I think you guys might wanna play this.

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

It's a text adventure designed to simulate the life of a man suffering with depression. You get a bunch of choices and results based on what you do and an ending summing up how you've progressed. It's best played choosing the options you'd actually choose if it were you, rather than choosing the options that will clearly lead to the best outcome.

I saw it on /v/ and the speed at which shitposting commenced and conversation turned into a discussion about how to deal with depression and what depression is rapidly. I can't imagine that'll occur here and I figured a lot of you would enjoy it.

http://www.depressionquest.com/

It took me roughly an hour and a half to complete but I put a lot of thought into my choices and occasionally jumped between other sites so yours might be much shorter.

 

[tippy2k2]

You know...I've never known anyone with depression and I've never been afflicted by it. People in this forum have talked about it many times and I've always been...for lack of a better word, curious about it. I will gladly play the game and let you know what I think shortly.

*Note: I am going to play like I would in real life...as in, someone without depression. I'm curious to see how that plays out since it seems that some options are X'ed out when your character is depressed...

Spoiler: My feelings so far...spoilers as I will fill this out as the game goes on

1. My mum sure isn't being very helpful... luckily IRL I have a much more understanding mum!
2. KITTY!!!! I'd rather get a dog but I imagine this kitty is going to be my only option. Plus, helping a co-worker out makes me happy
3. Alex is "putting up with me"
4. Amanda's hooking me up with a therapist! Yah!
5. I lied to my bro. I know that feeling fake me...watching everyone around you succeed while you're stuck
6. I talked myself into going to therapy. Wait...a HG Wells book? THIS IS A SCIENTOLOGY CLINIC!!!...wait, that was Hubbard. Never mind, we're good!
7. I called in sick. I'm feeling too shitty to go to work today
8. I told my online buddy that I'm seeing a Dr already
9. I choose to have a personal chat with Alex. What a nice lady!
10. I chose not to go on medication. I'm not terribly comfortable with drugs...
11. Christ...Mom is REALLY not supportive. I'm twenty Mom, I don't need my damn life goals spelled out!!!
12. Wohoo! Sexy time!
13. Lots of work on the project today! Life's going Tippy2k2's way now!
14. I stopped working to help my IM friend. He did the little push that got me into therapy; the least I can do is return the favor and give him someone to talk to.
15. Man, Alex is awesome. I told her about my problems and she's perfect!
16. I decided to stay at home and play with my cat. I've certainly felt that way before (wanting to do...something but not getting to due to not knowing what) and I usually end up playing the vidier games
17. I told Alex to cool her hot buns and let's honestly discuss this before we move in together

Yah! I still have depression but it's manageable with help from a network of friends!

That was interesting. It took me about 45 minutes to fully play (stopping after every decision to update this post as well so I would guess 30 minutes w/o that). I'm not sure how much I've really learned for I'd like to think I'd be more supportive than SOME people in this game but until I have to deal with it, I'll never know.

I wouldn't mind kicking this a few bucks but it uses Paypal only it seems

All well...thanks for the link OP! I don't know if I'd call that life-changing but I've had to go to therapy and whatnot for...issues and so maybe my awareness of depression and how to deal with it have given me the lessons this game is trying to teach.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

Just recovering from depression myself (no therapy but have pills, 3 more months of them) this hits way to close to home.

 

[scorptatious]

Jesus Christ. It's almost like this was talking to me. It was able to put the feelings I had and sometimes still have into words.

Overall results:

Spoiler

Things ended up pretty shitty across the board. I hate my job to the point in which my performance dropped dramatically, my girlfriend broke up with me, and I couldn't convince myself to seek help. And I felt like I did everything I could.

 

[Dead Seerius]

While I myself am not depressed, or ever have been, this 'game' has brought something to my attention. A lot of the symptoms the character displays in the game really match those of a friend of mine who has recently seemed more and more detached from others around him.

Over the past year, he's more frequently declined invitations to hang out, regularly says how tired he is (sometimes as a reason to decline socializing), and always seems to lack confidence in his future endeavors (I ask him what colleges he would want to attend or what career he would like to pursue.)

And the sad thing is my other friends and I just tease him about it, telling him he just doesn't like having a good time. We aren't trying to be cruel or anything; we just want him join us for once. I don't think any of us have considered he might be facing internal struggles.

I'm grateful that I played through this game. It was eye-opening. Thanks, OP.

 

[Conner42]

Ugh.....

This feels all too familiar.

I've been toying with the idea of going to the advice forum to at least get some feedback, but.....I've been too afraid to. I've been to afraid to go to anybody. But, I've been feeling better because I've just been learning to accept these things, but, now.....I guess it shouldn't be this way.

I don't know what to do anymore.....my general strategy for now has been to just wait things out and hope for the best.

