A video game that helps us understand loneliness
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0:01 - 0:04Have you ever felt lonely?
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0:05 - 0:08The urge of wanting
to connect with people, -
0:08 - 0:11but you seem to have no one
you really would want to contact? -
0:12 - 0:15Or, it's a Friday night
and you want to be with others, -
0:15 - 0:20but you have no energy to go out,
so instead you sit at home all evening, -
0:20 - 0:22watch Netflix
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0:22 - 0:25and feel more alone than ever?
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0:25 - 0:27You feel like a monster
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0:27 - 0:29between humans that know how to function.
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0:30 - 0:34This is what loneliness felt like to me.
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0:36 - 0:37So I'm an artist,
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0:37 - 0:42and I process my emotional world
by sharing my feelings through my art. -
0:43 - 0:46If you share your feelings with someone,
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0:46 - 0:49and they understand
and share those feelings too, -
0:49 - 0:53you create an emotional
and deep connection. -
0:53 - 0:58This is why you can be surrounded
by hundreds of people, -
0:58 - 1:01jump from one candidate to the next,
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1:01 - 1:03but still feel lonely.
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1:03 - 1:08It's because these deeper connections
haven't been made. -
1:09 - 1:12I was an always-happy child.
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1:12 - 1:15I think we nearly have
no single photo of me -
1:15 - 1:18where I don't smile broadly
or laugh or joke around. -
1:18 - 1:20And this went on until ...
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1:20 - 1:22well, it's still the case.
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1:22 - 1:26But I had many friend groups
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1:27 - 1:30up until, as a young adult,
I moved to another city -
1:30 - 1:33for my first job as a comic artist.
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1:34 - 1:39And like so many young,
thriving people all over the planet, -
1:39 - 1:43I concentrated all my energy
into my work life. -
1:44 - 1:49But, if you spend, like, 90 percent
of your daily capacity -
1:50 - 1:52trying to succeed at work,
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1:52 - 1:53of course there is nothing left
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1:53 - 1:56to take care of all the other
important aspects in your life, -
1:56 - 1:58like your human relationships.
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2:00 - 2:04Nourishing friendships
as an adult is work. -
2:06 - 2:09You need to be consistent with connecting.
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2:09 - 2:12You need to be open,
you need to be honest. -
2:12 - 2:14And this is all I struggled with,
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2:14 - 2:17because I tend to camouflage
my real feelings -
2:17 - 2:19by trying to appear always happy
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2:19 - 2:21and trying to make
everyone else happy, too, -
2:22 - 2:24by trying to fix their problems.
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2:25 - 2:28And I know a lot of us are guilty of this,
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2:28 - 2:32because it's an easy way to not
think about your own issues. -
2:32 - 2:33Isn't it?
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2:33 - 2:35Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?
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2:35 - 2:37(Laughter)
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2:37 - 2:38OK.
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2:39 - 2:42The turning point came
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2:42 - 2:47when I fell into an emotionally
abusive relationship -
2:47 - 2:49just a few years ago.
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2:49 - 2:52He isolated me
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2:52 - 2:55and left me feeling more alone than ever.
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2:57 - 2:58It was the lowest point in my life,
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2:58 - 3:01but it was also my wake-up call,
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3:01 - 3:03because it was the first time
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3:03 - 3:07that I really felt loneliness.
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3:08 - 3:11Many artists put
their feelings into their art. -
3:12 - 3:16There are endless books,
movies, paintings, music, -
3:16 - 3:19all filled with the real
emotion of an artist. -
3:19 - 3:22So, as an artist myself, I did the same.
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3:22 - 3:24I shared my feelings.
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3:25 - 3:30I wanted to help people
cope with loneliness. -
3:30 - 3:32I wanted, yeah, to make them
understand it, -
3:32 - 3:36to really experience it through my art
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3:36 - 3:40in the form of an interactive story,
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3:40 - 3:41a video game.
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3:43 - 3:45So, in our game --
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3:45 - 3:48we called it "Sea of Solitude" --
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3:48 - 3:51you are a person named Kay,
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3:51 - 3:54who is suffering from
such strong loneliness -
3:54 - 3:57that her inner feelings --
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3:57 - 3:58the anger,
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3:58 - 4:02the feeling of hopelessness,
worthlessness -- -
4:02 - 4:04turn to the outside,
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4:04 - 4:05and she becomes a monster.
