Every day, WordPress emails me one writing prompt. Today’s writing prompt is:
Mine Your Own Material
I had to find a piece of my own material to post. I decided to spruce up this old article that I never finished:
The Heartbreaking Problem of ‘Kind Words: Lo-Fi Chill Beats to Write to’
[TW: Mental health, depression, suicidal thoughts. As I wrote most of this in early January, some parts may be outdated.]
I am, unapologetically, a lo-fi beats fanboy. Three years ago, weary of Ed Sheeran’s Divide album and radio repeats of Little Mix’s Touch, I visited SoundCloud in search for something new. I found a small playlist entitled ‘Acid Jazz’. As soon as the smooth piano bars of nyamano’s solitude. hit my ear canals, paired with sultry tones of Cowboy Bebop’s Valentine, I was hooked. My study sessions were never the same again.
Skipping ahead to a couple months ago, imagine my delight when I heard about a BAFTA-nominated indie game titled Kind Hearts: Lo-fi Chill Beats to Write to. I don’t think I’ve ever made a quicker impulse buy.
Kind Hearts works more like a social platform than a game. You write a short letter detailing your concerns or worries. That request is ‘delivered’ to the community via a ‘mail deer’, to which people can respond with their own letters.
There’s a very real sense of community, despite only knowing the first initial of each person writing. Paper planes fly through people’s rooms, sending positive vibes across the web. A cute progression system is implemented through little trinkets that sit on the room’s shelves and desk. The homely feel of this tiny room floating in a cosy, starry void with dulcet piano tones whistling past your ears leads to an insanely satisfying atomospheric experience.
The Kind Hearts team successfully pulled off the somewhat unbelievable feat of creating a safe space on the internet to voice concerns. Throughout my play-time, I never came across a mean-spirited letter or troll reply. The reporting system is incredibly sophisticated and the developers are constantly combatting negative vibes that sneak through the net. In these trying times, we’re in desperate need for spaces like Kind Hearts.
However, the problem lies not with potential trollers, but the posters themselves.
Normally, requests detail everyday concerns people have. Relationships, trouble with family, maybe even just a request for new songs and films. But in recent ‘playthroughs’, a worrying trend has developed: people asking for advice about serious mental health issues.
I want to preface by saying that the developers weren’t ignorant to the fact that people would probably use their game to talk about more serious mental health issues. Suicide-protection and mental health hotlines are readily available to the player in the options tab. Yet this doesn’t stop players voicing their suicidal tendencies and crippling depressive states on the posts.
Of course, if you are suffering from mental health issues, reaching out for help is absolutely the right call. A close support system is exactly what you need when you’re at your lowest.
Yet the people who are responding to these messagers aren’t qualified to deal with these mental states, especially in a mere 13 lines of dialogue. Message requesters also can’t reply to responses they get and follow up on answers. And these types of responses are becoming more and more frequent throughout the game.
I know, for one, that I am in no way qualified to give mental heatlh advice. Sure, I’ve listened and spoken to friends going through a rough time, but there comes a point when you realise your support can only go so far, and that professional help is needed. In Kind Hearts, those suffering with mental health are subject to armchair psychologists, poor health advice, and even the odd troll that slips through the net.
So, what are the solutions? As I’ve said above, the team have put mental health hotlines in their options, but putting them somewhere more visible may help steer those looking for mental health advice to the numbers rather than the responses. I am not sure whether this is already a feature on the game, but key-words that refer to suicide, depression, or other serious mental health issues (similar to how they block swear words) could trigger a pop-up with the numbers and advice to seek professional medical help.
Kind Hearts is, again, a superb safe space for people with their agony aunt issues, and I cannot recommend the game enough for those who want to ride on a wave of positive vibes. The next step developers need to take is to make it safer for those with serious issues, for the betterment of the game and society as a whole.
Don’t tackle mental health by yourself. I have also attached mental health help hotlines below. Take care, stay safe.
If anything in this article has affected you, feel free to contact me at will.vince@live.com.
Samaritans (24/7, free to call): 116 123
PAPYRUS UK hotline (for young people with suicidal thoughts): 0800 068 4141
- Open 10am-10pm on weekdays and 2pm-10pm on weekends and bank holidays.
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