Stuck in a Dark Place: a Serious Game About Consent

Stuck in a Dark Place is a serious game about consent that covers a wide range of scenarios examining the importance of consent.

Note: This discussion about Stuck in a Dark Place contains spoilers. It also includes some discussions about non-consensual sexual activity. This post has been updated since it was originally published.

I truly feel like games can be a great educational tool that can transcend many boundaries. Often times, games can present a situation much better than verbal storytelling can. With the game Stuck in a Dark Place, you can truly get into the scenes shown to make it a great tool for consent education. The game is great for high schoolers or for talks about sexual consent at work or on college campuses.

The game does contain some disturbing situations though, and you should check with the group you are presenting it to before playing the game in class or having them do so.

Stuck in a Dark Place allows players to customize their character – a helpful reminder that consent affects everybody. Players can also use the “content warning” filter to skip some of the more disturbing descriptions and depictions of sexual assault.

Getting Started With Stuck in a Dark Place

The game has a rather unusual start. First, you design a character by picking their skin and hair color and then you immediately find yourself in jail. You learn that you were a teacher named Chloe who had a relationship with a student and you feel wrongly imprisoned.

Chloe claims that it’s wrong to be in jail when the student consented to their relationship but so many men went free after harassing her. Her cellmate Sonia, decides to help her through her emotionally scarring memories by having her write about them.

This screenshot from Stuck in a Dark Place shows a subway rider who is being “groped” – just one depiction of nonconsensual sexual activity covered by this serious game.

The game consists of eight chapters all covering different, but very real, situations where Chloe is violated in some way. As the story goes along, the situations Chloe recalls become more disturbing and paint a picture of what led her to eventually be imprisoned.

Throughout the story, the game has you play two mini-games to help you etch out the words Chloe is using to convey her letters to the abusers. You will have to search for the right words in a puzzle or unscramble them to fill in the missing blanks.

Game Options

The game options include a setting allowing you to skip some of the more graphic content, in case you feel uncomfortable with some of the serious situations shown.

The game also features a lesson mode. This mode is great if you’re teaching a class about sexual abuse and consent. The mode will let you choose from one of the eight chapters and skip to that section easily. In lesson mode it still has the option to block out some of the more sensitive content in case your class is uncomfortable with the scenes.

Please realize that the entire game should be played in order to understand the context for these individual scenes. The lesson mode should only be used after the entire game has been played.

Stuck in a Dark Place reminds players that “a stolen kiss isn’t romantic — it’s assault”

Each chapter has a different scenario that offers a great point for discussion on where a line should be drawn and encourages women (and men!) to speak up against abuse.

Players of Stuck in a Dark Place will solve several puzzles to proceed through its story.

Reoccurring Themes (Sensitive Material Warning)

While sexual abuse is very hard for many women and men to talk about, it’s a talk that has to happen in order for us as people and as a society to progress. I was even able to relate to a few situations in the game personally.

Respecting consent is just as important in fostering trust between people as is being there for them. Without listening to someone’s personal wishes and respecting their feelings, we are setting ourselves up to lose a potential partner or friend.

One of the chapters recalls a moment when a randomly boy walked up to Chloe and kissed her. The boy had been following her around for a bit in school. Her friends, of course, blew it off because he was “cute.”

I think this situation is one many young women can relate to and happens more often than people realize in school environments.  A lot of our media makes it seem romantic to be spontaneous but the game does a great job at pointing out how a kiss without consent was not acceptable to Chloe when it happened to her.

The media makes it seem romantic to be spontaneous but the game does a great job pointing out how a kiss without consent is not acceptable in real life.

Stuck in a Dark Place also goes over workplace harassment.

While the situation shown with Chloe is an extreme case of workplace harassment, it happens every day to many men and women. Oftentimes, a job can be the difference between having food for the week or your family going hungry.

