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As a child, being a patient in hospital can be anxiety-inducing, boring and unenjoyable, which is why students from the Game Academy at Falmouth University have developed ‘I’ll Be Brave Tomorrow’.
It’s a video game made in collaboration with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), which aims to raise money and make hospital stays less daunting for children.
‘I’ll Be Brave Tomorrow’ is a narrative adventure game which tells the story of a sick child in hospital, which is designed to provide escapism in the form of a video game that children can play from their hospital room.
Founder and creative director, Tom Hunt, was inspired by his personal connection to the internationally renowned children’s hospital, based in London.
“I’ve been a patient at GOSH since I was three months old,” he told CHAOS Radio. “I had an operation there for my cleft lip and ever since then I’ve been going back every three months.
“The staff there are absolutely amazing, there’s no judgement, nothing like that at all. They’re just fantastic people who all want to make the world a better place and that’s very clear with how they act and how they treat their patients.
“So it’s a great opportunity for us to give something back. We really wanted to make a game which made a huge difference in the world and with my prior experiences at GOSH, we knew we wanted to make a big difference in that kind of space.
“We’re in constant communication with our two representatives at Great Ormond Street Hospital and they’re the most helpful people that we’ve had along our journey, always giving us helpful feedback and seeing what they can do to help us, which is great to see.”
Hunt believes that gaming can be used as a tool to help patients’ mental health, and explained: “Gaming is great escapism during difficult times. When I was in hospital, there was a GameCube in one of the waiting rooms and I remember sitting there playing Mario Kart for hours.
“It just takes your mind off anything that’s troubling you, anything that you’re worried about. So I think it’s a very important part of experiences like that.
Technical director, Archie Crampton, hopes to inspire multiple generations through the game.
“We have kind of two demographics we want to target,” he said. “One for kids to acclimatise to hospitals and show that hospitals aren’t a bad place. They are a place to get better and we want to show what great a place Great Ormond Street is but then also, on the flip side, show parents how great video games are and how they are such a great form of escapism.
“Despite their going through hardships and going through a kind of tumultuous time, video games are a great way to just avoid everything else in life and focus on one sole thing.
“The main way we’re showing that is the narrative. Myself and Tom are both writers by trade so we’re going to tell a story to show that video games are amazing.”
Click here to find out more about Hunt’s company, Inc Forge Studios, where you can find links to their social media and ways to donate to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
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