Hope's Journey: A Therapeutic Experience
A downloadable game
Hope's Journey is a video game made by a team of medical doctors and therapists designed to help players cope with emotional difficulties.
The game uses evidence-based approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), among others, to help the player understand her or his feelings and how to deal with them. The game's focus is general emotional difficulties that almost everyone has faced, including anxiety, social anxiety, and depression. It should be noted that although it could be helpful, it's not meant as a treatment for severe mental conditions. If such is the case, the player is advised to see a specialist.
Hope's Journey is unique among therapeutic apps in that it uses evidence-based approaches, while striving to be a true video game, with engaging story-driven gameplay in the JRPG style.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $15 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Minor ChangesOct 03, 2020
- First UpdateSep 04, 2020
Comments
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Very useful knowledge! Please, continue development and make Linux version! I had to use Wine in order to run the game.
Thank you so much. Glad you found it helpful!
Hiya, I have made a little video if you want to check it out some time. : )
---Spoilers and Bad Language are in the Video---
(Please feel free to move or delete)
I'm having issues even downloading the 7z file format. My default wants to open it with Microsoft edge, but all it pulls up is a blank tab. Online it's saying I need to download something like WinZip to open the file, however I would rather not. Is there another way? Thank you!
You need a file compression tool like 7zip.
I downloaded it via the .zip file and this is what I got the first time I tried playing the game on W10.
Hope it helps!
Thanks for the feedback. You should download the 7z Windows file. The zip file was supposed to be hidden!
Thank you, also as just a general piece of feedback from my first few minutes: I would use more conjunctions in the dialogue: "I'm" instead of "I am", etc. It makes it sound more human and natural, and less "robotic". Otherwise, the game is very pleasant so far. Great job!
Just played the demo and I found some potential game-breaking bugs. When I got to the second level and had bad thoughts about books, I wasn't able to tackle the bad thought immediately and the switch seemed to be still on when I restarted from the checkpoint, so I couldn't continue. I'd recommend that you leave the bad thought lingering on the screen for a few seconds to facilitate this.
I know that this is a demo and maybe some graphics are placeholders, but the pixel quality of the busts is significantly lower than the actual game graphics. You might want to look into getting an artist to do those and I could recommend a guy I worked with: https://www.facebook.com/pg/henrysaintsart/photos/?ref=page_internal
I can also help you with backgrounds for cutscenes if needed: https://www.artstation.com/sketchabledaydreams
There are also some grammar issues as well as typos throughout.
Sorry if I'm being very critical, but other than these things, I see a lot of potential in this game and I already felt like I learned a lot in the short time I was able to play it. I like the HP system for Mood and the gamification of thoughts. Great job!
Thank you for the feedback. I truly appreciate it. This is how I improve, so don't be sorry. In a matter of fact I would love to hear more in the future.
I am working on the bug you mentioned. Regarding the graphics I feel that I reached a stage were I have graphics that are acceptable, and considering my budget and the fact that it's a self funded project, improving the graphics isn't a priority. However, improving the language level is, especially since English is not my first (or even second) language and language is very important in such project. I am planning to invest in some professional editing / proofreading.
I'll surely follow development and I look forward to seeing more in the future!
I would love to see this game. I only have mac. Would you consider setting the game up for mac?
Thanks for the comment. A browser version is in the works. I hope to have it out a week from now. Keep checking back!
thanks. I’ll check back next week. Good luck.
Ported it to mac, no way of testing it though. Hopefully it works!
Honestly this game is nearly identical to my thoughts day by day. This could really become something for actual therapy use the first 10 minutes I already learned something to help me. Thank you so much! I'm gonna continue playing it for sure. <3
Thank you for your comment! I am really glad you found it helpful! In addition to the thoughts presented in the game, some of the mechanics used (for example pressing specific buttons) are based on neuro-cognitive tests and would (theoretically at least) make the process of learning the therapeutic techniques more effective.
Is it made using RPG Maker Engine?
Yes, Mv.
Okay, thanks for the info!