“We are failing to get the message across that this is really dangerous.”
One major obstacle to fighting long COVID is that we’re still working out what it is.
But patients may experience many other, seemingly random symptoms, from tinnitus through diarrhoea to memory loss.
Long COVID is a life-altering disease that now affectstens of millions of people worldwide.
Beyond the immediate physical toll, it can havesevere knock-on effects on your mental health.
“You don’t see that I’m sick.
I struggle to explain it to anybody.
And they always say, what’s wrong with you?
Why don’t you run marathons any more?
You know, I simply can’t.
It’s impossible.”
“Otherwise, you don’t know what this is about, and it’s difficult to explain.
I take a stab at come to terms with one, and then a new one starts.”
The mods themselves were devised in collaboration with modding teams from around the globe, all working pro bono.
“We tried to build upon them, to make something that matches with those symptoms.
So for example, losing track of time and blackouts.
Elden Ring has time-of-day mechanics.
So we made the screen go black, and then changed the time.
We basically just tried to simulate as many symptoms as we can.”
Amongst other things, it introduces four exertion stages, with increasingly severe symptoms at each threshold.
“And because the mechanics were similar it was quite simple coding-wise.
I’ve worked with all those kinds of mechanics before.
I just had to make it more extreme this time.”
Players and their followers do understand this.
One of my favourite games before I had COVID was Pandemic.
It’s a game where you infect the world as a virus.
And you have to think like the virus to be able to do this.
It’s not that funny any more, after the pandemic!
“There’s just more people affected now.
And they’re completely not aware of this, they didn’t even know this existed.
And they’re shocked.
They’re young guys, and they simply don’t know what’s happening - sporty people as well.
“We are failing to get the message across that this is really dangerous.
You don’t want this.
You don’t want to take the risk.
If people knew - if I had known, I would have protected myself, of course.
But you’re free to’t get that message across just by telling people that you get fatigued.”
