Mind Games
Jade Hall-Smith dreams of being a games designer – with a difference: the 27-year-old wants to create games to promote a better understanding of mental health and social needs. But Jade is autistic.
Jade's condition wasn't diagnosed until she became an adult, which meant dealing with a lot of challenging interactions for her and her peers, at school; now, she wants to make herself heard above a world of constant noise and chatter, where even the background hum of a café or restaurant can be overwhelming and threatening.
She's currently working on a game to show how even survival can be a daily triumph, and is preparing for perhaps the greatest challenge of her life – a solo trip to the three-day "Games For Change" Festival in New York, billed as the "Sundance of video games", chasing her dream in a world of hyper-confidence and swagger.
How will she cope amid the noise and bustle of a famously loud, pushy, and often intimidating metropolis? "In terms of sensory difficulties, I'm dreading it," says Jade.
Coping alone
Jade has attended games events before, but never on her own – she's thousands of miles from her personal support network. Her New York-born tutor at Goldsmith's, University of London, Phoenix Perry, is nervous on Jade's behalf, but has faith in Jade's talent for "self-care" in the face of problems. And Jade's mother is an inspiration, bringing up Jade and her two brothers, all three of whom are on the autistic spectrum.
Until university, Jade found difficulty making and keeping friends. Even now, she finds the norms of student life – downtime spent in bars and clubs – daunting and at times overwhelming.
Games For Change
The festival showcases games which foster political change, health benefits, and address disabilities. Jade wants to make games for this sector. She needs to travel independently to New York and do what is required of a games designer – pitching ideas, brokering deals, getting her name and ideas out there – in a hugely competitive environment (Phoenix calls it "boot-strapping your own business"...). If Jade can't manage this it is – literally – game over.
Jade's game
Computers and the internet were something which Jade embraced at primary school – it was an environment of personal engagement she was comfortable with. With New York in mind, Phoenix's verdict is that by drawing on her personal experience in her work, Jade's best asset is that she has built a really great game. "It's retro-styled, like the Game Boy games,' Jade explains. "It's a role-playing game based on how I deal with situations." The sounds and visuals of the game reflect her experiece of being a woman on the spectrum. Before diagnosis, she was nicknamed "the Incredible Sulk" because of her occasionally explosive reaction to situations. She pulls this into the game which has a character reminiscent of Marvel Comics's creation, The Incredible Hulk, the angery superhuman alter ego of an otherwise mild-mannered scientist. In Jade's game, tasks become harder, vision becomes clouded, anxiety - which is a big part of autism - increases. A German colleague, Hannes Flor, helped Jade incorporate the idea of indicating anxiety in the game with a bar which goes from green to red as the pressure mounts.
Prepping for the Big Apple
Jade has experienced and enjoyed the Comic Con event at Excel, which is challenging. She visits The Autism Show, also at Excel, which caters for professionals and people on the spectrum by providing an environment which is strictly controlled for their needs. Jade tours the stalls looking for fidget spinners to address her anxiety. Her biggest fear in the run-up to New York is managing the airport – her anxiety levels ramp up and she asks The Untold's producer, who has been shadowing her, to stay away.
New York, New York
Jade touches down in New York and although she is assailed by all the noises of the big city, she knows she can't live in a world without noise. She's packed her ear defenders and squeeze ball to help negotiate the Subway and the busy streets. But help is at hand when she meets a friend: her Berlin-based design partner, Hannes, who has an established reputation and is keen to bring new talents into the games industry. She knuckles down to networking and is good at talking up her game. But her idea of Hell is the "speed-dating with games companies" sessions in which dealing with pressure is the engine of success. Jade knows she has to pace herself and conserve her energies.
On reflection
Jade is realistic. She knows the odds of finding a backer for her game – or a job – at the festival are stacked against her, so she looks ahead to graduating, and her hope of furthering her chances by gaining a first-class degree. Phoenix hopes she will come back from New York with a stack of business cards and cherishes the hope that an investor might recognise her talent. The Untold team meet Jade at Gatwick Airport on her return. How does she feel? "I wouldn't change anything because I learned a lot and it gave me opportunities to build on, learn from people and put my foot in the door in terms of advancing my career as a games developer. I definitely would go back again next year."
Listen to The Untold – Jade's World
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