By Miranda and Kyle:

This podcast episode is divided into two segments. First, we discuss the violence against and the sexualization of women in video games, and how those tie into Heavy Rain, before diving into an analysis that is counter to the narrative put forth in the game: How are mothers depicted, and what do these depictions say about society’s understanding of parental roles?

Bibliography:

Beck, Victoria Simpson, et al. “Violence Against Women in Video Games: Prequel or Sequel to Rape Myth Acceptance?” Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol. 27, no. 15, 2012, pp. 3016–3031, https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260512441078.  

Mendelytė, Atėnė. “Thought Experiments in Video Games: Exploring the (Un)Ethics of Motherhood in Frictional Games’ Amnesia: Rebirth.” Games and Culture, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120231153715.  

Spindler, Emily. “She Contains Multitudes: Exploring Motherhood Through Games.” GamesHub, 24 May 2023, www.gameshub.com/news/features/exploring-motherhood-and-games-2617232/.  

Music for the episode – “Maybe Tomorrow” performed by Grant Green on his album, Visions, published by Blue Note Records in 1971 

By Miranda and Kyle

In this episode, Kyle and Miranda introduce the game Heavy Rain. They delve into a summary of its characters before starting a conversation on depictions of mental health. They continue with a look at how Heavy Rain uses aesthetic information to create an environment of sadness to reinforce the depictions of mental health, before concluding with their overall thoughts on the game.

Bibliography: 

Ovandal. “Mental Health in Games.” YouTube, 8 Mar. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=idyUrJHdDPc.

Shapiro, Samuel, and Merrill Rotter. “Graphic Depictions: Portrayals of Mental Illness in Video Games.” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol. 61, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1592–1595, https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13214. 

Zagalo, Nelson. “Narrative Design of Sadness in Heavy Rain.” Journal of Science and Technology of the Arts, vol. 9, no. 2, 2017, p. 47, https://doi.org/10.7559/citarj.v9i2.246.