Clicking on the egg puts the hero in a comfortable room that is his.  There is no specific mention of which home the room is located in, the mother’s or the father’s, although 90% of the children are in the mother’s custody [24].  The egg is meant to symbolize a safe and pleasant place where one can be alone, relax and write in a personal journal. Also in this room the child can find his pet dog lying down and recuperating from the injuries he suffered in the earthquake.  He represents a sort of injured and pained part of the hero, who takes care of the dog all through the game.

Other than his personal journal, the egg also contains the player’s Quest Journal.  This is one of the game’s therapeutic devices [25].  On one hand it expresses the alter ego of the hero which is parallel to the deepest thoughts/feelings of the player, and on the other hand the player can choose to write in the journal in the hero’s name and thus distance himself and project his emotions.  Both cases offer an opportunity for emotional ventilation. 

Writing in the journal expands the range of emotional expression, serves as the modeling of statements of emotion and expands emotional awareness.
The journal also provides a place for each person’s individual story, even though there is only one plot. 

The common denominator shared by all who have been through divorce is their range of feelings.  The intensity of the feelings change depending on many intermediary variables [26], such as cooperation between the parents, the presence or absence of a parent, the economic situation, etc. Therefore the journal, which focuses on writing one’s feelings, is general enough and suited to all.
 
While writing in the journal the player can choose whether to do so with or without musical accompaniment.  If he chooses to use the calming music, it is possible to create conditioning between difficult and painful feelings and relaxing elements, certainly a most valuable therapeutic act.

The top of the journal contains beginning of statements of emotion, and the player can chose to complete them. Using the beginning of these statements can enrich the child’s emotional vocabulary and will make it easier to express himself in words and less necessary for him to express himself in actions. The subjects raised are anger and guilt, fear and lack of confidence, guilt and responsibility, forgiveness and understanding, longing and love. 

The question that concerned us was why would a child at play want to write in a journal and how would we lead him to enter that place? After he has written in the journal, our solution - aside from the appealing graphics and music - is to present the player with random hints about how to continue the game, so that some of the players will enter the space in order to get these hints.  But first they will have to confront the emotional statements and fill them out.  Sometimes it will not be hints about the game that appear but a message of psychological import, such as emotional support, advice to share feelings with people from his real world, and so forth. These messages will be given in a deep, dramatic and mysterious voice, like the “Oracle from Zipland”. For example:

“I understand what you’re going through…And so do MANY other people. It’s always harder in the beginning… You just have to have hope that it will pass.”

Continue reading “Part 6 - Characters and Objects”

Go back to “The Psychological Angle - Main Menu”

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[24] Rice, J. K. & Rice, D.G.(1986) Living Through Divorce.  New York: Gilford Press

[25] Gordon, L. PEERS Program.(1996).  Florida: Pairs Foundation. Ltd.

[26] Hetherington, E.M., Cox, M., & Cox, R.(1977).The  Aftermath of Divorce, in J.H. Stevence, Jr. & M. Mathews (eds. ), Mother- Child,  Father-Child Relations (pp. 149-176). Washington, DC: NAEYC.

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