See how CPFT's Wellbeing Hub helped shape the success of award-winning video game
Colleagues from CPFT’s RCE Wellbeing Hub have spoken about their part in the development of the hugely successful Hellblade video game produced by the award-winning studio Ninja Theory during a special event broadcast across the globe on YouTube.
Emma Taylor, Recovery Lead, and Peer Support Worker Eddy Maile joined Prof Paul Fletcher from the University of Cambridge and members of the Ninja Theory’s development team to talk about how the impact of psychosis and the attached stigma can have on people’s lives. The global event preceded the launch of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, the sequel to Hellblade.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a dark mythological adventure following a young warrior grappling with psychosis. Ninja Theory's approach involved thorough research and collaboration with the Wellbeing Hub, engaging with Peer Support Workers who have personal experiences with the condition. The game garnered global acclaim, earning numerous awards, including a BAFTA in 2018.
Dom Matthews, Studio Head at Ninja Theory, said: “We knew we had to take our research and our understanding seriously if we were to achieve a game that would be compelling for our players to play but at the same time give a truthful representation of psychosis. Through Paul we had the opportunity to work with people with experience of psychosis and to understand what it can be really like. It has struck me just how profoundly impactful our collaboration has been. Through our collaboration, not only was the game critically well received, but it’s been held up as somewhat of a triumph in a representation of lived experience.”
During the panel, Emma highlighted how the game offers players a glimpse into the lived experiences of those with psychosis.
Emma said: “We talk a lot about this in the Wellbeing Hub – you read about things and you can talk to people, but to actually be able to experience and understand how it feels can be a real way to open that conversation and begin to understand where that person’s coming from. The game has a huge amount of value in beginning to open conversations and de-mystify what can be seen as often a scary and violent illness which actually it isn’t.”
Eddy added: “Playing as Senua you get to see her motivations for doing the things that she does. People who are experiencing psychosis don’t do things for no reason. Those reasons won’t be hard to understand. Playing as Senua you get an insight into why. Another thing that is valuable about representing psychosis in games is that people who experience this often feel forgotten, left out, and this game, as Senua, has the main person as a hero, which we’ve never seen before in a video game. Collaborating with Ninja Theory, I can vouch for the experiences Senua has – looking, sounding and feeling authentic. The game takes me to those places; the experiences I have had in a way that’s very real. I think that’s a success.”
You can watch the livestream event below or on YouTube here: Hellblade: A Journey of the Mind in Collaboration with Cambridge Neuroscience (youtube.com)
