Game 1: Depression Quest

Game link: depression quest

The colours are very boring and not very well chosen. The light grey background combined with the light grey pixelated boxes makes the game very non-eye-catching. I understand that these colours might have been chosen to represent depression or the emotional state of the character, but I believe they could have used some hazy colours, maybe a combination of grey, black and white, which would still give the same feeling but in a better like visual way. In addition to the animations which are very, very weak. Looking at and playing the game felt more like browsing an HTML page rather than playing an actual game that has some sort of suspense or excitement. The game’s idea itself is very good, yet I believe it lacks the animations that could have taken it to another level. Moreover, There is no sound or background music during the gameplay, which I believe should be a necessary part of a game like this. However, when I checked the credits at the end, I found out that there was actually a song made specifically for the game, which I liked, yet, I don’t think it was integrated properly into the gameplay. I believe having music that changes depending on the situation or the player’s emotional state would make the experience much better. One thing I actually loved was how, after each round, the available options started becoming narrower and more limited. I found this very interesting because it somehow represents how a person experiencing depression might gradually lose the ability to see different possibilities or make decisions. For example, something that might seem like a very simple decision to another person could become extremely difficult for someone experiencing depression. I liked how the game made the player experience this through the actual choices rather than simply explaining it in words. This was probably one of the strongest ideas in the entire game. The game itself was quite boring to play, despite having a very strong idea behind it. I believe that adding some animations could make a huge difference. For example, whenever you press on an option, a graphical display could appear, or maybe the screen could slightly shake or change depending on the decision you make. Just some techniques that grab the player’s attention could put the game in another place completely. I understand that the game was released in 2013, so the available technologies and design possibilities might have been more limited compared to nowadays. However, even simple animations, like using PowerPoint or other available tools at that time, could have made the experience much more engaging. The most important thing I learned from this game is that depression is not simply about feeling sad. It can affect the way someone thinks, communicates and makes even the simplest decisions. What I particularly understood was that people experiencing depression might not see the same options that other people see when facing a situation. Something that looks easy from the outside might be extremely difficult for the person experiencing it. It also made me realize that we should not judge people’s decisions without understanding what they might be going through.

Game 2: Fake It To Make It

Game link: Fake it to make it

I liked the fact that there was like active music playing in the background throughout the game. However, I found it quite calm, steady and unchangeable. I was thinking that it would have been much better if the music changed whenever a certain emotion was triggered by one of the uploaded posts. For example, whenever a post creates anger or excitement, the background music could change accordingly. I believe this would make the game much more interactive, especially because the whole idea of the game is based on trying to trigger people’s emotions from misinformation. As well as, I loved the animations and the interactivity to an extent, but I believe they could have been much better. Maybe they could introduce something like sliding stairs whenever you finish a goal, where a character starts climbing whenever you achieve something or starts falling down a slope or a slikde whenever you lose progress.I believe that the gameplay is very repetitive, especially for younger generations who are used to much more interactive platforms and might lose interest before reaching the end due to like attention span. I believe that guidance is one of the most important things in any game, and I believe it can either make the experience much better or completely damage it. In this game, I felt that the guidance was somehow weak. It explains how to start playing and gives you the initial instructions, but then leaves you to explore many of the other tools by yourself. For example, there are different groups that you can join from a toggle menu numbered from 1-20 which was not stated at all. I believe these features should have been explained through a small tutorial or maybe a visual guide instead of leaving the player to discover everything alone. From my personal point of view, I initially felt that a game like this could teach something wrong, especially to younger generations. As someone playing it might understand that spreading misinformation and disinformation is an easy way to generate what we call nowadays as ‘easy money’, and might even consider replicating some of these techniques in real life. However, after understanding the educational purpose of the game, I realized that this is actually part of the message. The game wants you to experience how people profit from misinformation. Still, I believe the educational message should be more visible throughout the game so that players understand that they are exploring a problem rather than learning a business model to replicate. The colours are not bad, yet I believe they could have been better. I think the developers could have integrated something similar to Facebook or Instagram in terms of the layout and the way posts appear, while using their own colours and slightly different shades to avoid directly copying the platforms and like facing any sort of legal . This would make the game feel more realistic because players are already familiar with how these social media platforms look. I also loved how there was an integration of what was named in the game as the ‘Orange Party’ and the ‘Purple Party’. I found this interesting because it shows how different political groups can be targeted through different types of content and messages. It also demonstrates how misinformation can be used to influence people’s opinions and take advantage of existing political divisions. The most important thing I learned from this game is how misinformation actually spreads and how much planning can go behind something that might initially look like an ordinary social media post. I understood that people do not always share information because they believe it is true. Sometimes, they share it because it generates attention, engagement or even money. I also learned how emotions such as anger, fear and excitement can be used to encourage people to share content without checking whether it is actually true. This made me more aware of the importance of checking sources before sharing anything online and questioning why certain posts are trying so hard to trigger a particular reaction.

