Gaming the Mind advised on mental health representation in the game Snowy Springs, designed and developed by Holly Hudson and Harvey Hayman.

The game shows the importance of prioritising your own mental wellbeing, to avoid putting too much strain on yourself when helping others. You start off with a typical set-up of helping fellow townspeople: but will you be able to handle all the pressure you take on? Perhaps it’s worth going easy on yourself…

Writing about making the game, Hayman said: “We consulted with the UK charity, Gaming The Mind, an organisation of UK-based mental health professionals, when designing Snowy Springs. The charity aims to promote positive mental health within the gaming community and the games industry; and reduce the stigma surrounding these issues. Their input was valuable and critical.

“Snowy Springs promotes the idea of self-care in modern life, the importance of focusing on your own needs and radical empathy. We intended for the game to reduce stigma surrounding anxiety, depression and panic attacks; but also promote the self-care activities to self regulate and calm.”

At the time of development, the developers of the game were part of the National Film and Television School, where Gaming the Mind has delivered teaching sessions to Games Design and Development students regarding mental health themes.

The game was nominated for the Game Development World Championships (GDWC) 2022 Student Game Award, and was selected for a Golden Ticket entry at Game Development London Expo (GDLX) 2023.

You can play the game for free on itch.io