Depression Quest is a 2013 interactive fiction game dealing with the subject of depression. It was developed by Zoë Quinn using the Twine engine, with writing by Quinn and Patrick Lindsey, and music by Isaac Schankler. It was first released for the web on February 14, 2013, and for Steam on August 11, 2014. The game tells the story of a person suffering from depression and their attempts to deal with their condition. It was created to foster a greater understanding of depression. Depression Quest can be played for free, and has a pay-what-you-want pricing model. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline receives part of the proceeds. Wikipedia
Research exclusive to this game
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Research that includes this game in its sample
Blount, Tom, and Callum Spawforth. “Pathos in Play: How Game Designers Evoke Negative Emotions.” arXiv preprint arXiv:1909.06799 (2019).
Deo, Shastra. “Writing precariously: branching narratives, command, and fictive agency in risk society.” Continuum 34, no. 6 (2020): 887-900.
Farber, Matthew, and Karen Schrier. “Beyond Winning: A Situational Analysis of Two Digital Autobiographical Games.” Game Studies 21, no. 4 (2021).
Görgen, Arno, and Stefan H. Simond. “Autonomy, heteronomy, and representations of illness in digital games.” Games and Ethics: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches to Ethical Questions in Digital Game Cultures (2020): 239-256.
Hoffman, Kelly M. “Social and cognitive affordances of two depression-themed games.” Games and Culture 14, no. 7-8 (2019): 875-895.