Welcome back everyone to another one of my blog posts!

Today, I have something very interesting! I created my own game! Yes, that’s right! Do not get too excited, though, I created it using google slides :P. Still, it’s interesting because it’s personal for me. Without spoiling too much, it’s about anxiety, and for a large part of my life, I used to be anxious about A LOT of things. Not anymore, though! Therapy helped me overcome a lot of these challenges. I do feel stressed sometimes, but it’s normal, we are human beings after all. Alright, let’s get into it!

My game’s protagonist is Ahmed, a 17 year-old senior high school student. He first becomes aware of his anxiety when he experiences a small panic attack during his final exam – an exam that he’s been preparing for for almost a year now. I tried to show the player, as much as I can, what it feels like to have anxiety. Therefore, I split the game into two main branches, depending on whether the player chooses to go to a therapist, a choice they are presented with later on in the game, or not. The game consists of around 10 scenarios, and they are split between the two main branches. I know, you’re asking yourself “Why just two branches?”. I think that having two branches centered around the choice of going or not going to a therapist is best because it captures the main struggles of how life would be with or without a therapist. This is important because it helps frame and contextualize anxiety in the mind of the players.

For my first draft, I did not have much. I only had three scenarios, but I did receive valuable feedback from my colleagues. For example, Razan told me to make my scenarios briefer and less verbose. Moreover, Faris also pointed out to me that some of the choices are better and obvious picks for the player. Therefore, based on the feedback I got, I edited my scenarios to be more concise. Also, I tried to make the choices harder and not as obvious. These two thing are important because have brifer scenarios and more difficult choices make the more game not only more enjoyable for the player, but also make the game feel more realistic, which in turn allows me to successfully convey the game’s message to the player.

Despite this, I think I could have things differently, had I been given more time – after all, I’m creating a game about anxiety in only ten scenarios. For example, the main thing I would have done differently, is that I would have added way more different scenarios, choices, and branches. This is important because adding a  variety of scenarios, choices, and branches would allow me to make the player’s experience as realistic as possible. This is important because this would allow me to convey a strong experience and message about anxiety to the player, which in turn should have an impact on their awareness about the topic. Also, I think that a good game or novel is one that gives the player agency of their choice, and, thus, I think the game would be much better with more choices and more branches. However, the downside of having a lot of branching is that the game could be messy and would lead to a burnout due to the tremendous amount of effort required. Therefore, I think having two main branches that are pivotal to the topic of anxiety is a good compromise because it allowed to me to present some of the important life choices and scenarios that people with anxiety are faced with. Furthermore, had I been given more time, I would have added more visual aids to the game, such as images. This is important because visual aids, such as images, make the more immersive and enjoyable for the player. Moreover, I would also work on making the game more accessible to individuals with disabilities, such as adding alt-text for images for the visually impaired, etc. This is important because this would make enhance overall experience of the game for players with disabilities and make it more enjoyable.

Making the game has made reflect on my own journey with anxiety, which started when I was younger. It made me appreciate all the events and changes that made me who I am today.

That’s it for today. I hope you guys try my game, and let me know what you think in the comments below

Till we meet in another blog post!

Link to First Draft: Link.

Link to Game: Link.

Header Image Credit: Link.