Minetest Game To Help Save Lives

[TheReaperKing]

I'm interested in making a game to help save lives.

This writeup might seem a bit scattered and disorganized because that's where my brain is right now. I am bouncing around a lot of ideas and I would love to have any insight from you all.

Let me start by introducing myself. I'm Mike, and I created the projects The Doom 3 Mod Last Man Standing and Platinum Arts Sandbox Free 3D Game Maker. For the last 10 years I've worked with kids.

During my time with kids I found that if kids felt they had at least one person in their corner pushing for their success that it made a huge positive difference. When I left teaching and spent more time with adults, I found the same for them.

Sadly, many feel they don't have anyone in their corner.

It has become more apparent to me that depression and suicide is an epidemic.

So I started pouring through all the Psychological and Government research I could on happiness, suicide, depression and related subjects.

A correlation that was found between suicide letters was that people felt that they were a burden to their family and friends, and that they could not see any possibility of a positive future.

That made me think about video games. When you are helping someone or saving them in a game, you are not being a burden, but a help. And even simply leveling up is moving towards some kind of positive future since you are growing and getting stronger.

I'm interested in using minetest to create a sort of virtual safe place. So instead of escaping life through suicide, drugs and such, they can use the game, which would provide positive resources for life coping and management.

Perhaps everyone would even start with a virtual pet. I could try to put in some of the basic life planning and happiness concepts into the game, even if they are simply messages on signs.

To work on this full time I would of course need monetary support, so I was thinking about having a basic free version, and then have a "Support the project" DLC with extra skins, texture packs, soundtracks, maybe even maps and modes. I would of course want to give back to the Minetest team for their hard work and probably use a system similar to Unreal 4.

With the game I'm hoping that it could help draw attention to my site http://MikesHappyPlace.com as well where I am attempting to distill all this research I've been pouring through into a more practical and accessible form.

So after all this, my questions are:

What do you think could be the best ways for me to make a living working on this full time?

I've been considering crowd funding but I'm not sure, or even sure which one to use. How else can we use a game to help with mental angst, for a minetest game, or others?

I'm really hoping to have the support of the Mintest Devs and community.

Thank you so much for your time! If you are interested in possibly working with me please let me know! Take care.
-Mike

[Skulls]

Do you have a 501(c)?

[TheReaperKing]

I have a single entity LLC and was just going to use that. From what I could tell non profits involve a lot more paperwork and I rather focus on the software and the site vs paperwork.

[Inocudom]

Suicide and abortion are two big eldritch horrors that are destroying modern society these days. Maybe you could depict them as massive, evil, and scary giants of some kind? I recently heard an episode of a program by Lamplighter Theatre known as The Giant Killer, so that is where the idea I put forth came from. Anyway, good luck to your and your new project.

[voxelproof]

Maybe you could depict them as massive, evil, and scary giants of some kind? I recently heard an episode of a program by Lamplighter Theatre known as The Giant Killer, so that is where the idea I put forth came from.

As far as I understand the idea is rather about creating a safe space than another realm of struggle. Anyhow, it'd be great if successful and I wish the proposer a wide support and help to fulfill this magnificent dream.

[TheReaperKing]

Thanks Voxelproof! I think there is so much potential.

Inocudom I have thought of something similar where you essentially battle monsters that represent negative aspects of the Psych such as depression, fear, etc.

I have to write up a full presentation but there will be a lot going on. On the surface it will be about creating, having fun, being relaxing, etc, but beneath the surface I will be using Psychological and Government research I've studied to help cover the areas required for happiness and for life planning, and most importantly to attempt to prevent suicides.

Thank you for your interest and I've been working hard on this! I hope to have more to present soon :)
-Mike