Relationships in Digital MediaMain MenuWorks Cited(Mica Murdoch, Reid Jaeger, Brandon Semenec) MLA citations for all referenced worksTable of Contents(Reid Jaeger, Mica Murdoch, Brandon Semenec) Everything we have to offerMica Murdoch1d2f2ac481d04f99b5a30f8c23d6dab3f497cb8dReid Jaegera4c80949217213da9945a2de14bd32a7e2b34e9fBrandon Semenecfce94531b57d4d881c6875e51373879a84f12141
Omori - Mental Health and Immersion
12023-12-08T18:22:50+00:00Brandon Semenecfce94531b57d4d881c6875e51373879a84f121411917Brandon Semenecplain2023-12-08T18:56:07+00:00Brandon Semenecfce94531b57d4d881c6875e51373879a84f12141Psychology researcher Jimena Aguilar Rodriguez says that "Stories help us experience scenarios we otherwise would not be able to from a safe distance. The safe comfort of a story is what patients use to project their own problems and talk about them in guided therapy settings or as self-help" (Rodriguez 34). In Omori, the player is confronted with a problem where Omori is currently subjected to this barren landscape. This has the affect of removing this sense of comfort from the player as it becomes a very different landscape then the game perceives in the beginning. Especially due to the fact that the forest is very calm, green, and nostalgic for the player. The disconnect between the two landscapes are used to parallel the internal struggles that Omori has with himself over his sisters death. Murray makes the note that, “The possibility of a magical domain in which our dreams can come true also arouses our most anxious nightmares. The more present the enchanted world, the more we need to be reassured that it is only virtual and the more we need to see Harold's moon reminding us that there is a way back to the external world” (Murray 105).This game mechanic of switching between landscapes and settings subjects the player to a different sense of mental health. For example, some days may be comforting for individuals with mental health issues and others may be a dreadful landscape. Such that, going from a comforting landscape to a unrecognizable one can have the affect of discomfort to the player. This creates a continuous desire to immerse themselves within the landscapes due to the discomfort that they sense. This relationship between mental health and discomfort is what continues to drive players to immerse themselves within depression based games such as this.
12023-12-08T18:30:26+00:00Brandon Semenecfce94531b57d4d881c6875e51373879a84f12141Omori - Mental Health and Immersion Analysis7Brandon Semenecplain2023-12-08T19:04:14+00:00Brandon Semenecfce94531b57d4d881c6875e51373879a84f12141