Why?

Why? is an exploration into the mind of an individual with Binge-eating Disorder. As is the case with most mental disorders, like eating disorders, there is a social stigma that causes many people to view people with mental health issues as "other". One of the misunderstandings of eating disorders is that the individual with the disorder chooses to eat the way they do, and by extension can choose to stop eating (or restricting) in such a manner. The aim of this game is to give each individual player the understanding that binge-eating disorder is not just "eating too much" but is actually accompanied by a feeling of loss of control and possibly guilt.

This game can take you anywhere from two to ten minutes to play through depending on which options you choose. By running through the events leading up to a binge-eating episode, it aims to shed light on the inner workings of the individual experience within the moment. For simplicity's sake, there is not an in depth emotional background behind the episode, but more of a deep-seated and long-standing stress that could lead to multiple and frequent episodes. The character and the situations are meant to be ambiguous so that the player can insert themselves into the character's shoes and personally experience a small dose of the mental disorder.

The goal of the actual play through is to open up the minds of the player to the idea of "choice" and how that concept of digital storytelling can be used to illustrate something that is not an actual choice in real life but is seen as such by a good portion of society.