“Problem Attic” and the Conversation of Trauma Theory into Game Elements

For many people, playing “Problem Attic” would be a jarring and confusing experience, but for a less fortune few, it is all too familiar. As with any piece of art, “Problem Attic” is open to many readings, but for myself, interpreting the game as referencing sexual trauma clearly linked the seemingly disparate art, mechanics and text in a way that was incredibly relatable. I want to focus on how two specific events in the game relate to modern interpretations of trauma in order to better highlight this specific reading of the game, and hopefully help others who found it more confusing make sense of the complicated subject matter.

The first major reference to trauma in the game which I recognized was the “Red Room”, a level near the end of the game’s first act. The imagery of the room’s background features textured red and black shapes which look almost fleshy, and are unlike anything else the player has seen up to this point. The music is intense and the entire room seems to shake. A key element of this room unlike any other in the game is that the single cross-enemy moves significantly faster towards you in a way that feels aggressive and targeted. Because of this, players are significantly more likely to experience the uncomfortable and disorienting sound and screen-shaking which occurs when the cross touches you. That path in this room seems incredibly clear, but when you try and follow it, the cross will always block you no matter how you attempt it. Victims of trauma often set for themselves or are given clear ideas of what they should do, but following them does not always yield the expected results. It’s one thing for somebody to be told that happened to them wasn’t their fault, or that they have to “reclaim their voice” but it is so much harder to do these things, and even when you try often times you can’t. The entire time you try to do what you think is right in this room, you are bombarded by the cross, which for me represents memories of trauma in how uncomfortable and disorienting they truly are. To “win” the room which honestly, I don’t know if you ever really do, you have to take a hidden passage on the side of the room because, if there it is truly possible to overcome trauma, it isn’t easy or obvious.

The second event which sheds light on our understanding of trauma are the two times you enter the “M/F” room, where touching yellow bricks gives you “M” points and grey squares give you “F” points. There is definitely some commentary here on the masculine and feminine but that is not what I will be focusing on. The first time you are sent here, the way you win is through consuming acquired “M” points to warp short distances and find the exit. What this does is condition to believe that is how that room gets solved, by finding an exit, like most other rooms in the game. Upon your second arrival however, the win condition changes, but you don’t know that. You start consuming “M” with the hopes of finding an escape without knowing the only way to escape is by accumulating 13 “M” simultaneously. Modern trauma theory suggests you revisit your trauma in a significant way, even if it is “dealt” with every 5-10 years, and the tools you need to cope are usually very different from the ones you learned in your past. The way I coped with my trauma at 12 years old is not the way I do now at 20, but it took me a lot of time in the last year to realize what I used to do didn’t work anymore and learn what works for me now. It’s a massive struggle understanding this in the same way you struggle in that room, warping around not even knowing the exact thing you are doing is stopping you from moving on.

Overall, “Problem Attic” does an incredible job of characterizing a lot of the emotions I’ve felt, and that I presume any others have as well, in a way that is difficult with words. Game events like I described here are just one way that occurs, and I’m thankful there are games out there, like this, which can help me better understand myself and others. It will take me more time than I have to understand what happened to me or why it did, but its always nice to be reminded I’m not alone.