Open AccessSeeking Deep Relations in a Precarious Industry: Addressing Mental Health through Independent Videogame Development
Author(s) -
Paolo Ruffino
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
television and new media
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1552-8316
pISSN - 1527-4764
DOI - 10.1177/15274764211025623
Subject(s) - mental health , anxiety , psychology , work (physics) , burnout , public relations , process (computing) , social psychology , sociology , political science , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , psychiatry , computer science , mechanical engineering , engineering , operating system
Anxiety, depression, burnout and impostor syndrome are frequently reported among those who work in the videogame industry, and are exacerbated among independents and freelancers. The article draws on interviews with four London-based independent videogame developers who have engaged with the production of videogames about mental health. The article argues that conceiving, producing and releasing these games is understood by their makers as a strategy to establish relations with consumers, participants and other developers that could break the invisible barriers that prevent dialogs around mental wellness. More than being concerned with the outcome of their work or its commercial success, developers seek relations with other game workers and players through the process of making, researching, testing, and showing their videogames. The development of videogames about mental health is interpreted by the participants as facilitating exchanges of autobiographical experiences that are otherwise regulated by the norms of professional networking.