Journaling and representing traumatic grief through RPG video game storytelling
An artist autoethnography
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24216217 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xiyuan Tan (0000-0002-3231-6080, Loughborough University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2026-09-29 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mortality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1357-6275 • E-ISSN: 1469-9885 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13576275.2026.2737332 |
| OpenAlex | W7214701435 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
Storytelling and creative interventions are beneficial for mental health wellbeing when coping with grief and bereavement, but currently many of these activities are conventional analogue-based activities. Innovative digital means of journaling, expressing and representing grief are worth exploration. This study is my artist autoethnography that investigates the making of a specific part of my RPG video game project that aimed at recording and coping with my first experience of traumatic grief. The game was not intended to be published, but to explore the advantages and limitations of game-making in cathartic storytelling, creative journaling and representing life events. Based on theories of autoethnography, grief models and existing methods of game analysis, this study explores the representation of bereavement through games, and the power of game-making applications as digital creative journaling tools. Through a case study, I discuss how I have made my grieving journey into interactive game elements, how these elements respond to Bonanno’s four-component framework and Stroebe’s Dual-Process Model, and whether making/playing the game was effective in improving mental wellbeing. The aim is to encourage grievers who seek creative means of coping and catharsis to consider unconventional, innovative digital tools for journaling, representing and reflecting on their bereavement.
Digital art · game narrative · journaling · role-playing games · Traumatic grief · Digital Games and Media · Educational Games and Gamification · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
Cautioning Health-Care Professionals
Playing Research
The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement
Gris , Grief and the Heroine’s Journey
The Dual Process Model of Coping With Bereavement
Forget the “Five Stages”
The Clergy, the Clinician, and the Narrative of Violent Death
Narrating Pain
The Ethnographic I
Toward an integrative perspective on bereavement
Grief
Autoethnography
| Highly cited | No |
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