Toxicity in games is rampant. This non-profit organization resists
“Dangerous go alone! Take it,” reads the famous quote from the iconic game. The Legend of Zelda. It is dangerous to go it alone in life, and having a supportive community is critical, especially for people experiencing mental health issues.
This memorable line of dialogue inspired the name of the non-profit organization Take itwho turned 10 in November. The organization has been promoting mental health by combating toxicity in the gaming space for the past decade, and its reach and influence continue to grow and create positive change. Take This was founded on three key needs and goals: support, community, and mental health.
The organization’s reach is far and wide. Among its projects, Take This is working with the US Department of Homeland Security to investigate racism and sexism in the gaming community.
Building Stronger Communities
Take This is committed to building the best gaming communities and working alongside game developers to ensure that toxicity safeguards are built into games. The nonprofit’s vision is a welcoming gaming community that supports gamers experiencing mental health issues.
Take This’s work seeps into many corners of the gaming industry. Executive Director Eva Krevoshay told WIRED that the organization’s mission “is to reduce stigma and increase support for mental health and mental wellness in gaming within the gaming community.” That means Take This is looking into what factors are unique to video games that either support or challenge people’s mental health, Crevoshay says: “How do we create the conditions for increased well-being?”
She adds that a lot of what Take This does is about looking at how people perceive making games, playing games, and “being in online and game-adjacent spaces like Twitch or Discord.” Turning these spaces into “the best possible experience,” Crevoshay says, fuels Take This’s mission.
Fighting crunch
Another part of the nonprofit’s mission is to contribute to mental health conversations. “At first we were doing,” Crevoshay says, “saying, ‘Hey, mental health is an open conversation. We’re going to bring it up for discussion.”
Mental health awareness and strategies and resources for coping with mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are changing dramatically as more people speak openly about mental health. Take This created rooms at PAX, a series of gaming conventions where people could go to “escape the tension of the gaming room,” Crevoshay says. “Because the gaming conventions are really loud, stimulating and intense.” The purpose of these rooms was not only to provide an escape, but also to start a mental health conversation in the gaming community.
Of course, mental health issues don’t just affect gamers. There are also game creators and developers who also need these resources. “Crunch,” or overtime in video game development, is a common occurrence in the gaming industry, and Take This aims to reduce its negative impact. Creator burnout is also a focus of the organization.
“Crunch is when a team works too many extra hours and this has been a common problem in our industry,” says Chelsea Blasco, co-CEO Iron Galaxy Studios, an independent video game studio that has partnered with Take This. Blasko says that Iron Galaxy Studios is trying very hard to avoid this. The studio prioritizes employee access to mental health resources, flexibility during working hours, and more. For example, if someone needs to take their dog to the vet, they can do so and “not feel guilty or harassed by their team or that you’re letting them down,” says Blasko, adding that crunch creates “really negative pressure.” on a dog.” overwork.” Iron Galaxy and Take This partnered and hosted panels on how to avoid crunch, while Take This hosted workshops for studio staff.