How Video Games Helped Me After Human Trafficking

I am a certified survivor of international human trafficking.

I’m starting with that point because it is the most profound event in my life.

While I had gone through many other events which are considered stressful (moving house, marriage, divorce, childbirth, starting a new job, losing a job; being the top listed events) nothing prepared me for what a trafficker does to a person on so many levels. Financial, mental, sexual, emotional abuse are common and some of the methods used are recognized as torture by the US government and global organizations like the United Nations, UNICEF and Amnesty International.

Before becoming a victim of human traffickers I was an award winning writer, avid gamer and game tester.

I fell victim to traffickers in 2007.

After I was rescued from my traffickers, I was embroiled in dealing with immigration attorneys and the criminal case which kept me in my mental prison for a further 5 years, being moved from shelter to shelter, state to state while the legal system was trying to figure out what to do with me. I had no access to therapy, counselling or medication other than the extended “interview” I had with a trauma therapist who was brought in to assess my mental state in relation to my trafficking ordeal to determine if I exhibited appropriate behavior for someone who had experienced trauma.

It took 8 years before the case and trial were finally done and then the shelter I was in, the case manager I had, the attorneys who had represented me all stepped away, leaving me to deal with the long term damage and long, long road to some semblance of normality, some semblance of who I used to be and deal with who I had become.

I read somewhere that Tetris had been really helpful for soldiers who were suffering PTSD. I remembered how much fun I had playing games like DOOM, Red Faction, The Sims, Black & White, Startopia and asked for help to get a console and a few second hand games. My wish was granted, I got a PS3 and a small collection of games including Portal, Call of Duty and Tomb Raider.

I didn’t notice the changes for a while.

Tiny steps don’t make such a big impact but when you stop and look back you can see that you have come a long way. It was when I ended up in hospital in 2019 and didn’t have access to my PS that I realized just how well it had been helping me focus, helping me relax, helping me feel like I was accomplishing things daily; even if it is was only in the virtual world.

In 2021 I had another move, this time to stay with my son and I began to feel a little more settled. Sure sleep; or lack of sleep, was still an issue. Anxiety and depression were still affecting my ability to function.

One of the common topics of discussion while playing online was what would make this game or that game better, more fun, more challenging. I had mentioned that along with beta testing, I had modded various games. Some of my online friends began suggesting I should make my own version of this game or that game. At first I didn’t think about it but one year later I had made the decision to start my own company and make video games. Now my games don’t specifically focus on trafficking or mental health issues but keeping these things in mind and having experienced them I wanted to ensure connections could be made, help could be reached and players of my games would feel welcome, safe and part of a global community.

GET PREPPED! is the first video game from the studios of Press X 2 Play Games and we have already partnered with the Department of Homeland Security, POLARIS and Truckers Against Trafficking. We are in talks with shelters for men and boys, mental health NGOs, Veteran non-profits and others to help people find the help they need while they play our video games.