 

[Yopaz]

I recognize a whole lot of that from personal experience, I wouldn't say I am suffering form depression though. I just don't like to confide in people, I sometimes feel stressed and I am a little uncomfortable in certain social situations.

Very well made though. The music set the mood with subtle changes as you progress.

 

[Sixcess]

Very accurate.

I don't know how useful this is to someone suffering from depression - "tell me something I don't know" was my recurring thought - but for anyone who isn't who plays through it I can say it's an extremely accurate portrayal of the condition.

Spoiler

And I appreciated the lack of forced melodrama. When the kitten turned up I was expecting something awful to happen to it later on, but it's far more subtle and intelligent than that.

 

[Razentsu]

I'd like to see more games like this.

I wouldn't say I am a sufferer of depression myself, but I can relate with the protagonist at least a little bit. Indecisiveness spurred by draining motivation, periodic unsociability, and the frequent double-guessing/worrying of people and their feelings toward me all hit home.

I ended up with a satisfying ending, so I'm feeling a little more confident about overcoming my problems.

 

[chikusho]

1. Why isn't there an easy mode? Not everyone can deal with emotionally hard games.

2. This was pretty great actually. It made it easy to relate, and a few of the situations described hit very close to home. The crossed out options were a nice touch.

I don't know how useful this is to someone suffering from depression - "tell me something I don't know" was my recurring thought[/spoiler]

It said before starting that this is to spread awareness, and help other depressed in letting them know they are not alone. So, help spread the word why dontcha.

 

[Full]

Spoiler

I like how it felt the most realistic and positive choices were crossed out for me, with most having only one be select-able. Feels like that, yeah.

But yeah, everything for me turned out shitty. Girlfriend broke up with me, lost my job, didn't get help, had a last moment with family though, and then it just ended.

And fuck, some of those later pages are too close to home. It wasn't entirely true for me, but a lot of things were on the money. I recommend playing this.

 

[Sethzard]

This is an amazing game, I haven't finished it yet but it is pleasantly subtle and generally really well written.

 

[Olas]

Wow, that was depressing, and not just in the obvious sense that it's supposed to be depressing. My character went into a downward spiral, broke up with his girlfriend, in danger of losing the job he can't stand, hasn't reached out for help and barely has any friends, everything is getting exponentially worse and worse, and then it just ended abruptly with no resolution at all to all the endless problems that seemed to be reaching the breaking point.

Hell, if my character committed suicide or something at least that would be some sort of resolution. Though I must say many parts of it mirror what it was actually like when I was in the worst part of my depression. It almost hits too close to home, though even the guy in the story was lucky enough to actually have a girlfriend, job, and kinda had some friends, I had none of that even.

I was actually liking it up until that ending, that's just cruel to end it that way, without any sort of stable conclusion.

 

[Epic Bear Man]

Really guys? I moved in with my loving girlfriend and became positive about my future employment.

Huh.

I dunno, I played it according to my personal feelings; always push yourself, always be honest, stay the fuck away from drugs, and be a good friend to people.

Also fuck cats.

Same thing here, minus the last part. I took in the kitten both 'cause I have cats (although sometimes they annoy the living hell out of me), and because I assumed it'd help my cat.

I didn't really try to think like a depressed individual, I just chose options I'd normally choose. I've had my bouts of sadness before, and I did slip into a minor depression after a girl who was both a close friend and a big crush of mine committed suicide, but it wasn't anything close to [clinical] depression; it was mainly just a very long grief process I managed to pull through.

 

[jurihan]

I just played through it, it was amazing...
Just a little bit to close to home

 

[Apollo45]

Not sure how I feel about it. It's obviously brilliant at a level, but I've never been depressed, yet a bunch of what he does - wasting time saying he'll do things, then not doing them being the big one, but also feeling like he's not getting much done with his life - are pretty accurate to how I feel sometimes.

I know I'm not depressed. I'm generally a happy guy, and I like myself despite my faults. That said, it was weird to have a surprising amount of what the character is going through be some of the same things I'm going through. That's what I'm not sure how to feel about. Still, I suppose I should actually get my shit together and apply for a decent job.

As far as my answers go, I answered as close as I could to what I would do personally and came out pretty good in the end. Don't know what that means, but the character definitely seems to be on his way to improving.

Overall, it seems like a good insight into the mind of a depressed person, and I'll keep that in mind in the future. It might come up at some point, or I could just be oblivious now.

 

[Fractral]

I think I got the best ending.
As someone who doesn't really get depressed it was a bit strange, although I know how easy it can be to fall into cycles of misery and despair in bad times. I think it made me appreciate just how dangerous being depressed is. Not something I like to think about very often.

 

[SextusMaximus]

Can't play it right now, but the premise really interests me. Will check it out!