The idea sounds brilliant, but like CraigEllsworth said be careful with you portrayal these mental illnesses. For one thing autism/aspergers are on the same spectrum, but you will find that people with aspergers are highly functioning in comparison to someone with autism. There is actually a movement to separate the two in the DSM:V. Another thing is autism isn't considered a mental illness, but rather an intellectual disability. I'm not sure how important that distinction is, but I think it is important to point out that distinction. A game like this could really give people a window into just an ounce of what people with these problems endure, and I think that is constructive. The only real advice I have is accuracy is key in building the worlds you want to build. You are going to be working with a subject that is really touchy (touchy in different ways person to person) for a whole lot of people.
I lumped aspergers and autism together because I originally phrased it before editing: "on the autistic spectrum, ranging from high functioning aspergers to the lower functioning end of the scale." Or something like that. But then changed it due to, in the autistic spectrum community, some people taking offense at the label "high-functioning," as it can suggest that people with more difficult forms of autism are somehow less. And then there's the whole contentious topic about whether aspergers is a form of autism on a scale, or if they're separate things. Having read your comment, I think to start I'd take away autism, and just function on aspergers. Also, regarding the use of the word "mental illness." Yes, I'm with you in that some of the things I mentioned shouldn't be labelled as mental illness. Peoples' brains just work differently, it's all a matter of finding the optimum environment, where you can use your gifts, and good coping skills for things you struggle with. I used the phrase "mental illness" in the DSM-IV sense, kinda like how people looking for sex reassignment surgery have to (or had?) be diagnosed with a personality disorder in order to get the surgery. It's a fucked up way our society works. That said, in final form, I should probably phrase it differently. Maybe "explore the
DSM through the eyes of people diagnosed by it" or... Unsure. Something more positive, definitely. And yes, VERY touchy subject. I personally know people with schizophrenia, asperger's, autism, ADHD, and I would do my very best to have the way the "mental difference" is portrayed be based on feedback from people with actual diagnoses, to have it be vetted.
Adding to this, synesthesia is definitely not a mental illness. It would depend on exactly what sort it is, but as far as I am aware it is only very rarely even an inconvenience – Wikipedia describes it as a "neurological phenomenon", which seems about right.autism isn't considered a mental illness
Yep. "Mental illness" isn't what I really wanted to say, but I couldn't figure out any other way to explain the jist of my idea in a way that'd fit into the title of this post. Without labels, I'd want this game to be a way to experience the world through the eyes of people whose brains work differently, including color blindness, synesthesia, CAPD, menopause, etc. And maybe branch out to people with dementia, cerebral palsy, people in wheelchairs, and so forth. Just a matter of finding the right linguistic approach.