Game 3: Sleep-Deprived Mom Game by Dr. Maha Bali

Game link: Sleep deprived Mom game

I honestly loved this game. I found it very interactive and engaging, especially because there was no single right or wrong answer to every situation. This made the experience more interesting because I had to think about how I would personally react rather than simply trying to find the correct answer. Since the game was created using Google Forms, I understand that there are limitations when it comes to colours, animations and interactivity. However, I believe the idea has much more potential than what the current format allows. For example, imagine having an actual website where you can see a child sitting in front of you, then the mother enters the room, and the child starts crying or asking for something to drink. The player would then have to respond to the situation as the mother. I think this would make the experience much more realistic and engaging. Another improvement I would suggest is adding like a leaderboard using Google Sheets. After finishing the game, players could be redirected to a sheet showing their scores and rankings. This would make the game more competitive and encourage people to participate and try again. The game made me think about how difficult parenting can actually be, especially when someone is exhausted and has several responsibilities at the same time. It also reminded me that we should not always judge a parent’s reaction without understanding the situation they are dealing with. Sometimes, there is no perfect response, and the best decision depends on the circumstances. I believe this is what made the game interesting because it encouraged me to look at situations from a parent’s perspective and also the fact that the written questions and sentences were short made it even more engaging.

Game 4: Project Honduras

Game link: Project Honduras game

I really liked the animations and the overall interactivity of this game. Unlike some of the other games, I felt that this one actually made me feel like I was playing a game rather than simply reading information and clicking on different options. I also liked the scoring system because it gave me a reason to pay attention to my decisions and their consequences. The first two chapters worked very well for me, but I faced some glitches when I reached the third chapter. I still managed to finish it, but I believe these technical issues should be fixed because they can affect the player’s experience, especially when someone has already spent time completing the previous chapters. Although I liked the scoring system, I believe it could be like more visible. For example, whenever the player sends volunteers or completes an action that earns points, a small animation could appear showing something like “+200” or any sort of animation that wouuld make it more interactive. This would make the player more aware of their progress and give them a better sense of achievement. The game helped me understand that climate change is not only an environmental issue. It can also create like serious social and economic challenges, especially for communities that are more vulnerable to natural disasters. I also learned how important preparation, cooperation and resource allocation can be when dealing with these situations. The decisions made before and during a disaster can have a major impact on how well a community manages to recover.

Game 5: Voter Suppression Trail

Game link: voter suppression trail game

I really loved this game. I think the colours, animations and overall design were very well chosen. The game managed to explain a serious issue in a way that was both interesting and easy to understand. I particularly liked how it used like different characters and situations to show how people’s voting experiences can be completely different depending on their backgrounds and circumstances. One thing that really caught my attention was how a white programmer from California could go through the voting process very quickly, while a Black man and a Latina nurse faced much longer waiting times and eventually encountered problems that prevented them from voting. I found this comparison very powerful because it showed how two people can have the same legal right to vote but still experience completely different levels of difficulty when trying to exercise that right, and i loved how the message was portrayed deeply with a very simple game. I do not have like many improvements to suggest because I think the game was very well designed. However, one small thing I would add is a full-screen option. The game appears inside a rectangular box, and allowing players to expand it to cover the entire screen would make the experience even much more better. The most important thing I learned is that having the legal right to vote does not necessarily mean that everyone has equal access to it. There can be different barriers, such as identification requirements, long waiting times, polling locations and people’s work schedules, that make voting much harder for certain groups. I also understood how discrimination does not always appear in an obvious way. Sometimes, procedures that might seem normal on the surface can create very unequal outcomes for different people.