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4:06 - 4:08The game -- well, Kay --
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4:08 - 4:11is actually a representation of me
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4:11 - 4:15and the path I went through
to overcome my struggles. -
4:16 - 4:18The game plays, actually, in Kay's mind,
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4:18 - 4:23so you walk through a world
that is flooded by her tears, -
4:23 - 4:27and the weather is changing by her mood,
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4:28 - 4:29how her mood is changing.
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4:30 - 4:36And, well, the only thing Kay wears,
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4:36 - 4:37the only thing,
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4:38 - 4:39is her backpack.
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4:40 - 4:45It's the baggage we all carry
throughout our life. -
4:45 - 4:48And Kay doesn't know how to cope
with her emotions in the right way, -
4:48 - 4:51so her backpack becomes bigger and bigger
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4:51 - 4:52until it bursts,
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4:53 - 4:57and she finally is forced
to overcome her own struggles. -
4:58 - 5:03In our story, we present many different
manifestations of loneliness. -
5:04 - 5:08Loneliness through
social exclusion is very common. -
5:09 - 5:13In our game, the brother of Kay
got bullied in his school, -
5:13 - 5:16and he just wants to hide and fly away.
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5:16 - 5:20And we portray him as a huge bird monster
surrounded by thick fog. -
5:21 - 5:24The player has to actually
walk through his school -
5:24 - 5:28and experience, really feel the harm,
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5:28 - 5:29that the brother had been through,
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5:30 - 5:33because for a long time,
nobody really listens to him. -
5:34 - 5:40But the very moment
friends and family start to listen, -
5:40 - 5:44the first step towards overcoming
this form of loneliness had been made. -
5:44 - 5:48We also show loneliness in relationships,
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5:48 - 5:53like when parents just stay together
for the sake of their kids -
5:53 - 5:56but end up hurting the entire family.
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5:57 - 6:03We put the player literally in between
the two parents while they are fighting, -
6:03 - 6:05and you get hurt in the middle.
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6:06 - 6:10They don't even see that their daughter,
Kay, is right there -
6:10 - 6:12until she breaks down.
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6:13 - 6:18We also show loneliness
through mental health issues, -
6:18 - 6:22with the boyfriend of Kay,
who suffers from depression -
6:22 - 6:25and shows that sometimes
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6:25 - 6:30it is most important to focus
on your own well-being first. -
6:32 - 6:35The boyfriend also tends
to camouflage his feelings, -
6:35 - 6:39so he appears like a lone,
shiny white wolf. -
6:39 - 6:44But the moment he starts
to interact with his girlfriend, Kay, -
6:44 - 6:45the mask falls off,
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6:45 - 6:49and we see the black dog beneath it:
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6:49 - 6:50depression.
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6:51 - 6:55Sometimes we put on a smile
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6:55 - 6:58instead of dealing
with the issues at hand, -
6:58 - 7:01and that can ultimately make it worse,
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7:01 - 7:03affect the people around us
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7:03 - 7:05and damage our relationships.
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7:08 - 7:09So Kay herself
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7:09 - 7:13we portray as ripped apart
into her basic emotions. -
7:14 - 7:16Some help you,
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7:16 - 7:18some are trying to stop you.
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7:19 - 7:22Self-Doubt is a huge creature,
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7:22 - 7:25always telling Kay how worthless she is
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7:25 - 7:28and that she should just give up.
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7:28 - 7:30Like in real life,
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7:31 - 7:33Self-Doubt is blocking the path,
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7:33 - 7:35and it seems impossible to overcome it.
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7:36 - 7:41Destroying the omnipresence
of Self-Doubt is a slow process. -
7:41 - 7:45But in the game,
you can slowly, like, shrink her, -
7:45 - 7:47so she turns from self-doubt
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7:47 - 7:49to actually healthy doubt,
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7:49 - 7:51and you can finally trust her advice.
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7:53 - 7:55We also show Self-Destruction.
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7:56 - 7:57It's a huge monster
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7:57 - 8:01always lurking nearby
under the water's surface. -
8:02 - 8:05Self-Destruction is actually
the main antagonist of the game, -
8:05 - 8:09and she is always trying to drown you
in the ocean of tears. -
8:09 - 8:12But, when she actually drowns you,
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8:12 - 8:14you wake up just a few moments [before],
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8:14 - 8:17and you have a chance to progress again.
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8:17 - 8:20We wanted to show
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8:20 - 8:24that we all go through hardships
in our life, we all do. -
8:24 - 8:29But if you at least, like, stand up
and try to move forward, -
8:29 - 8:34you are very likely to make it
through your struggle, -
8:34 - 8:36step by step.