Many people in today’s economy have a huge fear of losing their job due to the overwhelming number of applicants in the job market. Due to that, abuse of power has become more common in the workplace. Abusive management will use this leverage to get away with many acts that are clearly inappropriate (and sometimes illegal). Often times, as shown when Chloe is an intern, they will target those with the greatest need for the job or who are inexperienced.

Sonia provides guidance to Chloe – and players – about consent throughout the game.

The last two situations I want to cover both dealt with Chloe being sexually assaulted.

The first scenario shows Chloe being taken advantage of while she was too drunk to provide consent. The boy she had started dating saw that she couldn’t speak up and took her into the bushes to have sex.

Later in her life, Chloe has an abusive husband who incorrectly claims marriage provides eternal consent. Neither of these scenarios are consensual but in both situations Chloe falls into a victim-blaming mindset. Victim blaming is very common in these situations with many abuse victims feeling they should not speak up or should stay with the partner who has sexually assaulted them.

Although these scenarios are difficult to stomach it’s important that people recognize that these nonconsensual acts are unfortunately common.

Getting Into a Better Place

The game does explain that what Chloe did with her student was wrong as well. It also shows that abuse by the men in her life eventually led her to take on her student as a partner continuing the chain of broken consent.

More than anything though, the game showed Chloe’s path to hope for a better future. It constantly pushed the point that while it’s hard to fight back in these situations, there are many laws in place that we can use to protect us against abusers.

The game wants you to know that you always have a right to push back against sexual assault and that while something as simple as a kiss may not be a big deal to others, what’s really important is how the situation makes you feel. Your body is your own – don’t let anyone take advantage of it or make you feel like should just go with the flow. There is always help available for you.

You are not alone.

Stuck in a Dark Place covers a wide variety of scenarios about consent but is not appropriate for all ages.
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Gaming Against Violence is an award-winning program presented by Jennifer Ann's Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity [EIN: 20-4618499].

Play Stuck in a Dark Place, a serious game about consent

Developed by: Another Kind
Produced by: Jennifer Ann's Group
Price: Free
Language: English
Age Rating: Teen

More information about Stuck in a Dark Place

Get Stuck in a Dark Place on the iTunes Store

Play Stuck in a Dark Place in your browser

Watch a video trailer about Stuck in a Dark Place

April 2024 is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (#SAAM)

For SAAM 2024, this game is a great way to start conversations about consent and its importance.

What are your plans to learn about consent during the Awareness Month?

Talking about consent with teenagers isn’t always easy. Teaching them about consent can be even more challenging. The right resources can make both of these tasks easier.

Screenshot from the consent game Crossing Boundaries. At the top is "Crossing Boundaries" and at the bottom is a graphic with cute green frogs wearing crowns on the left and right. Between them it says "Achievements Unlocked: 0/40" and an indicator showing "0%". In the background is a list of achievements which includes: Politico, Sightseer, Foodie, Wise, Animal Lover, and Snog-A-Frog Guru.

Fortunately, the consent games from the Gaming Against Violence program produced by the nonprofit charity Jennifer Ann’s Group are a great way to engage young people about this important, but sensitive, topic. In 2024, as has been the case since 2001, April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, or SAAM. For #SAAM2024 we wanted to share an award-winning video game about consent with you called Crossing Boundaries.


Crossing Boundaries

We will be discussing Crossing Boundaries, a consent game for teenagers that can also be quite resourceful for college-age students. The game allows the player to play through several scenarios through which they learn about various ways that consent is important.

If you are an educator or counselor looking for a great consent resource for the classroom or if you are a parent unsure of how to have a conversation with your child, Crossing Boundaries will be a great help.

Crossing Boundaries combines a travel game with important scenarios about consent.

Travelling the World

Crossing Boundaries is all about three friends who recently got out of school. To celebrate this, they have saved up some money and decided to travel the world together. Eva and Alice bring along their friend Joe who doesn’t always do a good job of thinking his decisions through. Thanks to Joe, and missing a plane flight early on, the friends get into occasional bits of trouble on their adventure across the world. The game also incorporates a cute mini-game with some fun mechanics that drive home the themes of consent even more throughout the game.

