Autumn has arrived in all its resplendent glory, and we find ourselves on the cusp of the most eerie holiday of the year – Halloween. It is during this season that many of us wholeheartedly immerse ourselves in a myriad of spine-tingling experiences, be it through the medium of movies, TV series, or video games. Within the expansive realm of the gaming industry, the horror genre stands out as a captivating source of fear and unease, boasting an exceptionally popular subgenre: psychological horror. It delves into a wide array of subjects, and consistently strives to penetrate the depths of our subconsciousness and mentality. This endeavour, however, may pose challenges – especially when viewed through the prism of mental health.
For the occasion of Halloween Sale, together with Safe In Our World, our cherished partner, whose curated collection of games you can find HERE, and Tequila Works, creators of games such as GYLT, Deadlight, or RiME, we decided to tackle this subject, and showcase what the creation process of psychological horror looks like in detail – and most importantly, how it can be done with mental health awareness in mind.We’ve had a great pleasure to talk with
Raúl Rubio, CEO, co-founder and CCO of Tequila Works, and the Creative Director of
GYLT, who answered all our questions immensely, through the example of the game he directed. Let’s dive into it!
Let’s start off with a little introduction – we know that GYLT is a rather gloomy, eerie game, full of fears and horrors of all manner. It’s not a usual spooky-type game though, as the presented monstrosities reflect real life struggles; what kind of problems does it tackle, what does it focus on?Raúl Rubio: GYLT is what we call Delicate Horror: instead of seeking jumpscares and gore, the approach is far more psychological and, in a way, beautiful (creepyful?). We believe that everyday life, that monotony that you take for granted, that wellbeing and order in your life… is an illusion. And it’s a scary thought to expose the player to such a scenario: that’s why Sally is a helpless hero even before the game starts. She is being bullied at school, in plain daylight, at the sight of everybody… yet no one will help her. When she crosses the valley into Olde Bethelwood, those fears and horrors materialize in a very real form. Those terrors are in fact manifestations of the effects of bullying. The terror of Sally becomes the player’s…It seems like quite a lot; plenty of people still struggle with such problems, and it’s a never ending issue that resonates with many. Why did you decide on taking this direction?RR: It’s very true that what affected us as children will haunt us for life. When we were making the game, we realized that many if not all of us had either suffered from bullying or had been bullies… even both roles at the same time. Let me tell you a story: as an adult I tracked my former bullies… to forgive them. It’s silly but I had watched Flatliners (the Julia Roberts movie… yeah, I’m old) and somehow I became obsessed with this concept of guilt and purgatory and being at peace with oneself. Sadly one had died in a motorbike accident. Another was a junkie who could not remember his own name, much less his high school years. And the third one was a family man, played in an orchestra… and had no recollection of any bullying or wrongdoing, much less assaulting me in the toilets with his friends and traumatizing me for years. As I had promised myself I forgave him (probably to be at peace with myself, who knows) and to this day we have a friendly relationship, even if I cannot forget.The reason I’m telling you this is because the concept behind GYLT was very personal. Not in my case (but again, many members of the team used this project as a sort of therapy) but an artist’s, Guillermo. His cousin suffered bullying and her story’s how Sally and Emily came to be.I guess it is not your typical setting for horror but as I said earlier, breaking that illusion of safety that society provides was far more… unsettling.
We know that developers of games tackling similar real life problems, such as e.g. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, relied heavily on research and clinical consultants to portray the topic as accurately as possible. How did you approach the research and development process to ensure the game's portrayal of mental health issues is accurate and sensitive?RR: Bullying is a very serious and real issue. So in order to avoid any frivolity or take on the implications of such a topic lightly, we worked closely with child psychologists and pedagogists. We already had followed a similar approach with RiME and it was the sensible thing to do. For example one of the first things experts warned us about is that there’s no clear line on bullies and bullied. Roles change indistinctly constantly. Just by being there you are part of it. So it would be stupid (and irresponsible) to just represent the bullies of Sally as monsters and her defending (or worse, getting revenge) on them. Instead we focused on anthropomorphizing several aspects of bullying such as public exposure, violence, etc. and let the player express themselves through their actions.What was the reception of these subjects? Do you perhaps feel like your way of bringing it up as a topic of the conversation helped some people deal with their real life struggles?RR: RiME was the game when we realized that games could be something else besides toys, entertainment or art. They can be tools, they can be therapeutic and pedagogic. So yes, we saw that reaction from the community and sometimes triggered interesting dialogues, awakening memories and hopefully helping people.What were some of the challenges or ethical dilemmas you encountered while creating a game that deals with sensitive mental health topics within a horror context?RR: The horror is basically the vehicle used to expose the player to a concept that otherwise would be seen from afar. This was the way to make it your struggle, by dragging you into such a situation. In a sense we see horror as poetry, not as something gruesome. It serves a purpose, it’s not just seeking visceral reactions or primal instincts. It raises questions, sometimes uncomfortable ones.
GYLT presents a twisted version of reality, but its horrors are very much true. How else do you think game creators can address the subject of mental health – creative metaphors, or straight-forward statements?RR: Games are a fantastic medium to let players experiment with situations that are out of the ordinary, sometimes outright impossible. Players learn to leap and project themselves into avatars, assume roles and embark on journeys. But there’s so much to do, so much to explore in terms of interactive narratives, so much potential beyond fulfilling a hero fantasy… and yet allow different points of view for understanding, to build empathy, to become more human.Do you have any plans to continue exploring mental health awareness in future projects?RR: After RiME, The Sexy Brutale and GYLT, I’d say it’s almost a mantra to follow in our games. I prefer to think in philosophical rather than psychological terms but in a nutshell, we want players to look inside to see the outside.A lot of gaming areas, both within the industry and fan communities, struggle with mental health issues, yet it’s still far from being a natural subject of the conversation. Therefore, is there any message, thought, that you’d like to share with the GOG community?RR: Unlike physical health, the mind is far more elusive, complex and unseen. Empathy is essential. In order to help my own son to traverse the sorrows and miseries of this world I gave him three vital rules: respect, patience, and common sense. All are very scarce these days and much needed. So please be respectful, don’t rush, and please be aware of the context before doing something stupid. I guess in the end it’s very simple: treat others the way you’d like to be treated yourself.We’d like to thank Raúl for taking the time to answer our questions and take part in such an important initiative – now, Happy Halloween, and take care of yourselves!