Why Aren't There More Games About Depression?

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bogey_j

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#1  Edited By bogey_j
Member since 2013 • 60 Posts

i'm playing this game 'depression quest' right now and its awesome. its a more honest game than 98% of games i've played. why do the vast majority of games always have to have some happy optimistic motherf*cker as the main protagonist? why not someone suffering from depression? or a truly misanthropic jerk like the protagonist from saya no uta? (a true masterpiece btw)

we need more real people in games if they want to be taken seriously as art

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uninspiredcup

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#3 uninspiredcup
Member since 2013 • 58460 Posts

Max Payne. You sort it by shooting many people and leaping around.

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StrongBlackVine

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#4 StrongBlackVine
Member since 2012 • 13262 Posts

Because depression isn't fun?

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k2theswiss

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#5 k2theswiss
Member since 2007 • 16599 Posts

depression or not fairy tale happy ending?

whitch one TC

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FoxbatAlpha

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#6 FoxbatAlpha
Member since 2009 • 10669 Posts

State of Decay. You are so depressed zombies are everywhere.

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deactivated-58c8ef5f8044e

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#7  Edited By deactivated-58c8ef5f8044e
Member since 2012 • 546 Posts

It's post apocalyptic, almost everyone in the world is dead and this kid is alone for the first time and has nobody. He accepts this task his grandpa gives him to go to tokyo tower to find the one person that is left.

Similar to the anime Casshern Sins, it's very melancholy and most important of all, depressing.

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#8  Edited By bogey_j
Member since 2013 • 60 Posts
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

but its real. and millions upon millions of people are affected by it

and why has it become some rule that games have to be 'fun' all the time? an experience that makes you think and impacts you in a profound way is just as valuable if not more so than a stupid-fun game that helps take your mind off things for a while

not all award-winning movies are enjoyable to sit through but that doesn't mean they're bad. gaming for the most part doesn't have any balls; devs are too afraid to make the gamer feel uncomfortable

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millerlight89

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#9 millerlight89
Member since 2007 • 18658 Posts

@bogey_j said:
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

and why has it become some rule that games have to be 'fun'?

Because that's the point of a game? To be enjoyable? Entertainment.....

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#10 foxhound_fox
Member since 2005 • 98532 Posts

Shadow of the Colossus is pretty depressing at the end. Especially after the whole journey to get there.

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#11  Edited By PinkieWinkie
Member since 2006 • 1454 Posts

OP, do you need someone to talk to

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#12  Edited By bogey_j
Member since 2013 • 60 Posts
@millerlight89 said:

@bogey_j said:
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

and why has it become some rule that games have to be 'fun'?

Because that's the point of a game? To be enjoyable? Entertainment.....

are all great movies 'fun' to watch?

is all great music 'fun' to listen to?

are all great books 'fun' to read?

things don't have to be 'fun' in order to be enjoyable or considered great art

why are you putting games into a box? they could be so much more

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#13  Edited By uninspiredcup
Member since 2013 • 58460 Posts

@foxhound_fox said:

Shadow of the Colossus is pretty depressing at the end. Especially after the whole journey to get there.

My friend, I tend to think Shadow Of Colossus is a masterpiece destruction of American hero syndrome we have all been conditioned to accept as well as the bias towards beauty.

Why are all the main heroes in the Witcher 2 American? Yet all the lesser people British. Why are the villains always beasts or monsters while the hero is youthful and beautiful? This title masterfully fucks around with your expectations and makes you feel like a big ****.

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#14 StrongBlackVine
Member since 2012 • 13262 Posts

@bogey_j said:
@millerlight89 said:

@bogey_j said:
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

and why has it become some rule that games have to be 'fun'?

Because that's the point of a game? To be enjoyable? Entertainment.....


why are you putting games into a box? they could be so much more

Not really.

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the_bi99man

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#15 the_bi99man
Member since 2004 • 11465 Posts

@bogey_j said:
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

but its real. and millions upon millions of people are affected by it

And this means there should be video games about it?

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lostrib

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#16  Edited By lostrib
Member since 2009 • 49999 Posts

Because it's depressing

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#17 bogey_j
Member since 2013 • 60 Posts

@the_bi99man said:

@bogey_j said:
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

but its real. and millions upon millions of people are affected by it

And this means there should be video games about it?

yes why not?

in real life people kill eachother with guns and there are tons of games about that. why not this?

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#18 jake44
Member since 2003 • 2085 Posts

I wouldn't mind playing more games on the subject. I've played a few but my favorite is Actual Sunlight.

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stuff238

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#19 stuff238
Member since 2012 • 3284 Posts

If you want to feel depressed, just play any Wii U game.

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#20 thom_maytees
Member since 2010 • 3668 Posts

@stuff238 said:

If you want to feel depressed, just play any Wii U game.

Upset that Nintendo won Publisher of the Year from EDGE?

