Let’s Talk about Mental Health

There’s been increasing talk about mental health among the gaming community lately. And I’m not talking about people outside the community blaming violent videogames for all the bad things that happen in the world. Rather, I’m referring to actual discussions among gamers about how things like depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses affect their daily lives. As the conversation grows and the topic becomes less of a taboo, more people are revealing that they have experienced mental health issues during at least one point in their lives. All of this is culminating into something I’ve been saying all along: almost

Mind Games

It is a commonplace that horror games draw on the stock character of the “criminally insane” to create their bogeymen and bad guys. Even reasonably uncomplicated titles, like PlayStation’s original Crash Bandicoot, had a little of that flavour: the Hammer Horror mad scientist who enjoys nothing better than genetically splicing innocent island creatures while cackling maniacally at his plans, even if this was set in a world of Wumpa fruit, floating platforms and totem poles.