Mirror: Experience what it's like to suffer from CFS in free video game

[Kalliope]

Mirror has an article about a free video game which enables players to understand more about living with ME.

"In the game, free to download for PC via GameJolt , you play as sufferer Robin in an attempt to get through day-to-day life with chronic fatigue syndrome.

It's up to you what you do over the course of the 3 days in-game, but although there are 3 possible endings, the developers explain that 'there is no such thing as a perfect ending' - accentuating the troubles of dealing with the illness."

Anyone tried it? What did you think?

 

[L'engle]

Here's a playthrough. Seems like a good effort to me but some shortcomings do arise. I don't like to be too critical of the makers good effort, the game does get across the basic idea of limited energy and not being able to do things.

They kind of lost me at the end where the character had spent the weekend doing chores and was therefore "ready for the coming week of work". I don't think those of us who can work ever feel that they are recharged and ready to go back to work after the weekend. I certainly never did in the earlier phases of illness when I could work part time.

Still a good effort and I think it will educate more than obfuscate over all!

 

[L'engle]

This other playthrough has the other two endings for the game.

 

[MikeJackmin]

If you download a program from GameJolt, you are trusting them not to include spyware or adware or any other sort of invisible nastiness. Some download sites pay their bills that way. I would't trust it myself, sorry.

 

[L'engle]

The playthroughs run through the entire game anyway. It's a project by some college students so it is mostly a demo.

 

[Snow Leopard]

Spent the weekend doing chores and was therefore "ready for the coming week of work".

I think they mean the coming week of rest!

 

[taniaaust1]

its a very pity about the end, it spoils what would be a good education game on this.

 

[Effi]

I think this gives a pretty good idea of how it is to live with CFS. What would make it even more realistic (but maybe unfeasible from a game writer's perspective?) would be if the increments per activity were more random. Like one day taking a shower is fine (smaller increment of red in the circle), and the other day it wipes you out for most of that day (half your day is red).

 

[TiredSam]

Nice idea and good first version. I wonder if "ready for the coming week of work" was meant ironically? It would be easy to improve this program following feedback from ME patients, but it's pretty good already.

 

[Bob]

Actually, i didn't mind the "ready for the coming week of work" bit (when she's clearly not ready for a week of work!); I thought it actually might even help 'healthies' relate to the patient. The patient is blatantly extremely unwell, but the illness is hidden and only seen at the patient's home; then, during the week, when visible to the public, she struggles on, trying to keep up. After a week at work, at the weekend, she collapses. That is the case for many patients. And I think it helps to show that the illness can hit anyone, including you and your colleagues who are involved in perfectly ordinary activities. It shows that she's not a skiver or malingerer, because she's working. And it shows that she's a perfectly normal person, and not one of those strange disabled people who we read about but don't actually know or relate to. In other words, I think it helps to normalise the patient and to battle ignorance and unconscious prejudice. ME/CFS fluctuates, and I think that was demonstrated nicely in the game. It doesn't show the extreme levels of disability that some of us experience, but apart from that I think it's a really great introduction to the illness. So it gets my thumbs up. I think it's nicely helpful.

 

[AndyPR]

Something else to bear in mind I think, is that the Mirror article is pretty good. Not quite as accurate as perhaps we'd like but when it includes statements like this

For sufferers, it can mean that even the most menial of day-to-day tasks are excruciatingly difficult.

For those of us lucky enough to not suffer from the condition, it can be easy to not understand the struggles of those that do.

then I'm quite prepared to forgive a little inaccuracy.

If anybody on Twitter wants to give some support to the makers then their contact details are;

TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/RobinSummersEXE

CONTACT:

robinsummersgame@gmail.com

ABOUT US:

Robin was made by a group of 2nd year game design students at Media Design School.

@AnnalieseBevan

@pixecology

@JFernandoGracia

@yzibelle

 

[TiredSam]

Didn't realise it was the Daily Mirror - great article, very encouraging that the BPS crowd no longer get to stick their noses in whenever an article on ME appears. The article ends with a link to the ME Association, which is a great improvement on a previous ME article in the Mirror:

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/girl-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-age-6754466

Which ended with a link to AYME.

 

[A.B.]

I didn't play it, just watched some of the video, but I think exhausting your energy reserves should result in having noticable less energy on the following day. To get the point across that trying harder is counterproductive. If the game already does that, then good job

A game like this can really contribute to raising awareness on ME/CFS.

 

[Ben H]

Really glad you posted this.

What an ingenious idea, and one that potentially could really help in explaining to others. Lots of my friends like videogames, so its an easy sell per se, despite it probably not being as exciting as The Witcher 3

I havnt played it yet, so hopefully it is accurate.

EDIT (It seems to get the point across reasonably well, but clearly not representing severe patients).


B

 

[Ben H]

its a very pity about the end, it spoils what would be a good education game on this.

At the end do the physical therapists arrive prescribing a magical GET/CBT routine and the patient is thus made better?


B

 

[adreno]

Brilliant idea. A mobile game would be even better.

 

[frog_in_the_fog]

Nice post @Kalliope! We play this game IRL everyday. Back in the day I wrote an Apple][ graphical text adventure about the drudgery of programming a robot to make a sandwich.

I wish I had a robot to make me sandwiches.

 

[Kalliope]

Nice post @Kalliope! We play this game IRL everyday.

Thank you, @frog_in_the_fog. I spotted it in a tweet by @Tom Kindlon

I´ve now tested the game and automatically clicked on the bed after each task in order for Robin to get some obviously much needed rest also during the day.

I wish I had a robot to make me sandwiches.

Speaking of that, there's a recent Norwegian qualitative study on robot-avatars as classroom stand-ins for young ME-patients (that trial was another discovery from @Tom Kindlon ´s tweets).
Maybe sandwich-making robots will be next!

 

[frog_in_the_fog]

I can't wait for the future...​

 

[AndyPR]

I can't wait for the future...​

Neither can I