From Entertainment to Mental Health Awareness: the “Debris” Case

Digital games are increasingly being used as support and treatment tools in the field of mental health. Platforms such as Steam and Playstation already offer game options aimed at mental health, in which developers and consultants work together to convey the reality of patients and reduce stigma. The article presents an analysis of the video game “Debris” in order to understand how the game was designed methodologically and how the story is presented and the “serious” message conveyed. In addition, all of the game's comments on Steam were analyzed to see which game design dimensions have the most impact on player satisfaction. The analysis showed that “Debris” was designed using a participatory methodology in which the story contains a plot twist at the end, at which point the player understands the game's serious message. In terms of the reviews of the comments, the story and aesthetic dimensions had the most positive comments, while the technology only had negative comments.