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#21 lostrib
Member since 2009 • 49999 Posts

@thom_maytees said:

@stuff238 said:

If you want to feel depressed, just play any Wii U game.

Upset that Nintendo won Publisher of the Year from EDGE?

why would anyone be upset about that?

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#22 Ghost120x
Member since 2009 • 6056 Posts
@RogueStatus28 said:

It's post apocalyptic, almost everyone in the world is dead and this kid is alone for the first time and has nobody. He accepts this task his grandpa gives him to go to tokyo tower to find the one person that is left.

Similar to the anime Casshern Sins, it's very melancholy and most important of all, depressing.

I remember playing this game and getting disturbed by the kissing scene. I wasn't expecting it.

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#23 Jynxzor
Member since 2003 • 9313 Posts

What is the OP on about? Tons of games tackle the subject of depression, the game might not bullet point.

  • This shits about depression yo

But a ton of games tackle depressing subjects, christ play any of the early Silent Hill games where many of the characters are stuck in their own god damn personal hell and put face to face with every facet of their Psyche made manifest.

Christ even a game like FFVII hit on depression early on, the main villain and hero faced massive depression and how they reacted pretty much defined them as characters. Now if your talking about the game being some allegory on depression you wont find many games that slap you in the face with it outside of indy flash games.

But that's true with most naratives they want to hit on a subject and not beat you over the head with it but still make you think.

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#24  Edited By tubbyc
Member since 2005 • 4004 Posts

Neverending Nightmares seems interesting if you want something with a very different theme and related to mental illness.

I think that kind of thing would be a pretty exciting change for horror games (not that I'm saying I would want them all to be like that).

There's all kinds of dark-themed games we play, and we can still find them fun because we know it's just a game. This one seems interesting to me and worth a try, but something like Manhunt just doesn't appeal to me, even though others can feel differently.

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#25 jg4xchamp
Member since 2006 • 64037 Posts

What?

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#26 Sword-Demon
Member since 2008 • 7007 Posts

Plenty of games have characters suffering from a plethora of mental illnesses, including depression.

Just because games aren't screaming "Hey! This is about depression!" doesn't mean that they avoid the issues.

I for one, much prefer subtlety to being beaten over the head with a character saying "I'm Sad!"

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#27 Joedgabe
Member since 2006 • 5134 Posts

There's some games that touch the subject, I for one don't find it a good idea to blast of games entirely on the subject. There's something about people looking for were they "fit" in that they seek out what category they belong to and try to fit in there, and that is incredibly dangerous.

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#28 stuff238
Member since 2012 • 3284 Posts

@thom_maytees said:

@stuff238 said:

If you want to feel depressed, just play any Wii U game.

Upset that Nintendo won Publisher of the Year from EDGE?

Not at all. I only trust NA reviewers. Edge is a UK reviewer. They don't know how to review or score games properly. I also hate Eurogamer, Famitsu and a bunch more. They have a stupid way of thinking, so their opinion means nothing to me.

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deactivated-5920bf77daa85

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#30 deactivated-5920bf77daa85
Member since 2004 • 3270 Posts

@bogey_j said:
@millerlight89 said:

@bogey_j said:
@StrongBlackVine said:

Because depression isn't fun?

and why has it become some rule that games have to be 'fun'?

Because that's the point of a game? To be enjoyable? Entertainment.....

are all great movies 'fun' to watch?

is all great music 'fun' to listen to?

are all great books 'fun' to read?

things don't have to be 'fun' in order to be enjoyable or considered great art

why are you putting games into a box? they could be so much more

Doom ... is not art

Master of Orion ... is not art

Unreal Tournament ... is not art

X3: Reunion ... is not art

Civilization ... is not art

Crusader Kings ... is not art

Fight Night ... is not art

Forza Motorsport ... is not art

What planet are you living on?

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#31 LegatoSkyheart
Member since 2009 • 29733 Posts

didn't Spec Ops The Line touch on this?

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#32  Edited By Lucianu
Member since 2007 • 10347 Posts

@jg4xchamp said:

What?

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#33 Blabadon
Member since 2008 • 33030 Posts

Commercialism.

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#34 iambatman7986
Member since 2013 • 4563 Posts

Ever played a jrpg? The main character is almost always depressed. J/k

Seriously I'm not sure why there aren't many games based on it.

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#35  Edited By TheTruthIsREAL
Member since 2013 • 813 Posts

Are you emo or something? Why would you want to play a game that is always depressing? I'd rather play a game where there is a struggle, such as Heavy Rain but playing a game that leaves me depressed isn't a good experience to me.

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#36 heretrix
Member since 2004 • 37881 Posts
@TheTruthIsREAL said:

Are you emo or something? Why would you want to play a game that is always depressing? I'd rather play a game where there is a struggle, such as Heavy Rain but playing a game that leaves me depressed isn't a good experience to me.

A game about depression does not mean a depressing game. (Although that's a pretty tall order for it not to be).