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The Relevance and Importance of Mental Health Representation in Video Games
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Tusman, Lee
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Spring 2025
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2025
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9888_Ray_Chizmadia.pdf
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For artists, directors, writers, and creators, capturing and representing the human experience is a fundamental goal. Being able to find a representation of oneself in visual art, books, films, or any other medium resonates with people; the shared experience creates empathy and understanding. In this paper, I explore the positive and negative representations of mental health in video games. There is an importance in showing these representations in media, as without them, how are we meant to understand and connect with others' perspectives, cultures, and lives? It is realistic to see oneself in media, where you can see yourself in a story or character, which can make one feel empowered. The research on this topic comes together in my senior showcase installation, centered on a game I created called WESTBROOKE. The game follows a college student navigating their life, friendships, courses, and their environment while reflecting on the positive and negative treatment of those with mental health conditions, and demonstrates the possibilities for the future representation of mental health in videogames. While there can always be improvements made, starting somewhere small can mean a great deal.
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