The Representation of Alzheimer's in Serious Games

Inner Ashes Video Game Case Study

Abstract

Video games is a means of communication with implicit messages that reach millions of users. Mentally ill people are usually represented as violent, out of touch with reality, and often the subject of prejudice. However, there is a branch known as serious games that seeks to raise awareness of mental illness. Our objective is to study how Alzheimer’s is represented in the Spanish video game Inner Ashes (Calathea Studios 2023), and consider the potential of serious games to raise awareness about this mental illness using a ludic-narrative analysis. The results show that narrative factors, such as characters and settings, and video game factors such as mechanics, depict the evolution of this mental condition, and players learn how to react due to the informational component. In conclusion, Inner Ashes is an example of serious games capable of educating about Alzheimer’s by moving away from stereotypes and sensationalism.