Snog-a-Frog is the game-within-a-game you will play along with the game’s characters.

The favorite thing about Crossing Boundaries for many players is that it’s about more than just sexual consent. It highlights the fact that every person has their own will and no one has the right to ignore it: it is not okay to make choices for another person’s body.

Even if it’s something like trying a new food, “no means no!”

For example, in one city that the friends visit, Joe decides to sign his friends up for a perfume testing project without consulting them. He decides to do so without asking for their consent because “there weren’t many spots left.”

As the game clearly shows, the issue of consent extends beyond the realm of dating and sex to include anything that affects your personal space, will, or body.

The game offers many destinations, allowing repeat gameplay to experience all locales.

Crossing Boundaries also offers the player choices regarding how they want to respond when various dilemmas pop up. There are multiple choices to each situation and it’s up to you to choose how you react. Every circumstance has multiple paths you can follow, with multiple positive reactions to choose from. And the story reminds us that standing up to someone may not always be received as well as you might have hoped.

Dialogue choices provide different outcomes throughout the game.

People are complicated and so are their emotions. And when they are put into an uncomfortable situation they might not be thinking clearly or know how to properly react to being pressured by a friend or loved one. In Crossing Boundaries we are allowed to see Joe’s growth throughout the game.

Players safely experience situations in the game that might not be safe if they were to experience them in the real world.

You Can’t Script a Real Situation

Crossing Boundaries helps players see that there are many ways to react to a situation and that the “right” or “wrong” way is not always clear. Life is full of unique problems and people have to decide for themselves how they will respond and how that will make them – and others – feel.

Fortunately the decisions that you make in Crossing Boundaries are safe to make because, although they reflect real world situations, they have no real world consequences. Players can safely make a “wrong” decision and experience the outcome of that decision through a game. And they can play the game again, making different decisions and experiencing different outcomes. This is such a helpful way to allow young people to explore situations and decisions that would otherwise be unsafe or unhealthy in the real world.

As you travel the world you will unlock achievements. Will you unlock them all?

The game also makes it clear that silence does not equal agreement. We cannot assume that somebody is okay with a situation merely because they are not objecting. All in all, everyone has a right to decide what they feel comfortable with doing in their life. We all have an obligation to learn about consent and to recognize the impact there might be on ourselves, and on others, when it is not respected.

And remember, even if it’s not about a relationship, consent matters! Even seemingly inconsequential matters like tricking somebody to eat food that they don’t want, “no means no!”


Crossing Boundaries does an excellent job of providing many helpful examples of consent and its importance throughout the game. The dialogue, characters, and even a fun mini-game called Snog-a-Frog make learning about consent a surprisingly enjoyable experience. It’s wonderful that games like Crossing Boundaries exist today.

I wish Crossing Boundaries was available when I was a student!

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Gaming Against Violence is an award-winning program presented by Jennifer Ann's Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity [EIN: 20-4618499].

Play Crossing Boundaries

Developed by: Testudo Games
Produced by: Jennifer Ann's Group
Published by: Life Love Publishing
Price: Free (No Ads. No in-app purchases.)
Language: English
Age Rating: Rated 12+

More information about Crossing Boundaries
Get Crossing Boundaries on the iTunes Store
Crossing Boundaries is available at Amazon
Play Crossing Boundaries in your web browser
Watch a video trailer about Crossing Boundaries

ADRIFT: Learning Consent Without the Trauma

An interview with the developers of the award winning consent game ADRIFT.

