The illustration is the designed outcome that accompanies my dissertation exploring how video games can be designed to encourage escapism in the player. The image aims to explore this further but with a focus on addiction as a possible outcome of the practice.
The illustration conveys a person struggling to have control and ultimately falling into the addiction where their focus on reality becomes difficult to maintain. This is achieved through the juxtaposition of the background and the presence of a free-falling person in the centre of the image.
The colourful and pixelated visuals in the lower half represent the surreal and addictive nature that video games can possess. In contrast, the upper half uses monochrome static to represent reality, conveying the lack of clarity and the uncertainty that can result from it. Glitched effects are also used throughout the image to further emphasise the theme of losing control, showing the change from video games being a support to becoming a problem.