Mental Health Game Dev Champions Finalists and Awards Showcase Announcement

Posted: 25 Nov 2024

We are delighted to announce the finalists for our 2024 Mental Health Game Dev Champions event and the date of the official Game Dev Champions Showcase premiere.

Game Dev Champions was a worldwide event that invited creatives of all ages and backgrounds to participate in a game jam centred around the theme of mental health. The event encouraged newcomers, up-and-coming talent, and individuals working in non-development roles to cultivate new skills that have the potential to lead to a variety of career opportunities. Throughout the event, Safe In Our World hosted a series of masterclasses tackling various aspects of game development, with the aim of providing developers with the tools and expertise to create their games.

“We’re incredibly proud of everybody who got involved. From the game jammers all the way to sponsors like Xbox and Discord,” Commented Sarah Sorrell, Charity Director at Safe In Our World. “Your creativity and passion has shown us how games can be an important vehicle to tackle the often underrepresented subject of mental health.”

The Awards Showcase

Judged by an esteemed panel of mental health and games industry experts, Safe In Our World is now ready to announce the Game Dev Champions finalists ahead of the Game Dev Champions Showcase – hosted by Doug Cockle and Cassie Hughes – where the winners will be announced on Saturday the 7th of December from 6pm GMT via YouTube premiere. Tune in here.

The Finalists

Finalists have been narrowed down to a list of 25 games, up for awards in categories focused on design, narrative, innovation, audio, tech, and more. Learn more about the games that made it to the finals and play them below:

A Place to Start – After a five-year absence, Saif—a quiet man with a troubled past—is given a second chance to reconnect with his daughter.

Close Knit – A cozy narrative adventure platformer focused on impostor syndrome, returning to a place you once knew, and learning to create out of love and not for validation.

Coyote Summer – The year is 2020 and you are so very tired. Your job’s stressful, your home life’s worse, so you start walking in the desert, looking for something but you’re not sure what.

Emotional Damage – A unique 2D side-scrolling shooter where you face off against an unrelenting therapist, launching question-based attack patterns designed to break your mental defenses.

For Tomorrow – A metroidvania set in a dystopian world, robbed of its joy and life. Fight through various areas as you struggle to find a reason to push on.

Glass Thoughts – Traveling deep into his self-consciousness, Witold Miller, a young Polish-German prosecutor, confronts the surreal, hostile and distorted world of his fears.

a screenshot showing illustrated characters sat in armchairs talking about feelings and avoidance

Growing Pains – Play as a child whose dad has recently passed away. This leaves your Mom in a grief stricken, catatonic state. Now you as the older child, have to take up responsibilities around the house, take care of your mom and hold the family together.

Incomplete Books In My Garden – A simple game of collecting emotions. A gentle approach to the toughest emotions we can experience.

Just a Month – Explore your mother’s old computer that she used when she was just 16. Read her personal thoughts, sift through her emails, and explore the forum she used to love years ago.

Letters – Welcome back to Tiny Whiney Island, now in need of a little fixing up! As the island’s new postman, pedal your way through scenic paths, deliver letters, and help resolve local conflicts. Your mission? To bring warmth and harmony back to this once-cozy Island.

Life in Small Steps – For some people, life is lived in small, cautious steps. Follow Clara as she navigates the consequences of her anxiety disorder on her thinking abilities, her work-life and her relationships.

Magical Greenhouse – A simulation game where you manage your own Potion Shop. Buy some magical plants, create potions and sell them to grow your business!

a screenshot from Magical Greenhouse showing a 2D illustrated laboratory with a potion swirling inside the test tubes

Mind Over Machine – Imagine a world where machines build A.I emotions, their programmed, and relegated to their tasks without a thought—until one day, something changes.

On Constant Delay – A narrative-driven 3D game that explores the daily struggles of living with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

“We envisioned On Constant Delay first and foremost as a narrative project. Transforming our personal experience into this ‘shared narrative’ allowed us to convey our emotions in a more powerful and immediate way, fostering empathy and, possibly, identification in the player. By doing so, we hope to contribute to reducing the stigma and sense of isolation surrounding OCD. We are truly proud of what we’ve accomplished with this project.”

On the Trajectory of Your Rocket to the Moon – A horror game about saying goodbye. A bear has to help their partner pack things up and get ready for her flight to the moon.

One Off Detective – You are Roxie, a socially awkward fox with unresolved childhood trauma who hates being the centre of attention. This unexpectedly violent Halloween Party will force you to take a step out of your comfort zone and confront your inner turmoil.

Scribble for Your Thoughts – Play as an art counsellor in this visual novel and help out your client in the medium they’re most comfortable in. Talk to and connect with them, you never know when you’ll have to make choices to earn your client’s trust.

Seeds of Hope – Play as the shop keeper in a plant shop, and let the plants heal your customers – or even yourself.

a screenshot showing On Constant Delay. There is a character stood in the rain with a blue hooded sweatshirt on, stood by a yellow bus stop and ticket booth

Still here – A short story on self healing through poems and reflection.

The Boy in the Play – A 3D experience created to explain the anxiety and stress caused by being different, and how the developer overcame it.

“The process of making The Boy In The Play was very cathartic, and at times emotional, because although I have abstracted many of the events they were all based on my lived experiences that I try not to dwell on. For most of my life I have struggled, though I wasn’t able to see that I was struggling until I met some very important people, my wife and eventually my son. If there is any message that I want my game to tell people, is that it’s ok to not be ok. Sometimes it takes three decades before things start to get better, and that is perfectly fine.”

The Lonely Architect – Pieces of Him – A 2D atmospheric platformer that delves into the subconscious of an overworked architect struggling with isolation. As you explore different aspects of his mind, you encounter reflections of his mental state and the obstacles he faces.

The Silence is Loud – A narrative-driven psychological adventure that takes you deep into the isolating experience of solitude. Through the interface of an old smartphone, you’ll engage in a series of seemingly mundane, yet hauntingly emotional conversations that reveal the true weight of being alone.

The Wish – Your story begins with a Wish. You are a silly-looking cat attempting to navigate the mundane challenges of adulthood. Traverse a doodly world full of humor while rolling your dice D&D style to succeed or fail in comically exaggerated ways! Every task has multiple outcomes.

Umbra – In this 3D puzzle platformer, players explore the shadows of a mind trapped by unprocessed emotions. Players can only move within shadows and must jump from shadow to shadow to progress, avoiding the light that forces them to confront what they’ve hidden away.

You Have Ten Minutes – A game about the struggles of dealing with poor mental health, executive dysfunction, and overwhelming thoughts, inspired by the developer’s own experience.

a screenshot from the wish showing a 2D illustration of a cat with a spatula in the kitchen, deciding whether to make eggs or cereal for breakfast

This showcase has shown us the power of game jams, and how important they can be for developers in creating special experiences for such an important theme. We loved seeing the passion that fuelled so many of these incredible games, and the community that was built around them to tell these important stories.

“The Jam was an important one for me, My game explains that I could no longer continue my original career so I was able to pursue my passion as a game developer however, I was naïve to think that I could just land a job so easily, and the constant rejection and mounting bills was playing a huge part in my mental downfall. Safe In Our World allowed me to show this in the form of a game and even being a finalist shows that I CAN do this and I DO have a talent for it, its provided me with the confidence to continue in my search of a game development position within a studio. Thank you.”

The Game Dev Champions Showcase wraps up a year of incredible awareness and fundraising activity from Safe In Our World. Looking ahead, the charity will soon announce its Ambassador class of 2025 and encourages those interested in collaborating on fundraising or sponsored events to get in touch with Business Development & Marketing Manager, Jess Rutland.