 

[Riobux]

Anyway, as for cynism, I'm quite cynical myself (heh, one of my passions is geopolitics, so you can see that it doesn't help), but I found out that you can use this cynism to make other people laugh and give them a smile by doing some good jokes about everything. See the system as it is and then mock it ruthlessly for your enjoyment and the others'. Having friends is really one of the best things that happened to me: if the general world will rather buy bad news, your friends will buy the good ones and you can then start a virtuous cycle instead of the self-destructive one.

Oh I'm one of those people who has managed to create a few laughs with moments of cynicism and dark humour, but it's far and few just because, to be blunt, I'm not a funny person. My friends do provide me with some good times, but even some of them would rather banter about bad news than good news (namely those who are also doing the same degree as me, and they have the preference mostly because of the relevance to the course). However, the friends I do have, have helped me out a lot. While I could of ended up as one of those people who hate society/humanity, with some moments of hatred for myself, absolutely alone, instead I've been able to somewhat share the load and it has made things so much easier. I am notorious for being the guy with the dark views, but in an enjoyable way (e.g. what could of been a somewhat offensive joke tonight concerning poems about slavery being rap music, was taken as the joke it was rather than as offensive), and I find that incredibly useful.

 

[Mr F.]

There is a reason why people dont make games like these:
peopel paly games to escape depression, not explore it.

People play games for a plethora of reasons. Not everyone plays games to escape depression (Hell, not every gamer is depressed, far from it), not everyone who is both depressed and a gamer plays games to escape depression.

Games like this are wonderful. They open eyes, open doors to further discussion... Well, yeah. End.

OT: I wont be playing this, not right now. From the disclaimers it doesn't look like it would be the best idea. I am glad it exists though and I am pleased to see how many people have been emotionally punched in the gut by the game. Although just about nothing (I cannot judge here) can actually compare to dealing with depression on a daily basis, anything that comes close to providing even a reflection of a glimpse is wonderful in my eyes, it fosters understanding.

Hopefully this will have some effect in stopping emo bashing by gamers.

*ponders*

Just realised I have not seen any of that recently. Perhaps I have stayed out of that sort of thread or perhaps this site is growing up in more ways then the gender debate.

 

[Mykal Stype]

Without wishing to sound insensitive, I've not actually played the "game" and I don't really want to, but I find the title "Depression Quest" kind of hilarious.

All I can think of when I see that is King Graham or Roger Wilco moping about the place looking really dejected as they continue to collect ludicrous numbers of random objects.

"Life is hell, but when it ends, there is no heaven. God doesn't exist, and when you die, you just stop being, and nothing comes from it.
"Now where the fuck is the blue key?! I have five red keys, a clock, a sandwich bag, a broom, and a frozen fish, but no blue key! Maybe if I put the fish in the bag and sweep it under Benjamin Gibbard's locked door... hey look, a blue key!"

 

[Mykal Stype]

It seems no one without depression is actually playing the game, which is... depressing. I wish more people would play it as it actually answers the annoying question of "if you're sad, then why don't you just stop being sad? When my grandma died, I was sad, but then I wasn't. You're just being a pussy." It's kind of like saying "you shattered your knee and can't walk? Well, why not just start walking? I once gently hit my knee on a door, but then I just started walking." Both the knee and the depression are fixable, but it's difficult, can be expensive, will never be completely "normal," and literally neither can be "walked off." The only difference is that it's extremely hard to describe depression to people as it's hard to put into words, and the person asking just makes fun of you for trying.

 

[Rattja]

In a episode of the series Dexter, someone shows him (Dexter) a game where you play as a serial killer.
Dexters response to this is "Why would anyone want to be a serial killer" in a angry manner.

I would like to respond in the same way.
I get the idea, I get the point, and it might be well made, I don't care.
No one should ever seek this state of mind, no one should ever have to experience it in any way, shape or form.

The game is just trying to help people understand what its like to be depressed. A lot of people are like " I've never been depressed, but I've been sad sometimes and I just snap out of it. Why don't depressed people just do that" and I think the game is trying to make people understand how its not that simple.

I hate to repeat myself, but... I get it, I know what it is trying to do, and I respect the effort.

My point is that it does not work like that.
You might understand that it is a problem, that it hurts, that is a horrible thing. However you will not be able to understand the actual feeling unless you are actually there yourself.
To me this is like someone putting on a blindfold, walking up to a blind person and say "Hey, I know how you feel"

Just as you can't explain colours to someone that has been blind their entire life, and just as no game or movie can make me understand love any better then "ok it somehow hurts and make people cry, laugh or smile"

Think of it this way, if you punch me to make me understand your own physical pain, I would not feel the same as you no matter what. If I were to hit you back to replicate the pain from your punch it too would fail, as we experience things differently and our physical strength is different.
It's both the same kind of pain, but so so different.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Still not as depressing as Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Seems intriguing, I might have to have a look at it when I have the time.