Through a Glass

Mackenzie Fox

Stony Point, NY

Concentration: Game Design

Advisor: Stephen Slota

2D Video Game

Link to Through a Glass

Through a Glass is a 2D story game about a girl struggling with depersonalization-derealization disorder, a condition which affects a person's ability to feel connected to themselves and their surroundings. Throughout the game, the player and character both discover a variety of coping strategies, and embark on a healing journey together. The intention of this project is to educate players on this specific mental illness by exploring the main character's personal story.

A number of years ago, I noticed a strong correlation between games with themes of mental illness and the horror genre; this was a disturbing realization to make, and one I wanted to break away from as quickly as possible. My goal for Through a Glass has always been to teach players in an engaging yet non-threatening way. In order to do this, I wanted to make the gameplay centered around coping strategies that people could replicate in real life to improve their mental health, if only briefly. Additionally, I wanted players to walk away knowing that this is just one character's experience with depersonalization-derealization, and not a caricature of all mental illness. I hope you are able to learn something new from Through a Glass, and thank you for playing!

Artist Bio

Throughout her studies in the Digital Media and Design department at UConn, Mackenzie Fox has always been invested in the world of serious games and the unique ways that they can engage learners. In the last 3 years, Mackenzie has worked on digital humanities projects for Greenhouse Studios, constructed a VR exhibit for the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, and addressed serious subjects in her own personal projects. The development of Through a Glass gave Mackenzie the opportunity to combine her digital art skills with her knowledge of coding and game design, and simultaneously include the important topic of mental illness. Going forward, Mackenzie hopes to continue making games which give players a renewed perspective of the topics she brings to light.

http://mackfox.com
https://www.instagram.com/thepaperwizard
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mack-fox/

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