A new database catalogues content warnings and trigger warnings for loads of popular games.
Game Content Triggers Database features a searchable database that players can use to figure out what content in certain titles might prove triggering for them. Players are able to search by specific triggers or by games. The database includes warnings for “suicide,” “arachnids,” “death of a parent,” and many other things that might prove difficult for some players. Each of those is given an additional indicator about whether or not it’s possible to avoid or otherwise mitigate the issue, or if it’s unavoidable.
The project was, according to its “How to Use” page, created by a diverse team of volunteers. More specifically, Can I Play That? creator Coty Craven is working in conjunction with a team of video game experts and mental health professionals, as per Gamesindustry.biz, on the Game Content Triggers Database.
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At the time of writing, the database has 47 games, any of which are among the most popular out today, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Alan Wake 2, and Baldur’s Gate 3. Developers are able to submit their games to the database and are being encouraged to do so by the creators, and more games are being added every day.
Craven also recently posted some statistics in terms of how much the Game Content Triggers Database is getting used, and the numbers are quite impressive. According to Craven on X, “The @GamesTriggerDB has had 4.1k unique users, 22k views, and 53k events (people clicking things). In 8 days.” Those are definitely impressive numbers for a project in such early stages.
I love projects like the Game Content Triggers Database. Games are supposed to be about having fun. However, traumatic experiences and the way that seeing them depicted in media, especially unexpectedly, can trigger negative responses and have a deleterious effect on someone’s mental health is a very real problem. Similar databases, such as Does the Dog Die?, also exist for film and TV.
That’s all to say, a database listing potential triggers in video games is a great idea, and I’m glad to see that one now exists.
