The Loss Levels: An Interactive Expression of Grief

On May 22, 2017, a terrorist detonated a suicide bomb packed with shrapnel in the foyer area of the Manchester Arena as crowds filed out of an Ariana Grande concert. Of the 14,200 people who attended the event, 22 were killed, and the initial casualty assessment put the number of injured at 117. This second number would soon change, however, as officials expanded the casualty total to include severe psychological trauma and minor injuries – by May 2018 the number had risen to 800.

Credit: NBCnews.com

It’s difficult to imagine any way to truly calculate the damage done by such an act, as the psychological harm resulting from events like the Manchester bombing ripples through families and communities, causing trauma that can easily last a lifetime. One thing is for certain: For every soul that perished on that day, there were exponentially more that would suffer the trauma of the sudden loss of a loved one.

Turning Grief into Video Game Art

One of those survivors who was left to deal with this tragic loss is Dan Hett, who lost his brother Martyn in the blast. Dan, an indie game designer who has worked with the BBC to create interactive kids’ games, set out on a journey of discovery and expression, using games to, as he put it, to “…explore some of the experiences and themes I went through.”

Credit: Danhett.com

c ya laterrrr

Dan’s first game in the series, entitled “c ya laterrrr,” is based on the last message he received from Martyn. It’s a text-based game that explores what Dan calls the “what-ifs” he reflected on after the tragedy. Hett explains: “There are dozens of routes through it but only one endpoint. Most of the decisions you can make in that game are ones I didn’t make, but there is one pathway that does reflect what I actually did.” Hett says this format allows reflection on the choices he didn’t make in a way that other media do not, making this type of game ideal for experiencing the uncertainty one always feels in the wake of such a tragedy.

Credit: DanHett.com

The Loss Levels

Dan’s second game about Martyn’s death, called “The Loss Levels” (a play on the video game term “boss level”), deals with much of the same subject matter as “c ya laterrrr,” but in the context of simple, 8-Bit graphics and bright colors. It’s a fast-paced game, reminiscent of many a gamer’s youth, that takes the user through Hett’s experiences: from learning of the attack, to dealing with the press and well-wishers, to spreading Martyn’s ashes, to ultimately living with the grief of loss. It’s a remarkably profound four-minute experience, and you don’t need to be a gamer to get it.

Credit: The Loss Levels, Dan Hett

Sorry to Bother You

Dan’s next game in the series, “Sorry To Bother You,” will focus on his and his family’s experiences with journalists relentlessly hounding them for comments after the tragedy. Based on a dataset consisting of messages he received after the event, the goal for players will be to weed out sincere messages of concern from those that are merely journalistic digging disguised as sympathy. In our world, this is a reality for survivors of many tragedies, and the game will offer players a first-hand experience of just what these kinds of pressures can feel like for survivors.

Credit: The Loss Levels, Dan Hett

With their capacity for deep, narrative content, video games are developing into an art form that will likely be more relatable to younger generations than more traditional forms like poetry. Because of this, and because technology is quickly inundating most aspects of our daily lives, we should expect to see more people like Dan Hett expressing themselves through code, as it gives players a more immersive experience and possibly a better insight into grief and loss in the digital age.