How would I change the world? Well, it’s not a very revolutionary thought and I’m fairly positive that I’m not the first to think of it, but the way I want to change the world is to make a video game. But this is not just any video game, oh no, I am not one for being plain and boring. My game would draw more attention and bring awareness to teenage suicide caused by bullying. And it’s not going to be all superficial saying the same old ‘ignore the bullies and think positively about yourself’ thing, no. That’s too unoriginal to me, I want my game to be as unique as possible, which means the gears of my creative mind begin turning, bringing power to the machine known as the almighty right brain side! Anyway, enough silliness and let’s just get straight into my game’s concept, or what I have of it so far, that I think will have a positive impact on society.

My game’s basic prowess is that a teenage girl commits suicide for seemingly no reason whatsoever. She was a happy-go-lucky, sweetheart of a teen who always seemed to have a smile on her face and a chipper state of mind, at least, that’s what she appeared to be on the outside. The teen’s family is devastated, and the entire community is shocked at this girl’s actions. The player, a random stranger who has just moved to the state of New York, where it all takes place, stumbles across a diary and a camera lying in the dirt in a thicket of bushes in Central Park. The player picks them up and takes them back to their apartment and decides to dig through them to try to find out who they belong to. Now this is where the gameplay prowess and inspiration for the game comes in.

So, the first thing that my game would have with controls would be with controller support, where the game can be played with a PlayStation or Xbox controller, and the controls that most gamers are used to on their computers. Now, the actual gameplay will start with the player opening the diary they found to dig up clues. The first game scene will be designed to be a first person view of the teen, who will be narrating the story as the player moves around and explores the world and completes the assigned tasks. The player will be able to see through the eyes of the teen and be able to see how she thinks and feels, as she progresses through her life as a New York high school student. The narration will start with the girl introducing herself and talking about her life as a teen, giving the player some backstory to work with about this girl.

This game, just based on the prowess and storyline that I developed so far, is clearly going to be touching on some extremely sensitive topics, including things like self-harm. That’s certainly a topic that is controversial, I know, but that’s one reason why I want to make this game. It’ll draw more attention to this very big problem and can, hopefully, help people suffering from bullying and suicidal thoughts. That’s the main point I want to touch down on, I want to bring more attention to this problem and help people understand. It’s not just people thinking too negatively about themselves and that people who are being bullied can just stop listening to the snide remarks and mean comments about them, no can just stop listening to someone saying hurtful things about them. It’s just not possible, at all. You can’t just stop listening.

This is how I want to change the world. I want to bring about more awareness about a topic that is kept very quiet. I chose the topic of suicidal actions and deaths driven by bullying. That very topic stirs up plenty of controversy, I know, but I honestly am willing to pay that price if it means this problem will be properly addressed and people suffering can be given the help and support they need. I’ve had to talk someone out of killing themselves before and it was that very experience that made me worry about these millions of people that think about taking their lives. I want people to know that this is a serious issue that needs to be taken more seriously and not just shoved aside and kept quiet, it is an issue that must be dealt with head on. I want to create this game to show people what many young teens do to escape their depression, their sadness, and to just try to escape the things that are drowning them in negativity and depression.

I want to do this to help change the world for the better.