Water Me

Created by
Melissa Johns
Fellow, Caring Cultures 2025

Published
February 6, 2026

Artist statement

water me is a deceptively simple video game that employs the act of watering plants as an analogue for tending mental health. Made using the open-source engine Bitsy, players start with just one task: move. As they explore an 8-bit apartment, they discover they can collect water to care for their plant, and that doing so helps their character feel a little better in the process.

The game unfolds across twelve in-game days, during which players engage in small, repetitive tasks that symbolically represent acts of self-care. Colour palettes shift to reflect a fluctuating mental state, while the avatar’s internal dialogue – marked by dry humor and moments of pessimism – reveal an evolving relationship with their environment.

water me deliberately resists the notion of linear recovery. Even when players conscientiously care for their plants, a depressive episode comes knocking. There comes a point when your character cannot get out of bed, no matter how much you might want them to. Just as in real life, the days slowly (and unevenly) brighten again. By the end, most plants have withered, but the spider plant – and your avatar – survive. And that’s enough.

By combining accessible mechanics, understated aesthetics, and hidden narrative depth, water me seeks to resonate with players who live with mental health struggles, as well as offer an opportunity for others to understand these lived experiences from a place of empathy. water me was made to answer questions about what a care package might look like in digital form, using games as a medium to meet people where they are.

Link to game: https://lemisma.itch.io/waterme