Month: November 2019

Why does Mind Games exist?

Posted on by in Real Life

On the 13th of April of this year, I uploaded my first article and made Mind Games available to the public. Since then, we’ve posted a total of 34 articles (including this one), achieved over 1,200 views, 530 unique visitors, 20 likes and 40 comments. Thanks to the outstanding support from you all; I’ve gotten to interview games developers at EGX, write an article for the fantastic charity group CheckPoint and tackle topics that we face every single day. So, there are several questions that arise from this that need to be answered. Where will we go next? How can we make things bigger and better? Why did I make Mind Games in the first place?

It is this final question that I want to talk about today. It’s something that I’ve been asked a lot since I clicked publish all those months ago. If I’m honest, it’s taken me a long time to truly understand why I did this. Normally, I am a very private person. Although I am not ashamed to talk about my mental health when asked, I don’t tend to initiate the conversation. So, creating a site where I regularly talk about difficult topics such as grief, anxiety, and depression, seems at odds with my normal self. Yet, thinking back on that decision, I can’t see any other choice I could have made.

Growing up, mental health has always been a touchy topic. Some people see it as a sign of weakness, something to be ashamed of. I’ve been accused of seeking attention, for making mountains out of molehills, of being pathetic. Thankfully, my family and close friends are brilliant. They accept me for who I am, baggage and all. I don’t feel guilty about having to step away from a situation when I start to get anxious or taking a day to myself when the darkness gets too much to deal with. However, I know that in other aspects of life, I will have to deny and supress the conditions that form such an integral part of my identity.

As a society, we are making progress towards taking mental health more seriously and providing support to those who need it. However, it is nowhere near enough. There are still people out there who believe mental health is merely a state of mind and that they just need to “get over it”. They believe that it is a choice. It isn’t. Nobody on the planet would willingly choose to suffer from a mental health condition. Sure, sometimes we can find that shred of good in amongst all the bad. We can make positive memories out of a bad situation. However, it’s a bittersweet thing.

For me, gaming has been a massive coping mechanism. I don’t deny that they formed a large part of my childhood years and continue to shape me as I take my first few steps into the “adult” world. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from or how old you are, there is a game for you out there. From games focusing on gritty realism and intense action, to the more symbolic experiences that leave you with a burning curiosity to uncover all it’s secrets, the possibilities are literally endless. Gaming is for everyone. Mental health affects us all. It seemed only right that these two areas should cross over.

When I was planning on starting Mind Games, I did some research into the field, to see what range of resources and existing publications are out there. To my surprise, I came across very few resources. Sure, there are a few amazing sites and charities that are dedicated to these important issues, but I found nothing like what I had imagined for Mind Games. Here’s the weird thing though. I didn’t feel proud or happy that I had thought of this “new idea”. The exact thought in my head when I realised this was simply – Why doesn’t it already exist? Why am I the one to take that step and encourage the conversation? We should already be talking about this, we should be building one another up, providing resources and support to those who need it.

I think the main reason I started Mind Games is because I wanted a place where people could feel like they didn’t have to be ashamed or scared or anxious to admit that they are struggling. People should be able to go – I’m not ok. We should be able to play games, no matter how goofy or ridiculous they seem and enjoy ourselves without fear of repercussions. My mental health over the last few years has gone through a lot, but one of the true peaks has been this site and the community it has created. Hearing from you all has been brilliant. From your own experiences, to your suggestions, hopes and wisdom – Mind Games would not be what it is without you.

People always say – be the change that you want to see in the world. It’s an odd phrase but I think after creating Mind Games, I finally know what it means. Even if I only help a handful of people, I will have still impacted lives that may have remained untouched otherwise. So thank you all, more than anything. I hope I will always be worthy of your kind words and endless support.

Never be ashamed of who you are, be honest and be kind.

See you next week,

CaitlinRC

PHOGS – WOOF WOOF:

Posted on by in Gaming

Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes with me, will know that my attention can be easily distracted by any form of fuzzy animal – be that in video games or just while walking down the street. I’m a sucker for animals, to the point where my default in any game is to pet anything and everything that will let me. I’ve always had more of a connection with animals than I have with people, partly due to my struggles with understanding the intentions behind other’s actions and partly due to my heightened empathy, which can overwhelm me to the point of breakdown.