In 2017, we had the privilege of bringing one of our more successful games to life – in more ways than one. In ADRIFT, you play as a member of an interstellar salvage crew exploring an abandoned spaceship. Since then, the game has been played and downloaded thousands of times and in 2019, the MOD. museum at the University of South Australia built a life-size version for their patrons to play and experience. As our director, Drew Crecente, has said, one of the best parts of ADRIFT is that people can learn about consent without being traumatized in the process. What Life Love Publishing aims to do is publish pro-social games; these are games that look at positive and constructive messages, with no overt violent imagery. 

The player in ADRIFT

We recently got to sit down with the original developers, Quinn Crossley (he/him and they/them) and Andrew Connell (he/him), and hear what they’ve been up to. The designers, former roommates, and good friends shared a bit about life post-ADRIFT and their tips for aspiring game developers.

Let’s Talk About Space, Baby

We started off by asking Connell and Crossley what drew them to our Non-Violent Gaming Competition, and if they had experience with prosocial gaming before. They both expressed that, while the term “prosocial gaming” was new to them, they had been working in game development for educational purposes already. The competition gave them a tangible goal to start working towards. “We have the skillset, we have the time . . . both of us want to make things that matter,” Connell said. 

Now, why are we talking about consent on a spaceship? Crossley asserts that the choice to be on a spaceship, interacting with computers is very intentional. Who we interact with can influence the direction of a conversation. The conversation isn’t grounded in a familiar reality – unless you’ve been an explorer on an abandoned spaceship, of course. This allows for the discussion of consent to occur in a new light, “symbolism in a different context,” says Connell. 

Can you successfully navigate the puzzles in ADRIFT?

The two had previously worked on a game called Managing at Home. You play as a cancer patient navigating the first three days of chemotherapy, from what food they eat to how they cope with the side effects. Crossley shared that the game involved a lot of consent-adjacent conversations, like bodily autonomy, decision making, and bigger questions on how we treat ourselves and others.

Bringing ADRIFT to Life

ADRIFT was published in September 2017 and as far as the games’ designers were concerned that was the end of the story. But then “. . . we just get this email at like 3 in the morning, on a random weekday from some museum in Australia . . . we didn’t think this project had any more happening with it!” Crossley shared. “We wanted to make a little change in the world and this got way more attention than we ever anticipated.” They both shared that they were used to working the other way around – an organization would commission them and outline exactly what they needed. This time, someone sought them out. “It was really validating in a way,” says Connell. ADRIFT has had much success, but originally placed fourth in the original competition. “To see that it’s gone this far is really surprising.” 

Recreation of the consent game ADRIFT for the Hedonism exhibition at Australia's museum MOD.
ADRIFT brought to life at MOD.

The museum exhibit, entitled hedonism, launched in October 2019, exploring themes of healthy sexual relationships and consent. A life-size version of ADRIFT was born, relabeled as F. A. B. L. E.:

“Welcome, Operative, to F.A.B.L.E. – aka the Federated Association of Believers, Leaders, and Explorers. Your mission is simple: teleport on board this foreign spaceship and connect with the alien. As you explore this new world, there are protocols to follow. Make sure you check in with the alien as you go, follow the principles of consent, and achieve a two-way flow of information that will benefit both of our races.”

F.A.B.L.E.

On Being Game Developers

When we asked them what the best and worst parts of being a game developer were, Connell immediately answered, “all of it” while Crossley laughed in agreement. They both agreed that the feedback can be the best and most difficult part of being game developers. Crossley shares that he loves seeing how people emotionally react to their work, even if it’s frustration. It’s wonderful for them to see how games can create bonds between people. “It’s cool to put something out in the word for people to connect over, but at the same time it’s hard to manage all the feedback…You can’t make everyone happy,” he shares. “I like making people feel stuff but also…it’s hard.”

Connell agrees, “we like to make people feel stuff, but we don’t want people’s feedback to make us feel too many things back. It can feel great to help people but since you put so much time and energy into it, it can feel really bad when it doesn’t go well.”

“It’s vulnerable for sure, but it can be really rewarding. You have to harness a lot of strength to share those pieces of yourself,” Crossley adds. 

