Here’s something a little bit different that I thought would be well worth sharing with all of you interested in gaming.
While gaming is a lot of fun, there are many who condemn the past-time and link it to being an unproductive activity, which is detrimental to one’s health and overall being. However, CheckPoint, an Australian non-profit organisation that connects mental health resources with video games, are illustrating several ways playing video games can actually be helpful and beneficial to individuals and communities.
CheckPoint Series
Today, the organisation has released its first full trailer for the upcoming CheckPoint Series.
The web-series begins on January 29th, and tackles mental health issues using the power of video games. It will be available to watch on YouTube, Steam, and the CheckPoint website.
Over two seasons, the series will feature information about mental health issues, including interviews with games industry heroes who have lived experience of them, and an exploration about the uses of video games for positive well-being and resilience.
The trailer displays some of the show’s structure, high production values, animations and excerpts from interviews.
The series includes high profile games industry veterans, including Ken Levine, Creator of the Bioshock series (Ghost Story Games); Josh Scherr, Co-Writer of Uncharted 4 and Uncharted Lost Legacy (Naughty Dog); Teddy Diefenbach, Creator of Hyper Light Drifter (Square Enix Montreal); Kelsey Gamble, Community Manager (Bethesda); Zer0Doxy, Content Creator, YouTube; Rae Johnston, Editor (Gizmodo) and TV Presenter (NITV) and Jess Hodgson, Community Manager; Ryan Roth, Games Audio Designer and Musician, and Matt Gilgenbach, Creator of Neverending Nightmares.
This trailer has been highly anticipated since its successful Kickstarter campaign in June 2017. It is proudly sponsored by Way Down Deep, and supported by Hipster Whale, Mighty Games, Digital Fox, Well Placed Cactus, Gallagher Bassett, SuperBetter and Dinosaur Polo Club.
About CheckPoint
CheckPoint believes games can help recovery, and even be therapeutic. Their mission is to support the people who play and make games, and to use games for good. They do this by raising awareness of mental health issues, reducing stigma, and providing a safe peer-support community for gamers.
The organisation is run by both mental health and games industry professionals. This enables CheckPoint’s reach to span across both industries, and ensures that the information and education that they provide is accurate, relevant and implementable.