So it’s a PhD in Design at RMIT in Melbourne Australia, and my topic is “Developing Video Games for Mental Health”.
After I finished my Masters and having completed a game about depression, and having talked to the lovely people who contributed their stories to the game, I realized that I wanted to do more for mental health awareness.
I roped in some friends and we attempted a crowdfunding campaign to start a platform where people can share their stories and in turn we will transform them into video games. We called the platform MuniReality.
But while working on MuniReality, I realized because mental illness is such a delicate and sensitive topic, it wouldn’t be responsible to just put something out there. It needs to be ethical and I need to be culpable.
According to Jen Hyatt, CEO of Big White Wall:
“I have no tolerance for developers who try to avoid taking responsibility for the safety of people online. We have a responsibility to our users – it’s the only route to a good, rigorous resource.”
Source: http://www.impactventuresuk.com/press-releases-and-news/big-white-wall-one-of-four-nhs-apps-found-to-be-clinically-effective/
That’s why I decided to learn more about psychology, and I recently finished a University Certificate in Psychology from University of Derby. I won’t be able to actually study enough Psychology to be a clinical psychologists though. After all, I am a game developer.
So I decided to do a PhD.
I’m just starting so I don’t know where it’s going to go yet or what to expect. I’ll probably post a lot as I progress (since this blog is like my notebook except public and people can comment on it).
In the mean time, here is my Research Proposal:
And my Pre-Application Presentation:
Until next time!
Michelle Chen 