LOOK AFTER YOURSELF

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF is a first-person educational game aimed at lecturers, personal tutors, learning development staff, and students who want to explore and discuss mental health and digital literacy within the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Once downloaded, the game can be played solo on a PC or projected and played in a group.

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF is an ongoing project involving Level 3 Games Design (UAL Creative Media) students and staff at Lambeth College.

DETAILS

The game is split into two parts and takes place in two separate locations.

In the first part of the game the player uses a torch to navigate a maze of dark corridors and face the symbols of anxiety they encounter. Text messages contextualise each anxiety and time to reflect is given before the game moves on.

The aim is to find and face as many anxieties as possible. Through exploration, the player builds an ‘anxiety metre’ that represents their willingness to face challenge.

Progression from this part of the game is via a door that the player must discover.

In the second part of the game the player is transported to a lush landscape to discover the positive steps they can take to break cycles of anxiety and develop emotional wellbeing. Again, text messages contextualise each positive step and time to reflect is given before the game moves on.

The aim is to discover the antidotes to the anxieties faced in the first part of the game. Through exploration, the player reduces their ‘anxiety metre’ as new knowledge and strategies are learnt.

At the end of the game, the player can view a feedback screen listing the anxieties they faced and antidotes they discovered.

The player can save screenshots of their progress at any time during the game. The information they gather can be used to initiate group debate or as a source for individual reflective work. Used as a learning activity, the game seeks to nurture rational thought, critical thinking, and positive attitudes to selfcare.

UPDATE

Part one of the game is now playable and an initial survey to generate 'anxiety content' is planned for January 2021. This survey will focus on Media students at Lambeth College. Their responses will determine which anxieties will be incorprated into the game map.

CALL OUT

We are hoping to expand the game and encourage colleges anywhere to submit their anxieties via an online survey.

Contact Games Design Programme Leader Jez Noond (jnoond@lambeth.ac.uk) if you’d like to contribute content to the game or discuss how you could use it as part of your teaching.  

LOOK AFTER YOURSELF is part of a broader strategy being rolled out by the college and partners at London South Bank University dealing with how disinformation can negatively impact on mental health during COVID times.  

A unifying slogan for the broader project is borrowed from the HIV testing campaign that said, 'It stops with me', though in this context the viruses being stopped are fake news and conspiracy theories as students and staff are encouraged to CHECK, REPORT and NOT SPREAD these.  

The broader project is being coordinated by eLearning lead Chris Roberts (croberts@lambeth.ac.uk) who can be contacted for more information on general or subject specific resources relating to the project or more about the project and partners.

Jez Noond
UAL Level 3 Games Design Programme Leader

Lambeth College
Clapham Centre
45 Clapham Common South Side
London
SW4 9BL

Last updated: 13/01/21