We are delighted to be joined by writer/ producer/ director and Wowbagger Productions founder Sara Kenney. With the release of the She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game on Steam, we got to chat with Sara about the game.
Hi Sara, it’s so wonderful to have you here with us. Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Thanks so much for inviting me to share our story. I’m Sara and I’ve spent the last 25 years working as a writer/ producer/ director creating science fact and fiction stories working in TV, film, comics and more recently games. In terms of comics I wrote SURGEON X (Image), with the late John Watkiss on art and the brilliant Karen Berger as Editor. I worked as writer/ producer with a team of comic creatives on PLANET DIVOC-91, which was an allegorical story exploring the pandemic. We worked with young people in South Africa, UK & India to share their films, comics stories.
I’m currently working on a participatory arts comic project. A time travel story exploring 1990s rave scene. It’s called ACID BOX and our incredible team are artists Jim Devlin, Emma Viecelli and Ria Grix; colourist Sofie Dodgson; letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou; editors Kirsten Murray & Katie West.
Comic Cover Artists: Zara Slattery and Alison Sampson
Could you tell us about the origins of She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game?
Since 2017 we’ve run comic events at Thought Bubble Comic Con where participants can come and experience an ‘escape game’ style event. The lovely creators of THE WICKED + THE DIVINE and THE WALKING DEAD let us play with their storyworld. Working with Mink Ette (Oubliette Games, Preloaded) we created ‘escape room’ type spaces, but there were opportunities to chat to scientists, historians, philosophers exploring themes running through the comics.
After emerging from the pandemic, we wanted to explore if we could create something like this but in a digital world. I’d worked with Karen Berger before so I approached her about working with the SHE COULD FLY comic written by Christopher Cantwell with art by Martín Morazzo. Chris having lived experience of OCD was a very important element.
We started with a budget of £20,000 and it’s the first game I’ve produced. We’ve come quite a long way in 2+ years of development and we’ve learnt a lot!
Comic Cover Artist: Alex Moore
What did you think about She Could Fly when you read it?
The visceral images of the thoughts going through protagonist Luna’s head, opened my eyes to how devastating OCD can be. I had some knowledge of this mental illness as a couple of friends live with OCD. What struck me is the powerful representation of the isolation that Luna feels. Seeing how trapped in your own head you become, if you are not able to share the symptoms due to shame.
Writer of the comic Chris and artist Martín, don’t shy away from showing us the story of Luna’s shocking thoughts and we share some of these moments in the game. That’s why comics are amazing, we get to see into dark corners other mediums can’t reach.
Comic Cover Artist: Charlie Adlard
Can you tell us about the She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game?
The game is not set in the storyworld of the comic, but that of a comic creator who lives in a flat on her own. When you enter the flat you are accompanied by the narrator Tiger Orchid, a YouTube/ Twitch style gamer. The player explores the flat with Tiger, trying to find out who lives there and what’s going on in their life. You encounter ripped up pieces of the She Could Fly Comic, which you have to piece back together on a plinth.
You then get to read the comic and when you click on certain areas they unlock documentaries, which feature lived experience and science experts who tell you more about OCD. The clues for escaping the level are in these documentaries.
You keep going until you break free from the loops. We had fun with a character we call the ‘reassuring beanbag’. When you sit on the beanbag it gives you clues to escaping the game.
It’s not a difficult game – you can play it in about 90-minutes. It’s got a gorgeous soundtrack from Toya Delazy, who invented AfroRave and is a legit Zulu Princess. Personally I think it’s worth the five bucks just for that!
What is the aim of the She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game?
The aim is to share an entertaining game, but overturn some of the myths surrounding OCD. My co-producer Mairéad Ruane has lived experience of the condition.
The game was co-designed with lived experience, scientists, psychologists and medical humanities experts from Bath University, Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital, Oxford University, Cambridge University, OCD Action and University of Southern Mississippi were part of the iterative design process, feeding back on scripts and game drafts for over 2-years.
OCD is the mental health problem that takes the longest to diagnose due to shame (average is 7-years in the UK). I had no idea that OCD involved distressing intrusive thoughts that tend to coalesce around a theme such as relationships, religion or violence that go against the person’s values and make them feel they need to perform compulsions.
So the aim of the game is to get people playing, questioning and we have an outreach campaign we’ve also developed, with 4 goals, which we’re sharing with researchers and policy makers.
1. End trivialisation and increase understanding of OCD
2. Recognise and count people with OCD
3. Guarantee timely access to clinically recommended treatments
4. Fund research to understand the relationship between the social determinants of health and OCD
Any message for the ComicBuzz readers?
The walls in the flat are covered with art from some cracking UK comic artists Charlie Adlard, Hannah Berry, Imogen Mangle, Warren Pleece, Alison Sampson, Mark Stafford, Lucy Sullivan, Zara Slattery and many more.
Why not try out the game, even if you’re not a gamer? It’s a fun introduction to the STEAM gaming platform. Sign up for a free STEAM account. Download onto your PC and it’s a point and click game – very accessible. If you like the game please write us a quick review.
We would like to say thank you to Sara for chatting with us and wish her the best with the release of the She Could Fly: Documentary Escape Game.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2679650/She_Could_Fly_Documentary_Escape_Game/
https://www.shecouldflygame.com/
