What Happened - from developer Genius Slackers - is an upcoming game that puts players into the nightmarish first-person perspective of high schꦦool student, Stiles, as he navigates his surreal world brought on by anxiety and depression. In a new developer diary video, it turns out that the game is also inspired by real-life events as a way to let players know that they are not alone♐ in dealing with their own struggles.
In the YouTube video,🔜 Game Director, Aꦗrash Negahban, explains that What Happened was created in response to a childhood neighbor’s suicide wi🅠th a focus on bringing players into the mind of someone who is at risk of hurting themselves, and how such an act can even be con꧅templated.
In developing the game, Negahban - along with the game’s Art Director - consulted with professional psychologists to get a better understanding of why someone wou🌌ld commit suicide. They sᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚoon learned that individuals who are struggling with suicidal thoughts are “experiencing situations that [they] could not possibly imagine.” That, in turn, became the main focal point of What Happened’s story๊: depic💫ting those internal struggles in a digestible way for all to understand using video games as the medium.
The portrayal of time is also a focus in What Happened, with the playable character suffering from the drug-induced effects of LSD. As such, it will be difficult for players to discern real-life from the more surreal in-game moments, or memories from illusions. However, players will need to still need to pay close attention to even the weirdest situations🅘, as those points in time may help Stiles in the long-run, since “only players’ empathy, and ability to read between the lines of his confused memories and drug-fuelled hallucinations, can turn Stiles from his self-destructive path.”
Regardless of your thoughts on the psychological horror genre, Genius Slackers’꧋ intentions are admirable, especially duඣring a time when mental health awareness is more important than ever.
What Happened is tentati✨vely slated to release later this month on PC via Steam.