TIGS: third annual convention addresses psychological well being in video games

The International Games Summit on Mental Health is doing good work within the video games trade by getting folks to acknowledge psychological well being challenges.

Now in its third yr, the web occasion will happen on October 6 and October 7. TIGS will probably be an intimate gathering of people who find themselves handle psychological well being throughout recreation industries and among the many individuals who make video games. I’ve watched the occasions on-line for the previous couple of years and the occasion has had some heart-wrenching and deep classes, pertaining to subjects starting from suicide to the problem of admitting that you just need assistance. The latter topic has been blown large open through the pandemic, as so many people have acknowledged psychological well being points now.

Take This, the nonprofit that helps recreation builders cope with psychological well being, is the programming accomplice for TIGS, which was based by Mark Chandler of Toronto, Canada. Chandler labored within the recreation trade for greater than 20 years, however he wasn’t capable of maintain down regular nine-to-five jobs due to his sickness. He acknowledges that he has bipolar kind 2 psychological well being sickness that was identified in 2003.

It’s one thing he has handled ever since. After a very tough stretch about 5 years in the past, he determined to begin a convention
particularly about psychological well being in gaming, “in order that others would notice that they don’t seem to be alone of their day by day hidden wrestle.” The imaginative and prescient of TIGS is to create a recreation neighborhood that welcomes and helps folks experiencing psychological well being challenges.

Take This additionally works to lower the stigma round acknowledging that you just need assistance. Chandler famous finally yr’s occasion that many males couldn’t admit that they’d psychological sickness, and so he centered on that subject finally years occasion. The stress of getting to carry out and reside as much as reputations takes its toll on lots of people.

Tammy McDonald, an adviser and CEO of Heavy Water, additionally told an emotional story last year in regards to the suicide of her recreation developer husband, Matt McDonald, in a dialog with Take This’ Kelli Dunlap. They mentioned Matt’s cycle of psychological well being challenges over 17 years and Tammy’s personal survivors story.

This yr, Ubisoft is a sponsor for the occasion, and that’s an enormous step ahead because it’s uncommon to see an enormous firm getting concerned in such a topic. However one out of two people will expertise a prognosis or psychological well being problem over their lifetime. This yr, the occasion will handle a number of the most urgent points affecting psychological well being in video games: stigma, harassment, work atmosphere, and recreation play.

This yr, Double Tremendous Productions CEO Tim Schafer will do a keynote discuss Psychonauts 2 with Raffael Boccamazzo, scientific director at Take This.

And Celia Hodent, Carlos Figueiredo, and KooPee Hiltunen will discuss trade code of conduct and ethics in video games. Sarah Ticho, Elan Schneider, and Amiad Fredman will discuss ethics, duties, and pitfalls of streaming throughout COVID.

Alex Russell, Amanda Jones-Rincon, and Cassie Walker will focus on the psychological well being impacts of harassment and abuse. Eve Crevoshay and Jae Lin will discuss restore and accountability for harassment. Kate Edwards and others will focus on ageism in video games. And Tammy McDonald and others will focus on sexual harassment and shifting previous the politics of safety and failing up in video games.

Among the many others who spoke previously are John Smedley of Amazon Video games and former Blizzard chief Chris Metzen. Chris Charla, senior director of ID@Xbox, spoke final yr. In a press release, he stated, “The quantity of people that’ve spoken to me privately after I spoke at TIGS in regards to the present’s constructive affect on them exhibits me that what this convention is doing is extra keenly wanted within the recreation
trade than ever.”

I’m additionally an adviser to TIGS, and I’ve performed some joyful rounds of Name of Obligation: Warzone with Chandler.