Posted in: Games, Video Games | Tagged: CheckPoint, Jennifer Hazel, Josh Shcerr, kickstarter, Mental Health, video games, Webseries

Webseries Kickstarter CheckPoint Intends To Promote Mental Health Awareness And Positive Wellbeing Through Video Games

A Non-profit organisation called CheckPoint has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a webseries that aims to help people with mental health issues using video games. Which is kind of cool when you think about it, and makes sense in some ways. Certain mental health disorders are treated with exposure therapy, which is basically like conditioning. And video games are nothing if not elaborate ways to condition people, if you look at them in a really cynical way anyhow.

CheckPoint needs to raise $55,000 AU (or about $40,691 USD) to fund a high quality, 16-episode webseries about mental health and video games called CheckPoint because naming is hard.

If funded, CheckPoint will feature evidence-based advice from mental health professionals, as well as stories of lived experience from people in the games industry, including developers, journalists, and content creators. Which is pretty fantastic, when you consider the sheer number of people living with mental health disorders. Globally one in four people experience a mental illness, with two thirds of those affected never seeking help or treatment. So, targeting the massive gaming audience with not only professional advice but also testimonial from people they'd look up to? Yeah, that just might help with Mental Health Awareness in a big way.

Dr. Jennifer Hazel, founder and executive director of CheckPoint, said in the press release distributed about the project, "If we get funded, we'll produce a high quality, 16-episode series to raise awareness for mental health issues, reduce stigma, and improve the wellbeing of people all over the world. And we're going to use games and game culture to do it."

Josh Scherr, writer of the award-winning Uncharted series for Naughty Dog, said: "I first became familiar with Dr. Jennifer Hazel's work after watching her presentation from the 2017 Game Developer's Conference entitled 'Invent a Game, Reinvent Yourself.' As someone who not only plays video games, makes video games, and dealt with a nasty panic disorder, the presentation spoke to me – and it's something I wish I'd seen back in 2001, when I was going through the worst of it. Feelings of shame, fear, and helplessness are all too common among those suffering from mental health issues; often, it makes taking that first step towards seeking help incredibly difficult. Easy to access resources, such as this video series, are often invaluable in helping people get past that initial hurdle, and as such, can be life-changing (if not outright life-saving)."

Scherr is far from the only games personality to join the series. If funded, CheckPoint will feature interviews with Nika Harper, Teddy Deifenbach of Square Enix Montréal, Zer0Doxy, Ryan Roth, Rae Johnston of Gizmodo, Rami Ismail of Vlambeer, Johnny Chiodini of Eurogamer, Jess "Jiggsy" Hodgson, Jennifer Scheurle, Kelsey Gamble of Bethesda, Alayna Cole, Krister Collen, and Claire Barilla.

The series is planned to be split into two parts with the first focusing on mental health issues broadly, aiming to improve awareness and show people how to get help if they need it. The second part will investigate how video games can be used to promote positive wellbeing.

The Kickstarter campaign will run for 30 days, ending on June 3rd, and will include The Monster Marathon Fundraising Stream, hosted at Twitch.TV from 19-21 May. The stream will feature lots of different content creators and activities, with prize draws of amazing loot up for grabs for those who donate to the Kickstarter.

"The gaming community has embraced our work with open arms," Dr Hazel explained in the press release that made the announcement. "They have helped us get to where we are and we hope that what we provide makes it all worth it. Gaming brings people together, there's evidence to prove games can treat anxiety, depression, improve mood, and so much more. We truly believe that we can improve the lives of people all over the world by using the wonderful power of video games – and that this is the community which will help us do it."

You can check out the project on Kickstarter here, or watch the campaign pitch below.

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