A collaboration between Tusitala and The Tapestry Project, Crossroads is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure game story that explores mental health challenges in the workplace.
Readers will experience the perspectives of characters at different stages of their career as they navigate potential stress factors such as an inescapable workplace culture, the pressure of climbing the corporate ladder and the stigma of being perceived as “lesser” if they do reach out for help.
Objectives
Tusitala wanted to address the rising levels of workplace-related burnout and mental health concerns in modern society together with The Tapestry Project. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased stress levels, burnout and isolation amongst Singapore workers, particularly young adults prone to the “always on” culture.
We wanted to create dialogue on workplace-related mental health issues in a sensitive and appropriate way, which is why we presented different perspectives simultaneously through the choose-your-own-adventure format: to highlight the variety and variability of mental health struggles.
Ideation
By taking audiences through the different character’s stories, we aimed to empower people by facilitating an understanding of one’s role – whether as someone new on the team, a supervisor or a co-worker – in creating a mentally healthy workplace. The goal was to get audiences to reconsider their approach to mental health and go beyond advice like ‘seek help from a professional’.
In addition to the challenge of presenting the complex topic of mental health appropriately, we also had to think of how to go about it innovatively, when mental health has already been addressed in a myriad of ways in modern society.
The choose-your-own-adventure format facilitates active participation with decisions along the way to provoke questions in readers about the choices they make in the workplace. Stories unfold with every choice, emphasising the importance of individual responsibility and community support for those struggling in the workplace.
Final concept
The final concept was an interactive story accompanied with music, sound effects, and illustrations to enrich the online experience. The user begins by adopting the perspective of one of three characters, each at a different stage of their career. In the shoes of the chosen character, the reader can experience how their own choices could lead to different consequences for each character, all of whom have their own individual backstories.
Potential stress factors – an inescapable workplace culture, the pressure of climbing the corporate ladder, and the stigma of being perceived as “lesser” if they do reach out for help – are highlighted with each choice.
We also included resources on mental health at the end of the story to remind users that no matter the choices they make, help is always on the horizon.
Process
The experiences of these characters were built from research on, and real life anecdotes of individual experiences with workplace mental health challenges from Common Ground x Studio Dojo. The individual stories were then written by local writers.
Through the process, we kept a few questions in mind:
- How do we balance empathy with accountability?
- How do we talk about things kindly and also with candour?
- How do we look out for each other’s mental wellbeing, and whose job is it anyway?
Tusitala worked closely with the three writers in crafting the individual sections, which covers the same events from three different perspectives.
We wanted to ensure the stories modelled positive opinions and behaviour for people dealing with difficult situations, and that the writing doesn’t alienate people who are not necessarily sympathetic to mental health concerns.
Twine was used to map the stories’ paths, and we partnered with Artwave Studio to create background music and sounds as part of an immersive audio experience that enhances immersion.
For the visual design, we chose a cool and calm colour scheme to reflect a mood of reflection. A different typeface was chosen for each character to emphasise their individuality. In regards to the illustrations, the line art was reflective of the ways in which we go about our daily lives in the workplace, unknowingly becoming husks of ourselves by performing our roles without considering our mental health.
Nicole Kay, founder-editor of The Tapestry Project, says that the project
“seeks to empower individuals to consider various perspectives when taking charge of their own workplace mental health, and to shed light on how stakeholders at different organizational levels all have a part to play in ensuring a positive and healthy workplace environment,”
“The choose-your-own-path storytelling format is perfect for exploring the complexity of work stress and burnout, which has been exacerbated by COVID-19 and differing generational attitudes toward work and mental health.”
For more read our Crossroads event launch blog:
At the crossroads – of Mental Health and the Workplace here
