Cards of Heart

*Note: Window above not working for you? Download the game (for Mac or Windows) below. To play, unzip the folder on your computer, click on "Cards of Heart" and enjoy! 

Cards of Heart is a narrative-focused cozy digital card game mixed with a fantasy top-down RPG about a young woman’s daily mental health struggles against her inner Shadows.

Controls

WASD- Move

E- Interact with points in the world

Click and Drag- Play cards, add/remove cards from the deck

Left Mouse Button- Advance dialogue, use techniques, open menus, etc.

Description

Amalia is a young woman living in a small fantasy town who is plagued by Shadows after losing her best friend. But when a wisp named Ljos gives her the ability to create cards of light from her daily life, she must use this power to confront the Shadows and heal from the pain of her past.

By creating cards of light to confront Shadows and discover insights in Amalia’s memory, the player will experience the heartache and hope that are part of the difficult process of encountering and overcoming mental health challenges while exploring concepts like self-acceptance, resilience, and the importance of social connections. The mechanics in the game are grounded in real therapeutic techniques used in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Narrative Therapy.

This game is currently being developed as an MFA thesis at the University of Southern California by Marielle Brady and the Cards of Heart team.