Scene Record from Independent Game TheAdventurer. Designed and illustrated in March 2025.
The Adventurer is a cruise ship aiming to provide a safe and comfortable trip. You, as our respectful Captain, are responsible for taking care of 3 adventurers like you always do—Even with these 3 troublemakers to varying degrees, we trust you to try your best to make sure they are full and alive when they off-board.
Despite our society stopping ignoring mental health, most social institutes—such as campuses and communities—treat patients with psychological disorders as troubles and burdens. Instead of providing actual help, what is usually being implied is the strategy only to prevent them from self-injured or suicide at any cost, specifically and only under their supervision. This non-human-oriented attitude only brings fear of expressing or over-supervising without privacy. In The Adventurer, the player will serve as a supervisor who tries to keep 3 NPCs with different psychological disorders able-bodied and alive. Through experience and involvement in executing the supervision, I hope players could eventually understand how this system is broken, and how much unequal power the supervisor has over patients in need.
Screenshot from No, I’m not a Human, Papers, Please, That’s not my Neighbor, and 60 Seconds, on Steam.
Despite our society stopping ignoring mental health, most social institutes—such as campuses and communities—treat patients with psychological disorders as troubles and burdens. Instead of providing actual help, what is usually being implied is the strategy only to prevent them from self-injured or suicide at any cost, specifically and only under their supervision. This non-human-oriented attitude only brings fear of expressing or over-supervising without privacy. In The Adventurer, the player will serve as a supervisor who tries to keep 3 NPCs with different psychological disorders able-bodied and alive. Through experience and involvement in executing the supervision, I hope players could eventually understand how this system is broken, and how much unequal power the supervisor has over patients in need.
Screenshot from Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator and The White Door, on Steam. Art from illustrators Where_Hao and Tokio Hello on Instagram.
Despite our society stopping ignoring mental health, most social institutes—such as campuses and communities—treat patients with psychological disorders as troubles and burdens. Instead of providing actual help, what is usually being implied is the strategy only to prevent them from self-injured or suicide at any cost, specifically and only under their supervision. This non-human-oriented attitude only brings fear of expressing or over-supervising without privacy. In The Adventurer, the player will serve as a supervisor who tries to keep 3 NPCs with different psychological disorders able-bodied and alive. Through experience and involvement in executing the supervision, I hope players could eventually understand how this system is broken, and how much unequal power the supervisor has over patients in need.
As the Captain of The Adventurer, the player’s daily agenda includes distributing food to passengers, prescribing them medications, making important decisions for them, and of course, checking in with them daily to always supervise their conditions to prevent them from self-injured or suicide. The standard game flow is listed below:
After multiple playtesting both in Engine and on Paper, I came up with the final game system flow:
Concept Design and Draft for Independent Game TheAdventurer. Designed in December 2024 and Octorber 2024.
Concept Design and Draft for Independent Game TheAdventurer. Designed in December 2024 and Octorber 2024.
Thorina is the most unpredictable NPC on board. She represents bipolar in real life, who will be randomly affected by anxiety or depression in each round (50%-50% chance of turning more anxious or depressed). Although she appeared in the ship as the 14-year-old human-bard Thorina Selda Hathersage, her real identity is an adult halfoot magician Thorina Ecarwren.
Concept Design for Michael Jr. Hessenfeld in Independent Game TheAdventurer. Designed in January 2025.
Michael Jr. is a human-paladin representing anxiety disorder in real life, who will be mainly affected by anxiety. In his normal pattern, he will become more anxious and less depressed in each round. His full name is Michael Jr. Von Hessenfeld, taken from his father Michael Sr.
Eindride Sprusthron is an elf-ranger representing depression in real life, who will be mainly affected by depression. In their normal pattern, they will become less anxious and more depressed in each round. They suffered from losing their former squadron and blamed themself for that.
