“It’s dangerous when go alone! Get this,” famous quote from the iconic game Legend of Zelda. In life, going it alone is dangerous—and having a supportive community is important, especially for people experiencing mental health challenges.
This memorable line of dialogue inspired the nonprofit’s name Do this, which celebrated its 10th anniversary in November. The organization has promoted mental health by combating toxicity in the gaming space over the past decade, its reach and impact. continue to grow and create positive change. Take This was founded on three key needs and goals: support, community, and mental health.
The reach of the organization is far and wide. Among its projects, Take This is working with the US Department of Homeland Security to investigate racism and sexism in the gaming community.
Build a stronger community
Take This is committed to building a better game community and working alongside game developers to ensure anti-toxicity measures are incorporated into games. The nonprofit’s vision is a friendly gaming community that supports gamers experiencing mental health challenges.
Take This’s work creeps into many nooks and crannies of the game industry. CEO Eve Crevoshay told WIRED that the organization’s mission “is to reduce stigma and increase support for mental health and wellbeing in games in the gaming community.” This means Take This is looking at what factors are unique to video games that support or challenge people’s mental health, says Crevoshay: “How do we facilitate that? Health promotion?”
She added that much of what Take This does is look at how people experience making games, playing games, and “being in the online gaming space and in gaming-adjacent spaces like Twitch.” or Discord.” Crevoshay says turning those spaces into “the best possible experiences” drives Take This’s mission.
against crisis
Another part of the nonprofit’s mission is to engage in conversations about mental health. “What we did at first was say, ‘Hey, mental health is an open conversation,'” Crevoshay said. We’ll bring this to the table.’”
Mental health awareness—and strategies and resources for dealing with mental health challenges like depression and anxiety—is changing dramatically as more and more people speak openly. about mental health. Crevoshay said Take This created rooms at PAX, a series of gaming conventions where people can come to “escape the intensity of the game floor”. “Because the conventions of the game are really loud, stimulating and stressful.” The purpose of these rooms is not only to provide an outlet, but also to start a conversation about mental health in the gaming community.
Of course, mental health issues don’t just affect gamers. There are also game creators and developers who also need these resources. “Crunch,” or working overtime while developing video games, is common in the game industryand Take This is committed to reducing its negative impact. Creator burnout is also a focus of the organization.
Chelsea Blasko, Co-CEO of Iron Galaxy Studio, an indie video game studio that has partnered with Take This. Blasko says that’s something that Iron Galaxy Studios is hard to avoid. The studio prioritizes employees’ access to mental health resources, flexibility in working hours, etc. For example, if someone needs to take their dog to the vet, they can do so and “don’t feel guilty or harassed by their team or like you’re letting them down,” Blasko says, adding how crunch creates “really negative pressure on overworking yourself.” .” Iron Galaxy and Take This have collaborated and held crisis avoidance workshops, and Take This has organized workshops for studio employees.
