ERIC Number: EJ1284139
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1938-0399
EISSN: N/A
Getting through a Tough Day (Again): What Possum Springs Says about Mental Health and Social Class
Consalvo, Mia; Phelps, Andrew
American Journal of Play, v12 n3 p338-362 Spr 2020
The authors provide a deep reading of the fictional small American town of Possum Springs in the 2017 adventure game "Night in the Woods" ("NiTW") to demonstrate how game architecture and environments have become richer and more complex spaces for narrative development and storytelling. The act of navigating the game's town, they assert, repeatedly creates its own narrative effect and commentary on the current issues of social class and mental health. They note that the game, through repetition and proceduralization, purposefully links the economic conditions of the town with the mental illness suffered by its characters and uses elements of interaction, dialogue, and exploration to highlight these issues. They conclude that "NiTW" offers a unique insight into the ways game designers can address complex topics through the careful and considered use of the cities, towns, architecture, and settings of the worlds their games inhabit.
Descriptors: Mental Health, Social Class, Video Games, Story Telling, Spatial Ability, Geographic Location, Simulated Environment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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