So far, 2022 has been an amazing year for type 1 diabetes (T1D) representation in pop culture. First, two characters wearing diabetes equipment appeared in the Pixar movie Turning Red. Then, players of Animal Crossing™: New Horizons got to visit Omnipod Bay, a diabetes-themed island created by Insulet with help from Breakthrough T1D.
Today we’re continuing that trend by putting the spotlight on video games and game developers with links to T1D. We’ve partnered with Humble Bundle on the Game Over, T1D Bundle, on sale through May 18.
We’ve identified eight recent video games with links to type 1 diabetes. In Super Meat Boy and Super Meat Boy Forever, you’ll face an enemy named the Betus, inspired by creator Tommy Refenes’s experiences with T1D. In We Happy Few, you’ll play as Ollie, a character whose blood sugar levels must be kept in range as part of the stealth gameplay. The creative director of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and the creator of Saturday Morning RPG live with T1D, and people who worked on Sam & Max Save the World, Stories Untold, and Observation are T1D parents.
Through May 18, content creators with personal connections to T1D will take over our Twitch channel to stream games from the bundle and share their experiences with the disease. View the schedule here.
Buy the Game Over, T1D Bundle to Support Type 1 Diabetes Research
HumbleBundle.com is a website that sells bundles of games, software, and eBooks for “pay what you want” pricing, with a cut going to charity. Since 2010 they’ve donated more than $200M, including over $1M to Breakthrough T1D.
The Game Over, T1D Bundle includes the eight games mentioned above, as well as four others donated by allies in the game industry (RAD, Pine, Bartlow’s Dread Machine, and Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition). At full price, these twelve games would cost around $250, but through May 18 you can get them for just $12—or more, if you’re feeling generous! The more you pay, the bigger the donation Breakthrough T1D will get. Visit the bundle page.
The Game Over, T1D Bundle was organized by Breakthrough T1D Game2Give, a program started by Breakthrough T1D’s Northern California chapter and game industry veterans who are also the parents of children with T1D. We run Twitch livestream events, organize bundles and esports competitions, and help people with type 1 connections find each other within the video game community. Since 2019, we have expanded into a national program with volunteer advisors across the industry and have raised more than $2M for research toward cures. Keep up with our latest news on Twitter and Discord.
Note: All of the bundled games are for PC, with a few also working on Mac and Linux. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners requires a VR headset. A couple of games are rated Everyone 10+, with the rest being Teen or Mature.