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8:38 - 8:44Joy is something that Kay
cannot really embrace or touch. -
8:44 - 8:47It's always something in the distance.
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8:47 - 8:49We portrayed Joy
as a child version of Kay, -
8:49 - 8:51with a yellow raincoat,
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8:51 - 8:54so she is invulnerable
to the ocean of tears. -
8:54 - 8:57But Joy can also turn into obsession
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8:57 - 8:59and start to be actually harmful for Kay,
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8:59 - 9:02like when she starts obsessing
over her boyfriend. -
9:03 - 9:09Joy will not turn back to normal
until Kay realizes -
9:09 - 9:14that her happiness
should not depend on anybody else -
9:14 - 9:16but herself.
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9:18 - 9:21So our monsters appear huge and scary,
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9:21 - 9:24but if you overcome your reluctance
and approach them, -
9:24 - 9:28you soon see that they
are no monsters at all, -
9:28 - 9:34but just fragile beings that are simply
overwhelmed by what life throws at them. -
9:36 - 9:39All of those emotions,
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9:39 - 9:43be it self-doubt or even self-destruction,
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9:43 - 9:45don't completely vanish in our game.
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9:46 - 9:52The key message is to not only
chase for joy or happiness -
9:52 - 9:55but to embrace all your emotions
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9:55 - 9:57and bring them into balance,
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9:59 - 10:03being OK with sometimes not being OK.
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10:05 - 10:09Everyone has their own
loneliness story to tell. -
10:09 - 10:13This realization changed
everything for me. -
10:14 - 10:16Being much more open with my emotions
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10:16 - 10:20and concentrating much more
on my private life, -
10:20 - 10:22my friends, my family.
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10:23 - 10:25When we released the game,
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10:25 - 10:28literally thousands of fans wrote us,
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10:28 - 10:31all sharing their stories with us
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10:31 - 10:35and telling us they felt
not so alone anymore -
10:35 - 10:38just because they played our game.
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10:38 - 10:41Many people wrote us that they felt hope
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10:41 - 10:45for a better future for themselves
for the first time in decades. -
10:46 - 10:49Many wrote us that they seek therapy now,
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10:50 - 10:54just because they played our game
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10:54 - 10:57and felt hopeful to overcome
their own struggles. -
10:59 - 11:01Our game is not a therapy.
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11:01 - 11:02It's not meant to be a therapy.
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11:02 - 11:05It's just my friends and me
sharing our stories -
11:05 - 11:08through our art, video games.
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11:08 - 11:13But we are so deeply thankful
for every single message -
11:13 - 11:14that people feel better,
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11:14 - 11:18just because we shared
our story with them. -
11:19 - 11:21So ...
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11:21 - 11:28I didn't completely overcome
my urge to help others. -
11:28 - 11:30But I don't want to overcome it anymore.
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11:31 - 11:32I love it.
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11:32 - 11:37I just needed to bring it
to a healthy size, -
11:37 - 11:40so it doesn't stand in the way
of deeper relationships anymore, -
11:40 - 11:42but even help me to connect with people.
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11:44 - 11:48So, if you have an inner monster
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11:48 - 11:51that is born out of negative emotions,
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11:51 - 11:55it is not only the goal
to kill that monster -
11:55 - 11:59but to understand that we humans
are complex beings. -
12:00 - 12:06Look at what part of your life
is so big that others fall short. -
12:07 - 12:10Look at what emotions you barely feel
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12:10 - 12:12or maybe feel too much
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12:12 - 12:15and move towards lowering those peaks.
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12:15 - 12:18Most of all, it's about understanding
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12:18 - 12:22that all the wide range
of emotions and struggles -
12:22 - 12:24makes us what we are:
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12:24 - 12:25humans.
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12:26 - 12:27Thank you.
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12:27 - 12:29(Applause)
- Title:
- A video game that helps us understand loneliness
- Speaker:
- Cornelia Geppert
- Description:
-
Step into artist Cornelia Geppert's visually stunning video game "Sea of Solitude," which explores how battling the "monsters" of loneliness and self-doubt can help us better grapple with the complexity and struggles of mental health.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 12:42
Camille Martínez commented on English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
eric vautier commented on English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
Erin Gregory approved English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
Camille Martínez accepted English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness | ||
Camille Martínez edited English subtitles for A video game that helps us understand loneliness |
eric vautier
At 3:08, the subtitles say "many others", but the speaker says "many artists". Could you fix it? Eric
Camille Martínez
Please note the following update to the English transcript:
3:08 many others --> many artists
Thank you for the edit, Eric.