As reported on endagadget, Michael Levall’s Please Knock on My Door is a video game that gave him “a way to express to friends, family and even strangers how depression has infiltrated his own life.” Below is an excerpt from the piece. If you live in the greater Cleveland area and recognize something of your own experience in the story, we hope you’ll reach out.
Please Knock on My Door is a simple game about a person living with depression. The protagonist, a blocky, inky-black character, lives a fairly standard life: Wake up, go to work, come home, repeat. The days are punctuated with mundane tasks like making a sandwich or showering, but each one carries extra weight as it drains — or bolsters — the main character’s mental fortitude.
Please Knock on My Door drives home the feelings of intense lethargy, self-doubt and numbness that can constantly assault someone living with depression. The game focuses on just one person and one story of depression, keeping the narrative contained and powerful.