InsaneJournal

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Robyn Summers (robynsummers) wrote in depression,
@ 2008-02-01 22:47:00

Current location:	Dormitory
Current mood:	groggy
Current music:	Yoav - Club Thing

Oregon Trail and depression
I'm unsure how Facebook is viewed by other members but I use it to keep in contact with former classmates and current ones. Facebook allows applications by third-party organizations so you do various things like play games or take quizzes or compare movie tastes.

One I just joined was the "Oregon Trail" application and one of the ailments that can affect your wagon members is depression. You get a notice saying "[Friend] is severely depressed." You click on the syringe to "heal" your friend and it says "6 vials of medicine is required to heal this person." I'm glad they decided to use the term "heal" instead of "cure" but even then I'm a little affronted all it takes to help someone retain "good health" in the game from "severe depression" is 6 vials of medicine. And it never pops up regularly for the same person but jumps around.

I'm aware I may be reading way too much into an application game that's not meant to be educational at all but I'm still a little unnerved they give such a wrong idea about depression (severe or otherwise) or even included it. No doubt people suffered from depression back then but I don't recall it being an ailment back when I played Oregon Trail as a kid. Blah.

On a funny note, a friend can "get lost" and thus have their health be affected. They can then "be recovered" if you rest. I like the double meaning.

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ex_alchemy547
2008-02-02 06:35 am UTC (link)

There's quite a few games that have depression as an aspect of the game. Off the top of my head, I can think of The Sims. Or Tamogatchi? Last I recall from The Sims, the worse a character's life or relationships are maintained, the lower their mood levels are. If they get too bad, this clownish looking psychiatry fairy pops by to try and coax the character out of it, in a way that looks more like taunting. Then you still have to do things with the characters to fix their problems.

There's also some games that increase loyalty by giving your friends gifts or answering the right questions. I don't like the idea of friends being loyal based on what gifts I give them. :-/

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	ondore 2008-02-02 11:20 am UTC (link)
	aw but when Sims get depressed you have to look after them properly for them to get better; get their friends over, make sure they eat... yes. I just love my sims too much >> (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ondore 2008-02-02 11:21 am UTC (link)
	When I had Oregon Trail on my old old old PC, all you had to do to cure Typhoid/Cholera/Plague was give someone fresh meat and rest for a few days! (Reply to this)