Game 6: Empathy Toy (Physical Game)

The Empathy Toy game was one of the games I found interesting, as I love watching everyone’s responses, the way they talk and even their smallest reactions in order to understand how they think. This game allowed me to observe two different groups working with the same blocks, yet each group ended up arranging them differently depending on their mindset and how they perceived the direction in which the arrow could be placed. I also found the blindfold activity very interesting. Eaach one could understand, to some extent, how each piece was structured through touch, but this also made them overthink the aim of the activity, the material and the structure of the pieces. The way these pieces were designed and connected was not like regular Lego blocks or puzzles, so it seemed to them as new so they were exploring this type of structure for the first time. I found it interesting to see how being unfamiliar with something could completely change the way people approach a task. The most important thing I learned from this activity is that people can interpret the exact same instructions or objects in completely different ways depending on how they think and perceive things. I also understood how important communication is when trying to understand someone else’s perspective, especially when you cannot rely on your usual senses. It made me realize that what might seem obvious to me might not be obvious to someone else, and that understanding others requires patience and an effort to see things from their point of view. One improvement I would suggest is introducing like random communication challenges during different rounds. For example, participants could be asked to explain the arrangement without using directional words like left,right , up or down or could only communicate through yes or no questions. I believe this would make the game more challenging and interesting because participants would have to find different ways to explain their ideas and understand each other.

Comparison Between the Games

After playing all these games, I noticed that each one approached learning in a different way. Some focused more on storytelling and making the player experience a particular situation, while others focused on decision-making, interaction and understanding different perspectives. For me, the strongest digital experiences were Voter Suppression Trail and Project Honduras. Both games had good animations, clear interactions and a scoring or progression system that made me want to continue playing. I felt that they managed to balance their educational purpose with the actual gaming experience. On the other hand, Depression Quest had one of the strongest ideas, especially the way the available choices became narrower as the game progressed. However, I believe its visual design and lack of engaging animations made the experience less interesting than it could have been. This showed me that having a meaningful message is important, but the way that message is delivered matters just as much. Fake It To Make It was also interesting because it allowed me to experience how misinformation can be created and spread through social media whileas Sleep-Deprived Mom was different because it used a much simpler format, yet I still enjoyed it because the situations made me think about how I would react in real life. The Empathy Toy was probably the most different experience because it was a physical activity rather than a digital game. While digital games allowed me to interact with a designed environment, the physical game allowed me to observe actual people, their reactions and the way they communicate with one another. I think this made the experience more personal in a different way. I actually like realized that a good educational game does not necessarily need the most advanced technology or the most complicated design. What matters is whether the player is actually engaged, whether they understand the message and whether the experience makes them think differently about something. At the same time, I believe that good visuals, clear instructions, animations and meaningful interactions can make a huge difference in keeping players interested.

What Kind of Narrative Game Would I Create?

If I were to create my own narrative game, I would focus on artificial intelligence, social media, technology and how university students spend their time and I might call it somthing like “The Future Version of You”. The game would allow students to interact with a virtual version of their future selves, perhaps five or ten years from now. It would begin with a university student spending hours scrolling through social media, using AI tools and postponing important responsibilities. Suddenly, they receive a message from their future self, showing them how their everyday decisions could affect their academic performance, career opportunities and personal development. Players would then face different situations and make decisions, such as choosing between spending hours scrolling through social media or developing a new skill, using AI to complete an entire assignment or as a learning assistant, and postponing an important project or starting it early. Each decision would gradually shape the player’s future, leading to different possible endings. One could show someone who developed valuable skills and made good use of university opportunities, while another could show someone who became overly dependent on technology and missed important opportunities. I would develop the game as an interactive website, with animated storytelling, branching decisions, a visual timeline showing how decisions affect the future, and personalized endings. I would also like to introduce an AI-powered future-self character that could respond to the player’s decisions and ask reflective questions, while ensuring that users’ personal information remains protected. The main message would not be that social media or AI are necessarily bad. I believe both can be extremely useful when used correctly. Instead, I would want students to like recognize the difference between using technology to improve themselves and allowing it to become a distraction or a substitute for their own thinking. I want players to finish the game and genuinely question their everyday habits. I believe seeing a possible version of your future self could be much more powerful than simply being told to manage your time better. The question I would want them to leave with is something like “If I continue making the same decisions every day, will I be satisfied with the person I become five or ten years from now?”

Quinn, Z., Lindsey, P., & Schankler, I. (2013). Depression Quest. The Quinnspiracy. http://www.depressionquest.com/ Warner, A. Fake It To Make It. https://www.fakeittomakeitgame.com/ Bali, M. Sleep-Deprived Mom Game. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScap1su2i270VXK3DtWGWA683lyU6UkXJer_cSpN2tl0rXCjQ/viewform?c=0&w=1 Trócaire. (2018). Project Honduras. https://games.trocaire.org/project-honduras/ The New York Times. (2016). The Voter Suppression Trail. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/11/01/opinion/voting-suppression-videogame.html Twenty One Toys. The Empathy Toy.