From Life is Strange
Sometimes what developers put into their games is less important than what we take away. For instance, Dontnod Entertainment put a lot of thought into its portrayals of bullying, depression and suicidality into Life Is Strange, but that wasn’t what helped developer Jake Durasamy deal with his depression.
In an article at The Sixth Axis, Durasamy explains that while he was effected by the bullying plotline, it was actually the game’s time travel mechanic that helped change his perspective.
As emotional as this one moment was, Life is Strange started placing emphasis on being able to change important outcomes of situations for the remainder of the game, but oddly enough that even when I was given the option to do this, I began feeling unhappy with the results. Life is Strange made me start believing that maybe some things are just best left unchanged, despite being unhappy with circumstances and situations.
By the end of the final episode, I had this overwhelming feeling that some problems were just meant to happen in the real world just as they did in the game, whether they were deaths or a change of circumstances. I learnt that I could avoid stress by changing how I saw my situation and circumstances. I started comparing the game to what was happening to me, which in turn allowed me to talk to people again, in the hope that I could help someone else who may not be so open about issues affecting them.
Check out the full article at The Sixth Axis, where Durasamy explains how this revelation made a genuine difference in his life.
