Dr. Nick Sellers, Teaching Faculty in the School of Communication and former Director of eSports at FSU’s Panama City campus, was featured in a chapter in the book Communicating Disability: Expanding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Health Communication and Mass Media.

In his chapter, titled “GAMES FOR GOOD: Exploring the Potential for Traditional Video Game Narratives to Reduce Mental Health Stigma,” Sellers explores how through their creative nature, video games can effectively change perceptions of non-majority groups and, specifically, those with mental illnesses.

“This chapter pulls the lens back a little bit and places that type of work in a larger narrative around representation of several non-majority groups in non-serious games and the potential those representations exhibit for possible positive changes in attitudes,” Sellers said.

During his time as a student in the School of Communication, Sellers was inspired to take a deeper look into the connections between mental health and gaming narratives. He helped conduct a study with Dr. Arienne Ferchaud that later motivated him to write this chapter.

Dr. Sellers also notes that he incorporates this viewpoint in the courses he teaches. “I try to challenge students’ existing perceptions about whatever it is we are studying, be that consumer behavior, media writing, or persuasion. Not telling them what to think, but asking them to consider a perspective they had not previously considered,” Sellers said.

Sellers currently teaches the Digital Games course offered through the School of Communication. He states that “Chapters like this one, and the studies that are cited in this chapter, help students see games through a lens they might not have considered previously: as more than a distraction or hobby, but as art that can affect the way we see the world in the same way books or film can.”

This chapter was published in hopes of illuminating the potential for meaningful work at the intersection of the video game industry and communication scholarship. “On the industry side of things, I hope it demonstrates that thoughtful, affecting representations can be part of a moving narrative and that the game can still enjoy commercial success.” Additionally, Sellers said, “In terms of communication scholarship, I hope this encourages other scholars to interrogate other traditional video game narratives to explore what effects they might have, intended or otherwise.”