Cats hold a special place in my heart. Amusingly, I’ve often been described as more of a cat than a human. This is often because I have an uncanny ability to befriend the more skittish felines. Much to one of my best friends’ confusion, I managed to get his extremely shy cat who wouldn’t stay in a room with him for long periods of time, to rub herself against my feet within a day of meeting her. Praise be CaitlinRC, the cat whisperer. Hence why my only flaw with Assassins Creed Syndicate is that you can’t pet the cats that wander around London’s streets. LET EVIE CUDDLE A CAT YOU COWARDS. Thankfully, video games will often let you pet the dogs. If they didn’t let me praise these good boys and girls, then I’d probably be in prison under arson charges. #NoRegrets

Row, row, row your BORK.

Any game that has you controlling animals, immediately skyrockets to the top of my “to play” list. PHOGS, the game we are talking about today, has been on my radar for a while now. I got a chance to play it back at EGX Rezzed last year, with my good friend Ellie. In PHOGS, you and a partner play a pair of goofy dogs, attached to one another through a very stretchy belly. One of you plays Red and the other plays Blue, so you must work together to solve a variety of puzzles in order to progress through the bright and colourful world that you find yourself in. Though you can play PHOGS solo, I’d recommend playing it with a friend or a family member, as a lot of the joy comes from the interactions you have, the havoc you wreak on one another and the inevitable bark off that arises when you realise that you can press a button to bark.

Although it is a puzzle games, the puzzles themselves are not ridiculously difficult. By keeping the mechanics simple, PHOGS encourages you to be creative with your solutions, to try out new things and see how far that doggo can stretch. If you stumble across the answer whilst doing it, then great! The game itself is a very calming experience. There are no real “enemies” in PHOGS. Sure, there’s a few creatures and bits that your doggies don’t particularly like, but they aren’t major setbacks. This makes it a great game for parents to play with their children, especially for kids who have a lot more trouble focusing than others. It teaches them about cooperation, logical thinking and puzzle solving, without punishing them for getting things wrong.

Hardworking pups need their beauty sleep.

One thing that the game gets 100% right, is its colour palette. Colourful, vibrant and pretty but not overwhelming. When chatting with Jack at the PHOGS stand during EGX, I discovered that a lot of parents spoke very highly of the game, especially when they got to sit down and play it with their kids. For the parents of children on the autistic spectrum especially, the number of video games that they can play together without worrying about overstimulation, anxiety or frustration can be counted on the fingers on one hand. So, having a game like PHOGS, where the art style, music, gameplay and puzzle solutions are tailored to be accessible to all, is a breath of fresh air for all it’s players. Personally, I found PHOGS calming, providing me with a sense of peace and relaxation that I rarely get to experience for a prolonged period. For someone with anxiety, that can be a game changer.

Having games that are accessible, is majorly important. We touched on this in a bit more detail during our article about the gaming charity, Special Effect, last week. When chatting with Jack, it became clearly obvious that PHOGS is a massively accessible game that they hope that anyone and everyone can enjoy. When asked about further accessibility options, Jack was brilliant and told me about their plans to implement options for those who are red-blue colour blind. Being able to adapt, improve and open your game to every type of player, is a sign of a good developer. CoatSink, the company behind PHOGS are also behind Cake Bash, another colourful local coop game that has you take control of sentient desserts that fight one another to become the “most delicious”. (Bit dark when you think on it too much)

Me when I put too much spice in my curry.

PHOGS isn’t out yet, with an estimated release date in early 2020 on basically every platform. Being able to watch its development and growth as a game has been a joy and I genuinely can’t wait to see how everyone reacts to it. The initial feedback from various game journalism publications such as Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun and GameSpace, have been outstandingly positive, so if you don’t believe me, go check out their pieces about PHOGS.

Anyways, I’ve got to go do more coursework, so look out for another piece soon and leave any feedback, suggestions or personal experiences in the comments! Like, comment, follow the site and our Twitter @OurMindGames for updates on all future content!

– CaitlinRC.

Special Effect – Press to HONK

Posted on by in Real Life

One of the most powerful tools that game designers use to cause you fear or unease, is to take away something that you rely on. Be it your faithful animal companion, your magical abilities or even a sense, to have that ripped from you changes how you approach the rest of the game. Even if it is restored, you face the rest of it with that voice in your head, reminding you that what has happened before, could and maybe will, happen again. Especially in games that rely so heavily on quick responses or audio cues, everything becomes so much harder, as if the difficulty has been turned up to eleven without you knowing.

HONK.

Now, apply that to everyday life. Simple tasks are more difficult, there are some situations that are completely inaccessible to you and experiences that you will never get to have. Not fair is it? That’s what life can be like with a disability. Mental or physical, these disabilities can taint every part of our lives, constantly reminding you of its presence. For example, games majorly focused on strategy and cooperative play can be a massive struggle for those who are neurodivergent, particularly those on the autistic spectrum who struggle to pick up on social cues. Depending on the colour palette you use for your game, those who are colour blind may not be able to play. Even subtitles can make a massive difference in allowing people to enjoy a medium that a lot of us take for granted.

