Gaming the Mind is pleased to have supported the development of Before I Forget, a game by 3-Fold Games, which depicts the effects of dementia.

In the game you guide the main character Sunita Appleby around her house. Sunita has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (a form of dementia), and interacting with objects around her home can help piece together the memories of her rich life story.

Speaking to Nintendo Life about how we supported the game’s development, programmer-artist Claire Morwood said: “We had several calls to chat with them… and would send them early versions of the game for their feedback. This was truly invaluable to the development of the game, and allowed us to refine the mechanics and narrative that we had created so far to be more accurate and realistic for Sunita’s situation.”

As they noted to GI.biz, we helped the developers understand the nuances of dementia portrayal. “One of the things in particular they suggested was that we changed some of the wording in the way that Sunita describes objects,” said Morwood. “In an early version of the game, there was a key Sunita could find, described as a ‘shiny metal object.’ Gaming The Mind said people who suffer dementia often describe function over form. So instead of describing what it looks like, it might be more realistic if she called it a ‘turning object.’ We used that feedback with lots of other thoughts Sunita has in the game.”

Writer Chella Ramanan added: “That was really useful, [learning] the way the cognitive functions change. It made us ask questions like, ‘Would Sunita even be able to write these notes?’ and they were able to reassure us because there’s a spectrum of symptoms. Dementia doesn’t affect everyone in the same way. So she might be able to quite easily write something, but then have trouble reading it back.”

The studio also partnered with Alzheimer’s Research UK to raise awareness and funds for the charity, through sales of the game. “It’s a great endorsement for us and all the support we’ve had from Gaming The Mind,” Ramanan told GI.biz.

The game received further recognition when it was nominated for the Game Beyond Entertainment BAFTA. Meanwhile, Eurogamer’s review said: “This is a game that wants to open out dementia, to make us all understand it as much as we can. What an ambition. What a beautiful, frightening, noble thing to try with games.”

We are so grateful to have had some part in the development of such a groundbreaking game.