As an assignment of Electronic Literature studies at the University of Bergen, the game ‘Dysthymia: A story about mental disorder’ is an attempt of gamifying mental health through interactive digital narrative.

The sounds, visuals, and mechanics of the game, are all designed to best portray and simulate the experience of struggling with dysthymia, a chronic depressive mood. The story is illustrated through four levels: a dysthymic state of mind on level one, getting professional help on level two, learning about dysthymia on level three, and deciding to overcome the disorder on level four. By using personal experience and academic theories, I hope that this game contributes to electronic literature and mental health studies in an innovative way, helping others to understand and/or overcome self-depriving thought patterns.