‘You’re always making a statement with what you create’

The lone figure hurries through a dark forest, destination unknown, perhaps even unreachable.

Darting between rows of trees, they are suddenly set upon by wild dogs and monstrous slug-like creatures. Their only hope for survival is the beams of light that appear to repel the attackers, clearing the traveler’s path.

The scenario is part of the video game Menticide, developed by Milo Justice ’26 and a team of three fellow students, known as EdgeCase, over the course of a 48-hour game-design competition, Game Jam, which is organized through the Becker School of Design & Technology. EdgeCase, which expanded to seven members, is continuing to refine the experience and aesthetics of Menticide through the Game Studio program, in which student teams work with Becker faculty to develop original games that can one day be introduced to the market.

Menticide, which the team showcased at last month’s ClarkFEST, is more than it seems on first appearance. The group developed Menticide not only as an adventure game but also as an analog for mental health. The game, Justice insists, stresses protecting oneself from the forces that can cause lasting damage to the mind.

“It’s really a game about self-preservation rather than destruction,” he says. “There is no ‘completion’ by the usual definition, which is not a rewarding experience for some players. 

“There are a lot of amazing games that catch people’s eye, that look and feel like professional games. But I wanted to make something to disrupt that. It’s supposed to feel a little grueling and a little weird.

“Still,” he adds with a laugh, “two weeks ago, the game looked totally different, and two weeks from now, it will probably look totally different than it does today.”

Justice is a native of Washington, D.C., the son of journalists, who enjoyed playing games on his Wii system as a kid — before becoming a competitive Overwatch player. When he was a sophomore in high school and exploring possible college paths, he looked at his YouTube history, which revealed his fondness for analyzing game mechanics and design.

“I was really interested in why certain games succeeded and others didn’t,” he recalls. “I realized I could consume this endlessly.”

Clark’s Becker School of Design & Technology was the perfect match, says the interactive media major. “I loved Clark’s size and I loved the vibe.” 

Justice has never considered himself particularly skilled in the technologies of game design but believes the mix of his “soft” skills, like writing and public speaking, with some knowledge of programming, art, and product management, has helped him “understand the logic” behind a game. “I had a friend who told me, ‘Well, the logic is the hard part.’”

The two programmers who partner with Justice on Menticide take care of the systems that support the game, “and I’ll do the little things that add juice and flourish to the game, like make the screen shake.”

Clark’s approach to games, he says, affirms that games are very much an art form. “You need to be able to tell a story, you need to be able to write and think and know art. You’re always making a statement with what you create; you’re saying something.”

At Clark, Justice competes for Clark’s varsity Overwatch team, and he was among a group of students who helped design the curriculum for the University’s honors experience. Next semester, he will study in Japan, where he will connect with the local chapter of the International Game Developers Association and explore the robust indie gaming scene in that country.

Menticide has been published on the open-source channel and game distribution platform itch.io, where anyone can play it and provide feedback. Justice plans to publish the final version on Steam, another digital video game distribution service, where it will be made available for free.

“There’s a prestige with having your game on Steam,” he says. “I want everyone on my team to be able to say, ‘I have a Steam game.’”

He has high praise for the way that the Game Studio program nurtures creative, technical, and operational skills, while also empowering students to produce original and important work independently.

“It’s an environment where I can make mistakes and make adjustments,” he says. “From week to week, we talk to faculty about subjects like art, production, UI [user interface], and get their amazing input. This environment, honestly, is what makes Clark special. I’ll leave here having run my own studio, and with an incredibly robust portfolio.”

Until then, Menticide is having its moment for Milo Justice. 

“We’re going to introduce new enemies that will lean more heavily into mental health imagery and add more narrative focus,” he says. He and his team have developed a backstory for the Menticide character, who experiences a breakdown, opens his door, and flees into the woods.

“It helps us to develop a better game,” he says. “I also like the idea of just running and trying to do the best you can to get through it all. The fact that you never really complete the journey is all part of it.”

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