Tag - Story

News | Stories

Navigating the Complexities of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and Rediscovering Purpose in the Games Industry

Since my earliest years, I’ve always sensed a profound difference within myself, as if I didn’t quite fit into the mold of “normal” childhood. It took me a long while to truly understand what was going on during this time. ...

Stories

Celeste: How one video game made me take better care of my mental health

When the pandemic began, like most people, I found myself with more time on my hands than I knew what to do with. Then, I remembered my backlog of video games! I didn’t know what I was getting myself into...

News | Stories

Alcohol Awareness with Julia Melvin

This week is Alcohol Awareness Week, a campaign from Alcohol Change UK to raise awareness of the impact alcohol can have on society and end alcohol harm. Alcohol Change UK is not an anti-alcohol charity, but they are advocating for...

Stories

Resilience, Riddles and Reality: Why I Design Puzzle Games

I am a game designer. No wait, scratch that. More specifically – I am an escape room designer. I became a professional, full time escape room designer back in 2019. Not long before the global pandemic… And you can guess...

Stories

Knowing Yourself Is Half the Battle

I didn’t have a queer role model growing up. The only tangible examples of people like me I ever saw were the ones presented in movies and television. You know, the ones who are constantly tormented and tortured, who can’t...

Stories

The Freedom & Possibility in Video Games

I don’t remember the first time I ever played a video game. What I do know is my brother, being only a year older than me, had a player 2 once I was old enough to hold a controller. I...

Stories

How Video Games Saved My Life

Mental health. For me, this topic is intensely complex, and tied in with both gaming and all aspects of my life and journey. As a streamer, we put ourselves in the public eye so many times, and it can be...

Stories

Agoraphobia recovery and finding myself in Stardew Valley

I have been through a lot of traumas in my life so far, from being bullied by all the girls in my year in high school to multiple situations with men who didn’t listen to me when I said no....

Stories

Video Games are my Mental Crutch

Video games have been an important part of my life for over 35 years. They bring me a lot of joy and now I make my living as a game journalist, grateful that something that has always been there to...

Stories

Embracing the Power of Baldur’s Gate

In the vast realm of video games, there are those rare franchises that go beyond mere entertainment, leaving a lasting impact on players’ lives. Although becoming more common, and the topic of mental health is being tackled more often, they...

Stories

How Red Dead Online helped me talk to my brother about mental health

“It’s a nasty world out there, and it’s catching up with us…” It’s 2001 and a much cuter and happier me is wandering wide-eyed through a tire-trodden rugby pitch at a local car boot sale. Car boot sales are something...

Stories

The Menopause & Me by Silvana Greenfield

Thanks to a few high-profile celebs the conversation around Perimenopause and Menopause has become more mainstream, with a slow increase of representation and discussion in popular culture; yet it is still a topic that is often overlooked or avoided in...

Games & apps

Promising Times

In Promising Times, players step into the role of Oliver. You’ll experience four days in the life of Oliver, in which he struggles with different aspects of his current life and isn’t in the best shape. After various encounters during...

Stories

Filling the Hole in my Heart with Ooblets by Sky Tunley-Stainton

On 3 September 2022, I lost Jerry, my eighteen-year-old cat and best friend in the world. I moved to the UK when I was 13 after living abroad in Cyprus and the US for most of my childhood. Starting a...

Games & apps

How To Say Goodbye

How To Say Goodbye is a story about a character that has recently passed away and turned into a ghost. As a newly made ghost, players are lost in an unknown world populated by other spirits. How To Say Goodbye...

News | Stories

Grief, Bullying, Failed Grades and Why I Am Better for It

I was born and raised smack in the middle of Nairobi City. Yes! The same Nairobi Alba Flores embodied in the acclaimed Netflix series Money Heist. The capital city of Kenya. During the first decade of my life, we lived...

Stories

I’m Fine – by Ladell Smith

I’m fine. How many times did I say this when I really wasn’t fine? How many times did I want to scream for help but I didn’t know what to ask for or what was wrong with me? How many...

Stories

Getting my ADHD Diagnosis by Julia Melvin

October marked ADHD Awareness Month but for me, 2022 has been a year of ADHD awareness as I just received my diagnosis this year. I’ve had ADHD all of my life, but I never realised it. I had never known...

Stories

Dear Younger Me by Liz

Dear younger me, Hold on, if you feel like letting go Hold on, it gets better than you know Hold on. You’re 13 and you’ve had to grow up fast. Mum left, with what felt like not so much as...

Games & apps

Before I Forget

A woman alone in a house. A mystery and a love story. Explore the present to uncover the past, in a short story of love and loss and a life well-lived. A narrative exploration that examines a world where memories...

Games & apps

Unpacking

Unpacking is a game about the familiar experience of pulling possessions out of boxes and fitting them into a new home. Part block-fitting puzzle, part home decoration, you are invited to create a satisfying living space while learning clues about...

Games & apps

Lost Words: Beyond The Page

Lost Words: Beyond The Page takes players on an emotional journey of love and loss. You play as Izzy, who’s grandma is unwell. Throughout the story, you’ll learn more via beautifully designed interactive diary entries. Players will also take part...

News

An Interview with Rachel Clancy on A Hero’s Guide To Gardening

We sat down with Rachel Clancy of Tea Creature Studios to discuss their latest title, ‘A Hero’s Guide To Gardening’, which is available now on iOS! A Hero’s Guide To Gardening is an interactive story which teaches young players emotional...

Games & apps

Tell Me Why

DONTNOD Entertainment brings you their latest title: Tell Me Why. Follow the story of reunited twins Tyler and Alyson, who travel back to Alaska to sell their childhood home. They soon start unravelling the mystery of their past using the...

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