hey y'all! we're making a little indie game called The Things Left Behind, and I wanted to share something we've been doing with autistic creators that I'm really fucking excited about.
we've been partnering with autism centers to bring autistic people into game development. not just to playtest something we've already made or tell us what autism feels like so we can turn it into a game mechanic, but to actually help make the game.
we're teaching people how to use Unity, create art, write stories, experiment with mechanics, and turn their own ideas and experiences into something playable.
and a huge part of this has been thinking about what a game development space looks like when we actually build it around autistic people instead of expecting autistic people to adapt to the way everyone else works.
that means making room for different communication styles, sensory needs, breaks, different ways of learning, and different ways of participating. nobody should have to mask their way through a creative project just to be taken seriously.
and I think that's especially important because autistic people have so much to bring to games beyond the same handful of stereotypes we keep seeing.
autistic experiences aren't all the same. autism isn't just sensory overload or struggling in social situations. there's autistic joy, love, humor, creativity, friendship, frustration, comfort, and a million tiny things that don't fit into the usual stories people tell about us.
that's a big part of what we're trying to explore.
the game is called The Things Left Behind, and it's a collection of short, very queer, very disabled stories about the little moments that stick with us.
one of our stories explores sensory overload during a child's birthday party, including the ways imagination can become a source of comfort and grounding when everything feels like too much.
other stories explore executive dysfunction, relationships, friendship, intimacy, and the complicated, sometimes funny, sometimes exhausting experience of just being a person.
each story has its own art, mechanics, and characters, shaped by the people involved in making it.
and the whole game will be free.
but what matters most to me is that we're not trying to make a game that explains autism to neurotypical people.
we want autistic people to have the tools, support, and creative freedom to tell whatever stories they actually want to tell. including stories that have nothing to do with explaining or justifying their existence.
if you want to check out what we're making, here's our Steam page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4450900/The_Things_Left_Behind/
and I'd genuinely love to hear from other autistic people who make games, art, music, or anything creative. what would make those spaces more welcoming and accessible to you?
