These Murky Depths – A Visual Showcasing
‘These Murky Depths?’ is an empathetic, stylized and collaborative Visual Novel about depicting the symptoms and experiences of living with the dissociative disorders’ depersonalization and derealization.
Depersonalization and derealization, or often abbreviated as DPDR, are anxiety-based dissociative disorders in which are described as a characterization of how a person perceives or experiences their reality, resulting in a sense of disconnection and a feeling of observing themselves from an external perspective. It can manifest as a sensation of being in a dream-like state and change how the world can be perceived causing it to appear unfamiliar or surreal.
‘These Murky Depths’ is a visual novel, an interactive form of storytelling, aims to raise awareness and destigmatize dissociative disorders while providing a platform to empathetically depict the personal accounts and experiences of those with symptoms. Through immersive storytelling, the reader will navigate the challenges and reality of living with dissociative disorders. Most people have experienced these symptoms to some varying degree in severity and duration, and there are several, representations in media. ‘These Murky Depths’ aims to explore how can visual storytelling in the format of a visual novel bring positive outcomes to those who associate with dissociative disorders such as depersonalization and derealization.
The only word to describe my experience with depersonalization/derealization is “colossal.”
The full game can be found at rotinbloom.itch.io/thesemurkydepths.