Depression Quest
| Depression Quest | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | The Quinnspiracy |
| Publisher(s) | The Quinnspiracy |
| Designer(s) | Zoë Quinn |
| Writer(s) | Patrick Lindsey |
| Composer(s) | Isaac Schankler |
| Engine | Twine |
| Platform(s) | Browser, Windows, OS X, Linux |
| Release |
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| Genre(s) | Interactive fiction |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Depression Quest is a 2013 interactive fiction game dealing with the subject of depression. It was developed by Zoë Quinn using the Twine engine, with writing by Patrick Lindsey and music by Isaac Schankler. It was first released for the web on February 14, 2013, and for Steam on August 11, 2014. The game tells the story of a person suffering from depression and their attempts to deal with their affliction. It was created to foster greater understanding about depression.Depression Quest can be played for free, and has a pay-what-you-want pricing model. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline receives part of the proceeds.
Depression Quest was praised by critics for its portrayal of depression and its educational value. The game was noted for diverging from mainstream uses of video games as a medium. Popular reception was more mixed, and Quinn received threats and harassment from people who disapproved of the game. False allegations that the game had received a positive review from a journalist in a relationship with Quinn triggered the Gamergate controversy.
Depression Quest is an interactive fiction game, which presents descriptions of various situations and prompts the player to choose their response. In addition, most pages feature a set of still images and atmospheric music. The game has over 40,000 words of text, and multiple possible endings.
Players assume the role of a person suffering from depression, and the story centers on their daily life, including encounters at work and their relationship with their girlfriend. The story also features various treatments for depression. Players are periodically faced with choices that alter the course of the story. To make a choice, the player must click on the corresponding hyperlink. However, choices are often crossed out and cannot be clicked on, a mechanism that Depression Quest uses to portray the character's mental state and the fact that logical decisions may not be available to them. Beneath the choices presented to the player are a set of statements about the character, indicating their level of depression, whether or not they are in therapy, and whether or not they are currently on medication.
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