Lex Vecchio :: Game Dev :: Ursa Mayhem Media

Here There Be Bears

Here There Be Bears is an interactive media project – part film, part escape room, part video game – that immerses the player in the experience of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Here, trauma is the bear, lurking somewhere in the penumbra of the cave, seen only in shadow and heard only in echoes. Those with trauma must learn how to deal with their own personal bear – by confronting it, running from it, hiding from it,or being consumed by it.

Set in the dark labyrinth of the mind of the protagonist, Sam, the player, will follow the fragmented memories of the caving accident that left her with residual trauma years later. In the midst of her panic, a mysterious voice, emanating from her phone begins urging her to push through her fear to break free. Just when she thinks she is out, new triggers and temptations keep her revisiting the shards of traumatic memory. Slowly, the player will approach the shameful secret surrounding Sam’s accident, and will come to discover the true nature of the voice on the phone. The ultimate goal is escape, but the player will have to balance the need to escape with the urge to dig deeper into Sam’s mind to uncover all of her memories, even as each iteration makes it harder to break free.

Latest News

Bio Artist Statement
Lexy is an interactive media artist & Game Developer from Connecticut. After receiving her B.A. in Film from Muhlenberg College in 2015, Lexy spent several years working in theater in New York before returning to New England to focus on game design at The University of Connecticut, where she worked as a Graduate Assistant in the Digital Media & Design department, both as an Instructor of Record and a Teaching Assistant, before graduating in 2023 with her MFA.

Lexy debuted her first project in 2016, Curbside Waltz, a film dealing with the effect of parental substance abuse on children. Since then, Lexy’s work has reflected a growing emphasis on mental health issues; in particular, how trauma can affect both body and mind. Her current research is focused on video games as embodied experiences, through the lens of Post Traumatic Stress. Through her LLC, Ursa Mayhem Media, she is currently working in real-time 3D game design to take a look inside the mind of a girl in the midst of a trauma related flashback. The game, which uses unreliable narrators, game mechanics, and  interactive storytelling humanizes those who suffer from PTSD, and her pitch won first place in the Innovation Quest Pitch contest in spring of 2022, beating out over 80 other teams in multidisciplinary fields of STEM. The game demo has been featured at the Penny Arcade East (PAX East) Made in MA Party, at the RPI: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute GameFest in Troy New York where it won Best Impact Game & was a finalist for both Best In Show and Best Audio Design. The game also won 3rd place in the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts in the Interactive Category.		Serious strides have been made in the development of accessible hardware and conscientious game design, yet the stories of those with mental, emotional or physical disabilities remain untold. My work focuses on serious interactive media that goes beyond accessibility to explore narratives that are inclusive, rich and diverse in both storytelling and gameplay.  Video games, often written off as a mindless hobby, can be participatory works of art, an experience that sticks with the players long after they grasp the controller. Especially in rising generations, video games have proven to be just as influential a medium as film, books and art.

My work focuses equally on captivating narrative and embodied experience. My personal experiences with PTSD supplement extensive psychological research into traumatic response, symptoms, and treatments through both peer reviewed research and critical review of existing media about trauma. Using my diverse artistic background which includes experience in theater, film, and writing, my work humanizes the unfathomable world of trauma, both physical and mental, through interactive & time based media. Starting out with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a subject both personal and misunderstood, my work  validates these experiences of mental illness through the physicality of the game avatar.

Get in Touch

Lexy Vecchio
ursamayhemmedia@gmail.com

Send Me a Message

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Copyright Lexy Vecchio – All rights reserved