So, why am I bringing this up? What game could I possibly be talking about? Why am I asking various rhetorical questions to readers who can’t hear the sarcasm in my voice? Well, whilst I was at EGX, I got the chance to talk to the lovely Becky from Special Effect. If you haven’t heard of Special Effect, they’re a charity that builds custom gaming rigs for the physically disabled, both young and old, to enable them to enjoy the games we know and love. From creating joysticks that can be controlled with your chin, to having a big yellow button you can hit to make the goose honk, they will go above and beyond to improve the quality of life of those with disabilities. If that’s not selflessness, I don’t know what is.

Best Robot 11/10

I wanted to highlight Special Effect, here, on MindGames, because what they do is so important. The whole purpose of this site is to highlight how gaming and mental health are closely linked, how they can affect one another and improve our lives for the better. Yet, some people can’t access video games. They are cut off from one of the most powerful forms of media, all because of something they had no control over. Despite being dealt a crap hand in life, these people are all phenomenal. Kind, hilarious, bright and compassionate, they are the pinnacle of what humanity should be. So, it is our duty as the rest of humanity to nurture that potential, that hope and enjoyment in any way that we can.

One of Special Effect’s projects that really caught my eye was Bubble Busters. Their cute little bots have an inbuilt camera, microphone and speaker so that children who can’t physically attend school, can still be there in class, to keep up with their education and to let them have those childhood experiences we all remember. Inside jokes, hanging with their friends, getting any academic support they need, it is all possible with these little robots. Currently, the scheme is focused on children with leukaemia, who are forced to be at home for long periods of time due to their severely weakened immune system. This terrifying point in their life, is when they need their friends the most. That is what Special Effect is trying to accomplish and the impact they’ve had on kids lives already is astounding.

TLDR: They’re great, go support them.

As we discussed in my piece on Alien Isolation, loneliness can be a powerful thing when not dealt with. Sure, we all need a little me time now and then but being trapped alone with only the thoughts of your situation, is something that no one deserves. This extends beyond just those with the disability, but also to those around them. The family, friends and carers are also struggling. Having a few moments where they know everything is ok, that they don’t have to worry, can be the difference between a good day and a bad day. Be it being able to play a game with your child for the first time or just seeing them smile so wide it hurts your heart to look at, the impact is phenomenal.

Apologies that this piece is a lot shorter than usual. All I can say is that you should go investigate this amazing charity yourself. Here’s their website – https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/ .

Till next time,

CaitlinRC

Röki and Eldest Souls – United Label Are One To Watch:

Posted on by in Gaming

Whilst I was at EGX, I got the chance to chat to the folks at United Label and try out their two games – Röki and Eldest Souls. First, I want to say a massive thank you to all the team I chatted to, who were a delight! They were all clearly passionate about their creations and the origins behind them, which only made me more excited to try out their games. It’s clear that a massive amount of care and detail has been put into their works and I highly recommend you go check them out, they’re deserving of all the love and attention you can give them. However, Röki and Eldest Souls are two very different games. Much like oil and water, they’re two creations that you wouldn’t expect to find under the same umbrella. So, lets talk about them and why they caught my eye.

Look at Tove’s cute little hat and backpack! LOOK AT IT!

First up, let’s talk about Röki. Made by Tom and Alex from Polygon Treehouse, it is their first venture into the indie gaming community, and it looks incredible. At its core, it is a game about kindness and courage. Based on Scandinavian folklore, you follow Tove, a young girl on a journey to save her family and confront her past. The world is full of monsters, but they are not inherently evil. They are merely creatures, like you and I. Pain, sadness, fear, happiness and humour – they experience these emotions as we do. Taking a step away from the traditional “must stab monsters” view that a lot of games based on exploring a world tend to follow. To move forward in the game, you help them solve their problems and in turn they’ll help you solve yours.

Inspired by the Monkey Island series and games like Day of The Tentacle, Röki has a strong narrative that is supported by various complex puzzles that encourage you to explore the expansive world. Straight off the bat, you will be astounded by the sheer beauty of the game. The art style makes a strong use of colour and silhouette to create a living, breathing world that you feel a genuine part of. This is added to by the excellent sound design. Wind whistles through the trees, you hear leaves rustle and the crunch of the fallen snow beneath Tove’s feet. You hear birds calling and squirrels chittering, the monsters grunt and mutter to themselves as you run past. When you stop to think about it, each piece of the world is just as important and alive as the main character is.

Can confirm, I spent several minutes running around in the snow like the child at heart I am.

