Overloaded is a videogame - developed with Unity - about Mare, a person that suffers from Generalized Anxiety Disorder and has trouble in their daily life, to the point they frequently experience sensory overload and sleep paralysis during the night.
Because of the social stigma around Anxiety, people that suffer from it minimize and often do not address their condition; they don’t seek help and eventually start feeling as if they are alone in their condition, to the point where the anxiety disorder can lead to trauma and eventually depression.
The idea for this project came through my own experience of struggling with anxiety, and being told to carry on. Eventually I've started isolating and experiencing sensory overload and sleep paralysis.
Overloaded gameplay happens between two main phases: day and night.
During the day, Overloaded is a 2D top-down game, where the aim is to not stress too much Mare by going near crowds or exposing them to "overloading" situations.
Daytime is where most of the story is happening; the player has the possibility with Mare to roam around the academy and interact with some NPCs. Depending on the kind of interaction and answer that the player chooses, Mare will obtain a certain amount of Stress.
During the night phase, Overloaded shifts to a 1st person POV 2D game. The player will see the scene from Mare’s perspective and will be able to move only at certain times.
During the nights between the days, Mare will always have sleep paralysis. The more stress Mare got during the day, the more strong the paralysis will be.
The experience of sleep paralysis is made up of a sequence of Events characterized by hallucinations, phenomenons typical of a sleep paralysis, and external factors.
During the nights between the days, Mare will always have sleep paralysis. The more stress Mare got during the day, the more strong the paralysis will be.
The experience of sleep paralysis is made up of a sequence of Events characterized by hallucinations, phenomenons typical of a sleep paralysis, and external factors.
