Breathe in. Burn Out.

Plot

Try to experience the game with fresh eyes before reading this! If you don't want to, then: Play as an newcomer to the video games industry, with fresh eyes and a passion for games, they land a job at one of their favorite studios since they were a child. Enter into a workplace and experience something no one should ever, yet many deal with every day.

My Vision

My vision of this project is to allow people to get a perspective on the topic of crunch and how detrimental it is to the people at the forefront of it. Through the current design that I have, I want to allow players to interact and understand the effects on the individuals. Through repetition I want players to see these effects play out and understand that crunch brings with it a harmful mentality, that breaks down those surrounding it. I want the endings to showcase that we cannot let it slide, we cannot just quit the job, because that will not bring out the change we need. Working together and allowing individuals to stand together can bring the change needed, and we don't have to look over to the other side of the fence to wonder what better working conditions look like.*

Crunch

A big part of the video game industry, as well as the majority of workplaces across the globe. It's been so prominent that workers have adjusted to it and has been so engrained to the point where people argue that it is "needed." I dedicate this small project to highlighting this major problem, and the effects that it has on those who are at the forefront of it. This story is not based on a specific event, but is meant to encompass the topic in multiple lenses, but the end goal is the same: Crunch is not at all beneficial to the workers tasked with it, and it can cause a plethora of health issues and harm the well beings of workers as well as their families. If you would like to learn more on the topics of crunch and how we can make an impact, I will link unions and organizations below. 

Game Workers Unite: https://www.gameworkersunite.org/get-involved

Campaign to Organize Digital Employees: https://www.code-cwa.org/

*Currently there are doors that lead to nowhere, In the near future I will be adding more interactivity with them!