In this modern era of understanding, the portrayal and exploration of mental health in video games and other media is something that many are looking to handle delicately and accurately. With the developer of RuneScape recently raising hundreds of thousands for mental health charities, it's clear that this is a topic that is of key importance in the industry. On top of that, Double Fine's upcoming Psychonauts 2 is a game that is seemingly going above and beyond to ensure it's a theme that's handled well in the game.
In a move that's perhaps not too outrageous for Tim Schafer and his company, the team behind the long-awaited sequel to the mind-bending platform classic Psychonauts has announced it will be working closely with a clinical psychologist on the sequel. Doctor Raffael Boccamazzo will be working with the team in order to help them portray mental health awareness more accurately, a theme which is prevalent in Double Fine's IP.
Dr. Boccamazzo is the director of Take This, a charity organization which helps promote mental health within the video games' industry. A report states that he's been working on Psychonauts 2 for a couple of months at this point, and has been brought onto the project to make sure the studio is doing all it can to make sure mental health awareness is represented accurately and fairly. One of the issues, according to the psychologist, is the idea that being able to infiltrate a person's mind brings up the question of consent, which Double Fine is ensuring it handles carefully.
Tim Schafer, who formed Double Fine in 2000 and has been looking to make a Psychonauts sequel for years now, feels that all video games should be reviewed by people like Dr. Boccamazzo. He feels there are gaps within games that could potentially be missed by developers, and he feels it's important to ensure that people should not feel offended when playing a game.
Psychonauts 2 was originally announced in 2015, and has sadly been delayed a number of times. However, as of this article going live, the sequel is still on track to be released in 2021. Despite there being a decade a half between the first game and this one, the sequel will apparently take place just days after the events of the original. Given the reputation of the first installment, this iteration is likely to be a huge crowd pleaser, particularly for those who fondly remember the first one.
Psychonauts 2 is currently in development and is expected to be released some time this year.
Source: Game Informer