Advice For New Developers

It can take time to develop that strength for newer developers. Crossley says that any time you put your art there, you are being vulnerable. Connell adds that it’s easy to feel vulnerable because you’re opening yourself up to criticism whenever you put yourself on the internet. The gaming industry can be a tough industry for newcomers. 

The gaming industry can be a tough industry for newcomers . . . it can be easy to push yourself hard enough to burn out. 

Andrew Connell and Quin Crossley, developers of ADRIFT

It can be a competitive fast-paced industry, and when you’re new, it can be easy to push yourself hard enough to burn out. People come in with a lot of passion, but it can come at the expense of their health. Crossley candidly shares that learning boundaries is one way to be successful in life, though it can be hard to apply those boundaries in a work setting. 

What tips do these two have for people wanting to break into the industry? Make something and put it out there, says Connell. You’re a game developer by making games, not just thinking about them. It’s a competitive field where success is based on your improvement and your output. Get involved, go to game jams – there is more value in just doing what you love, rather than focusing on what looks good on your resume. However, he adds, work in the environment that works for you. Don’t force yourself to fit somewhere that creates stress for you.

You’re a game developer by making games, not just thinking about them.

“Perfect is the enemy of good,” Crossley adds. If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing even if the outcome isn’t perfect. Successful designers don’t necessarily have the strongest skills, but they put themselves out there and aren’t afraid to jump onto projects and participate. Taking risks is a large part of moving forward in the gaming industry.

Where Are They Now?

“I miss you!” Crossley exclaimed, when asked if they were still working together. Life has changed for these two – distance, the pandemic, and general growth have led to them working in very different careers in different parts of the country, although working together again is certainly not out of the question. Neither is a sequel to ADRIFT

“We played with that years ago…it is a possibility,” says Connell. 

“It sounds like it’s out there, helping people and making an impact, so yeah I’d keep following it,” says Crossley. 

Connell is currently working as a simulation engineer for an advanced learning company, and makes educational Youtube videos. He’s even created a learning course for Unity, a game development engine. His long-term goal is to have a life that lets him create in a healthy way – “I’m finally getting to the stage of making things for me, making things that make people feel something, and appeal to me on a deeper level.”

A screenshot from the video game 'ADRIFT'. A dark background with a red diamond in the center. Above the diamond is the sentence: "Consent is informed, freely given, actively given, and revocable."
ADRIFT offers a useful reminder about consent.

Crossley did a couple of museum projects, and even developed some games for PBS Kids. They took a break during the COVID-19 pandemic and worked as a technical writer in the corporate world. Even more exciting, he is currently traveling and aspires to visit all 50 states. He’s already visited at least 35 with his dog. Crossley and Connell are dreaming of reuniting in Yellowstone, where they can go wolf-watching. As they work in their new roles and make plans to reunite, they can feel confident that somebody, somewhere is learning about the meaning and importance of consent through the clever little game they created.

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Gaming Against Violence is an award-winning program presented by Jennifer Ann's Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity [EIN: 20-4618499].
Play nowPlay in your browser or download from the AppStorejag.itch.io/adrift
DevelopmentQuinn Crossley and Andrew Connell
Produced byJennifer Ann’s Group@stopTDV (Mastodon)
Published byLife Love Publishing@LifeLovePublish (Mastodon)
RightRating™EveryoneNo ads. No in-app purchases. No loot boxes. No privacy tracking.

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Consent Game ADRIFT Teaches Consent on itchio

ADRIFT is a sci-fi adventure about consent for kids of all ages.

Consent game ADRIFT makes learning consent easy.

ADRIFT is a sci-fi adventure about consent that engages and entertains kids of all ages. The ADRIFT lessons are presented in an easy-to-understand way. People from all age groups can learn about consent through ADRIFT. ADRIFT is rated for ages 4+ on the App Store. This short, but educational, game is great for a class project about consent.

