Timothy Leary's Mind Mirror
A personality assessment and role-playing game from Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary's Mind Mirror is a video game developed by Futique, the studio of Timothy Leary, and published by Electronic Arts. Originally released for Atari 8-bit computers in 1985, it was later ported to the Commodore 64, Apple II, and IBM PC compatibles. The game is notable for its experimental psychological features and its attempt to translate Leary's research into interactive software.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Futique
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
- Released
- Atari 8-bit NA, 1985 IBM PC NA, May 1986 Apple II, C64 NA, June 1986
- Genre
- Simulation
- Modes
- Single-player
- Platforms
- Atari 8-bit
- Apple II
- Commodore 64
- IBM PC
- Designer
- Marc Dawson
- Artist
- Pete Lyon
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Gameplay in Mind Mirror is divided into several modules. The first asks the player to rate subjects on qualities like extroversion or intelligence using a sliding numeric scale, and the program charts the results as a personality assessment on a Mind Map graphic. The second module lets the player select or create a personality to experience role-playing scenarios called Life Simulations, covering Bio-Energy, Emotional Insight, Mental Abilities, or Social Interaction. The software includes 2,000 simulations across two disks, answered in multiple choice, and a save system to track personality changes over time.
Development and release
Mind Mirror was conceived by Timothy Leary, a psychologist known for his work with LSD and psychedelic culture. The game was developed by Futique, a team of ten writers and programmers in partnership with Interplay. Leary aimed to translate his written literature on psychology into interactive software for education and creativity. The core concepts integrated aspects of his research, including a circumplex representation of personality from his text The Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality. The features were first developed as pencil-and-paper tests. Leary engaged the California Family Studies Center to use the software in family guidance counselling. Plans for a sequel, Head Coach, and an interactive LaserDisc version were never released; Leary died in 1996. The game was re-released on GOG.com in 2021.
Reception
Mind Mirror was moderately successful, with Electronic Arts reporting 65,000 copies sold by 1987. Reviews were mixed. Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World credited Leary's efforts but found the game flawed, self-indulgent, highly repetitive, and lacking in role-playing depth. Frank Lenk of Computing Now called it a fair amount of fun but noted limitations: dense jargon, poor DOS usability, and repetition, adding that the game reflected its author more than the player. Bob Lindstrom of The Guide to Computer Living thought it had serious applications but was mostly just for fun, with more entertaining writing than Alter Ego. Computer Entertainer considered the game not for everyone and potentially intimidating, but praised its freedom to explore feelings and concepts. Scott Thomas of Compute! found it entertaining and insightful, a serious non-business application for home computers, and suggested it could be used as a party game. Rock Paper Shotgun described it as surprisingly extensive and filled with curiosities reflecting counter-cultural mindset, despite outdated rhetoric. Boing Boing called it an interesting counterbalance to similar text games of the era, comparing it to Alter Ego.
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