Sensitive Subjects in Serious Games
summary
Shakespeare’s Landlord adapts Charlaine Harris into a 2D point‑and‑click mystery that deliberately avoids graphic depiction, uses diary entries, careful camera framing and monochrome “trigger” imagery, and spends over CA$100,000 on art while consulting survivors and mental‑health advisors to portray PTSD and sexual trauma responsibly. Shrinking Pains is a free, semi‑autobiographical visual novel made in 48 hours with a ~30–45 minute playthrough that uses second‑person writing and an illusion of agency (choices are taken away, e.g., the player cannot force eating) to foster empathy; both titles appear on Steam/itch, have 50+ Let’s Plays and many private testimonials, and employ survivor consultants.
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chapters (11)
- 0:00Sensitive Subjects in Serious Games
- 5:43Cultural Tides Rising
- 9:06Developers' Duty
- 11:38The Stories
- 14:24Crafting Narrative
- 14:34Shakespeare's Landlord
- 19:56Shrinking Pains
- 30:37Designing the Aesthetic
- 39:09Warning - graphic depiction
- 43:35Impact on Players
- 48:57Impact on Creators
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