Too Extreme for the Couch? Clichés, Stereotypes and the Industry’s Responsibility

The games industry has long been relying on stigma, clichés, brutality and other shortcuts to communicate effectively with players – or to grab attention. We all know what psychiatric patients look like and how they behave: Zombie mode activated. What responsibility does the industry have when depicting mental health issues or using extreme violence? Where is the line between artistic expression – sometimes of deeply personal experiences – and tactics such as suicide baiting and relying on shock value? What can we reasonably expose the audience to? In this roundtable, we will address these questions from a psychological perspective and practical game dev experience.