An RPG of Clinical Depression

[Starlight_Rider]

Hi Starlight_Rider, and welcome to the Forge!  Does the explanation above address your concerns about the purpose of the game, and its application?  I don't want to get too personal, but my take is that you would certainly not want to be a player in the game.  Instead, as a GM, you could theoretically use the game to explain depression to friends or family.

Ok, I understand it better now.   I re-read all the rules with that perspective in mind and it makes sense that a game like this could be a valuable tool for people to understand depression better.  And I wouldn't have any problem GMing this game to explain these concepts to people.  Looking at this game as well as some other games by indie designers (who seem to be at the forefront of RPG's) I'm glad that people are thinking of new ways to use RPGs beyond simple dungeon crawls.  We need more games like this.

[Belac]

Amazing job, ethan.  I agree with your decision not to have dice rolls that force characters to do something; I'm not sure exactly how, but they really don't fit in with depression at all.

Besides, while not everyone experiences depression the same way, I would like to state that in my own past experiences, there are absolutely no rolls required not to do anything in real life.  Depression doesn't encourage you to do ANYTHING; quite the opposite.  "Self-medication" actually requires you to overcome depression in a very short-term sense.  Depression isn't like addiction; you don't have to keep from doing anything, you just have to apply effort to do anything except breathe and blink.  Except maybe the "roll not to cry" thing; that's something that can just happen without effort.

(Note: Many depressed people get addicted to things, but that's not a result of depression effects on the mind, that's a result of trying to cure it.  A bout of depression doesn't make you want to drink unless you're already prone to; rather, an attempt to escape a bout of depression, which is something you have to attempt, rather than resist, causes one to self-medicate.  However, self-medication can lead to addiction, which is an unrelated illness which competes with depression's apathy but only in certain areas.)

The problem I see with the game is that people that aren't familiar with depression won't believe you.  They've never had to put forth effort to sit up, and they'll think you're exaggerating.

Still, this is a lot better idea than my depression-era hate fantasies about having the ability to curse others with temporary depression episodes so they'd understand.

[Emily Care]

This is a really impressive idea, Ethan. Thanks for posting it. There was some discussion of this not being "gamelike", but strictly simulation oriented (it's does not seem particularly therepeutic in terms of getting someone to work with their depression--as many people have noted here, if you are suffering from depression, this game would probably hit too close to home to be comfortable)--but that's pretty ephemeral.  It's has fairly serious themes, so it is far from frivolous, but games can be educational. It seems like a great way to help folks have an insight into what it's like. Belac does have a point though--non-sufferers might think it mere exaggeration.

A therapeutic version of this game might include more mechanisms for coping techniques, and focus less on the immersion into the experience of depression.  I can't think of any specific mechanics this moment, but something that allowed the player more distance from the depression, and that gave strong positive feedback for activities that do help when one is depressed might be a good way for people who are depressed to gain an internal experience of the fact that it is possible to get help/do better.

I think there is a lot of potential in this kind of game.  Role-playing is a narrative structure that is uniquely suited to just this purpose: helping folks have a visceral or emotional experience of what it's like to be a person or in a state different from one's usual experience.  My entry to the Iron Game Chef-sim tournament was based on that principle: simulating what it would be like to be a human colonist emigrating to an alien planet, trying to assimilate all the new experiences and trying to make sense of completely alien beings, worlds and cultures (I was in large part inspired by Octavia Butler's Lillith trilogy--highly recommended reads).  And fate willing, I'll someday finish the games I have in mind to explore slavery, and gender differences.  

Good luck with it Ethan. Again, I say thanks, and bravo. :)

--Emily