Fumble
"Why can't I just... talk?
Does it really matter what I say?"
A puzzle game about talking
& struggling with social anxiety
3RD PRIZE WINNER
MAY DAY MENTAL HEALTH GAME JAM 2022
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Description
Fumble is a puzzle game about how it feels to struggle to talk. It tells the story of someone suffering from social anxiety without realising it.
This game was made in 21 days for the Mental Health Game Jam 2022 organised by Deepwell DTx and Global Game Jam. One of the main goals of the jam was to demonstrate how video game themes and mechanics can be utilized as treatment mechanisms.
The gameplay acts as a playable metaphor of social anxiety and offers what we believe is one possible representation of what it feels like to have the condition. By projecting themselves on the main character, we hope that players might be able to identify their own struggles and seek help if undiagnosed.
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Credits:
Game Engine: Unity 2021.1.19f1
Code, Game Design & Narrative by Namida Sai
Art & Audio by "Comfie"
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Comments
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As someone with social anxiety this hit hard. I was really impressed with how the anxiety of remembering which button to press matches so well with the anxiety I feel in conversations, wondering the right thing to say and if they think I'm weird. I had to take a break. Might come back some day and help and this person manage their way. But it was a bit too real for me. lol. I can see how this was one of the winning entries. Great job.
good puzzle game
What Im hearing is that you experience of anxiety has to be deemed the only correct one and everybody else's experience of it is plain wrong?
From the little skip around of your video that I did it was hella mean and unprompted and "I hope that this review has not been too discouraging" reads like a lie :)
Thanks! Got this emotions!
A work of art that makes you connect to this social situation extremely well through gameplay.
Perfect abstract art, system and the audio also supported the whole experience.
really feel likes how I talk irl, really nerve wrecking 😅, also I really like the aesthetics of each location. I haven't beat it, just really show how stupid I am in communication.
i REALLY see a lot of protentional in the game, but god is it hard.
And i think the main reason that it is hard is because… you are guessing what’s right and wrong
You have no clue what to do or to select, which is i guess fine? somewhat conveying the feeling that “Speaking to people can be hard”
But i don’t think that’s really how things work… i mean ik this is a game but even for a game it’s a bit too far to be worth it.
And the fact that you reset from the start every time you screw up, and you only have 3 tries makes it even harder.
From what ive found, there's actually a pattern to the symbols and how they correspond to the arrows! I wont share them so you can figure it out tho :)
one year later, I still can’t figure them out.
sigh.
I give up, I can’t figure them out
That was actually so good, I relate to it in a lot of ways. Also I like how there is Zayne Black in this game (Let's Talk Game Design)
this game, it deffenity made me think of myself a lot. not in a bad way, not really in a good way. I highly recommend this game, if you suffer from the kinda things presented in it, it will make you think long and hard about yourself, and if you don't, it will halp you understand what others think. 9/10 really good
this is hard
DEEP STORY