Emily Mitchell, creator of Fractured Minds, receives her MCV/DEVELOP Award

Last week we presented the first ever MCV/DEVELOP Award in our new ‘Games for a Better World’ category. The winner, Emily Mitchell, was unable to join us on the night, but we can now report that she has received her award safe and sound. 

The award celebrates a person that has tried to improve the world or challenge the status quo, through their work in the games industry. Someone who has made a positive impact on others through the medium of games. 

Mitchell’s game Fractured Minds tackles the subject of mental health, with Mitchell drawing on her own experiences of severe anxiety to create the game. 

In an acceptance video on the night Mitchell told the assembled industry crowd that: “Thank you so much for the award, I never thought my game would go this far, I’m so happy it’s been able to reach so many people, my main hope for the game was that it could help in any small way to help raise awareness for mental health conditions, and I’d like to thank Leo and the team at Wired Productions for their amazing work.”

In addition to being published by Wired Productions, the game has been a key element of the industry’s new Safe in our World charity, which promotes awareness and dialogue of mental health issues. Presenting the award was Gareth Williams, of Heaven Media, a co-founder of the charity. He said:

“My main hope for the game was that it could help in any small way to help raise awareness for mental health conditions”

“The Games For A Better World Award is so important. In an age where social media has an impact on real life, and peer pressure leads to serious consequences, the timing of this new award could not be more poignant.

A few years ago, Leo Zullo, Neil Broadhead, Al Hibberd and I were working on a game that didn’t shy away from shining a light on mental health. Personal experiences had led us to a place where we needed to do something about the lack of openness within our industry.

And then we stumbled upon someone with a vision to share how it feels to suffer with mental health issues. And that person inspired us.”

MCV/DEVELOP congratulates Mitchell on her well-deserved award win, and we hope to see more from her in the future.