Röki comes across at first glance, as a cute little indie romp through a forest. However, the moment you boot it up and immerse yourself in the world, its clearly so much more than that. You are merely a piece on the chessboard, moving your way across to the other side and tackling whatever problems cross your path. The story of Tove, of her journey to find her family and face the demons of her past, is one of many tales being told in this fairy tale forest. The kindly troll by the bridge, the oracles in the trees and the abandoned woodsman’s house, they all have their own story to tell. Why is the hut abandoned? What were those buried in the graves like when they were alive? How did the troll come to be injured anyways?

The puzzles are not inherently hard. They require you to think outside the box a bit more than most games in this style. However, the game provides you with hints if you ever get stuck in the form of the oracles. Inside a few key locations, are the wise oracles whom you can consult for assistance in your journey. Although cryptic, they will provide you with hints and suggestions as to what you need to achieve in order to move forward – e.g. who you need to help or which area you need to explore further to find that key item. Röki will be one of those games that are inherently calming and peaceful, especially to those of us who suffer from anxiety. Standing by the sea or in a forest, I feel at peace. The world keeps turning, the environment around me lives on whilst I stand still, unmoving. It makes sense, when a lot of the world doesn’t seem to.

LOOK HOW GORGEOUS THIS GAME IS! SERIOUSLY!!

In contrast, Eldest Souls falls on the opposite end of the spectrum. Taking a leaf from the Souls series, it follows the lone warrior as he attempts to slay the imprisoned Old Gods before the remnants of humanity are completely wiped out from the world. A combination of exploration and boss fights, Eldest Souls sees you explore a crumbling ruin known as The Citadel, encountering NPC’s, mysteries and the Old God’s themselves. These encounters are not for the fainthearted and the chances of you making it out alive are very slim. An RPG at its core, it allows you to decide how you wish to approach its challenges and how much of the hidden lore of the desolated world you wish to uncover.

Made by Fallen Flag Studios, a group of developers that started out as students, Eldest Souls puts a unique spin on the “souls” combat style. Each boss you come across is a completely unique fight, requiring you to rethink how you approach each combat encounter. Once you defeat a boss, you gain their unique “ability”. Say for example, a boss used a spin attack against you. Once beaten, you could gain that skill and apply it to unlock new areas of the Citadel, tackle previously impossible bosses or just make life a bit easier for you. Apart from the initial tutorial boss, you have control over the order in which you tackle each boss. Struggling on one in particular? Then go try another one and come back later. Obviously, there will be a few bosses that need to be beaten in order to progress the story further but the flexibility of it is brilliant.

I have to admit this is a very cool logo.

Eldest Soul’s art style is in the form of pixel art, which gives a slightly lighter note to the bleak nature of the world. An incredible amount of detail has gone into each sprite, including the telegraphing of their attacks and how they respond to you. The world around you, although decimated, feels like it is slowly beginning to live again. The artists have added tiny details that when you notice them, make all the difference. For example, during the small section that I tried out, it opened on a boat. The boat rocked from side to side as the waves flowed against it, the rain falling as if a great storm was approaching. It felt like an average day in Cardiff, I’m not going to lie. From particle effects in their teleportation system which lets you choose to exit a boss fight and come back later with ease, to the crumbling of obstacles as you smash through them, it’s a breath-taking game to experience.

When in doubt, stab it and run away at full pelt.

One key bit that I really want to highlight is the music. I had the chance to chat with the composer of the game’s soundtrack and honestly, even if this kind of game isn’t your thing, just get the soundtrack. It’s hauntingly beautiful, matching the tone of the areas you venture through. As you step into a boss arena, the music builds in tension, exploding into a heart racing anthem to your struggle against the Old Gods and their dark creations. Although I never actually beat the boss (because I’m terrible at Souls games), I can say with confidence that the music helped me get into the mindset to defeat it. It gives off a “David vs Goliath” feel that I think is missing from a lot of games, where you are up against an insurmountable foe, but you believe that you can defeat it.

The Citadel is an intruiging place to explore, where you aren’t sure what is around the corner but are excited to find out.

I think that both Röki and Eldest Souls are games to keep an eye on. Sure, there are more major releases over the next year that everyone is keen on, such as Cyberpunk or the Avengers game, but I have always thought that the indie gaming scene is where the true stars shine and United Label has not let me down on that front. I can’t wait to see their finished products and to follow what they do in future and I hope you’ll give them a shot too.

If you enjoyed this article, give it a like and comment below any games or topics you’d like me to cover in future! I’ve got a lot of post-EGX content for you all, with Monday’s piece being all about the amazing charity – Special Effect. Till next time,

CaitlinRC.