Checkpoint featured in new BBC Documentary!

BBC have released their new documentary Gaming and Me: Connections, Identity and Support, looking at the simple question of how video games make us feel. The fantastic documentary features our own Joe Donnelly, author of Checkpoint, and his story of how gaming helped him come to terms with his depression.

You don’t need us to tell you (again) how brilliant a book Checkpoint is (but it is! It’s brilliant!), and the documentary is a great insight into ideas raised throughout his book, through not only his story but all of those featured.

More on the documentary: “At the end of 2019 it was estimated that there were more than 2.5 billion active gamers around the world, yet still, there is a lot of confusion and debate around the effect video games have on our mental health and wellbeing. Can they make us addicted? Are they a conduit to violent behaviour? Are these even the right questions to ask?  With a pandemic in full swing, and more people than ever spending their lives online, we believe there is a better question to be asked: How do video games make us feel? 

Video games are still under the scrutiny, and while the science is still not there in terms of understanding how they can affect us, many argue that the positive sides of it outdo the negative.  Agency, connection, self-awareness… can video games help us feel better?”

You can watch a preview at BBC News. The documentary is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.