This award winning consent game is even appropriate for elementary school children because ADRIFT never talks about sex! Let’s talk about some ways ADRIFT makes learning about consent easy in your browser or on iOS devices.

Logo for the consent game ADRIFT
ADRIFT is a prosocial consent game

Listening to Your Partner

An important lesson taught in ADRIFT is the value of listening and communicating with your partner. Many times in this consent game the in-game computer will let the player know what actions to take. And if you want to escape the abandoned space station you will need to have permission for your actions!

Part of the ADRIFT experience is to learn about trust.

As the player, it is up to you whether you listen to your computer “partner” or not. As in real-life, if you decide to listen to your partner then you might have a happier outcome. If you don’t listen to your partner then the ending is not going to be as happy.

Part of the ADRIFT experience is to trust the computer to correctly show you how to proceed without causing harm. For example, if you ignore the computer’s instructions and power the wrong part of the ship then the computer will open the door – but will also experience power surges. These power surges cause the computer “pain.” This harms the computer and also makes it harder for the player to proceed. The computer loses the ability to make the last part of your escape easier by lighting the player’s path through a dark room.

Consent also Applies to Friendships

In the real world you are unlikely to be trapped in a space station with a talking computer! Instead though, you might be in a project with a friend who has needs that are different from yours. By learning to understand each other’s needs and to respect each other’s boundaries children will be better prepared for the future. They will learn how to handle some of the trials and temptations that often appear in adolescence. They will build skills to help deal with problems like peer pressure, romantic relationships, and other common situations.

ADRIFT is not just for young kids, it is also a great way to easily and gradually introduce older students to the topic of consent.

It is important to listen to your partner — this applies to friendships also, not just romantic relationships. ADRIFT helps teach children to respect their peers. While children are learning to respect others they are also learning how to effectively communicate their own needs to others.

ADRIFT is not just for young kids, it is also a great way to easily and gradually introduce older students to the topic of consent. By focusing on consent without any discussions of sex, students will be building a foundation for future learning. They will gradually and organically work their way up to learning about more complex aspects of abusive relationships in the future.

Can you successfully navigate the puzzles in ADRIFT?

Applying the Consent Game ADRIFT to Real Life

This clever consent game is easily accessible to parents who want to start teaching their child about consent. ADRIFT is a free download in the iOS App Store making it very easy for anyone who wants to try ADRIFT out. The game doesn’t take much space either, making it perfect to fit on iOS devices with less storage space.

ADRIFT can also be played in your browser on itchio. This makes it easy for a parent to test play the game before having their child download ADRIFT at the App Store.

We do recommend that your child have basic reading skills to really enjoy the game as the current version of this story does not have voice-overs, it is text-based. According to the game’s publisher future versions of ADRIFT will offer voice-over acting.

New: Parent Guide for Teaching Consent with ADRIFT

ADRIFT also offers a guide for parents who want to teach their children about consent. The parent guide for ADRIFT provides easy to follow tips and suggestions. In addition to providing helpful ways to use this prosocial game with their child, it also tells parents how the lessons in ADRIFT align with the state standards’ learning goals. The ADRIFT parent guide is designed to download and print at home or work.

Parent Guide for the consent game ADRIFT

We think ADRIFT is the easiest way to teach consent to children we have ever seen! This award winning video game can be played online in your browser at jag.itch.io/adrift. ADRIFT can also be downloaded on the App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adrift/id1426208859.

Support this work by donating online: 

PayPal
Apple Pay

Gaming Against Violence is an award-winning program presented by Jennifer Ann's Group, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charity [EIN: 20-4618499].

About ADRIFT

ADRIFT was developed by Quinn Crossley and Andrew Connell. It is an award-winning consent video game from the Gaming Against Violence program. ADRIFT was produced by Jennifer Ann’s Group and is published by Life Love Publishing. ADRIFT is rated for ages 4+ on the App Store.

More information about ADRIFT and its origins is available at jag.itch.io/adrift.