[quote][b]Warning: Unqualified, Unsubstantiated Medical Advice[/b][/quote]
Quit Smoking VR Therapist is not a game. Games contain meaningful gamelike interaction and game loops, which are absent in this software.
Instead of being a game, Quit Smoking VR Therapist is a software application that makes the completely bogus, harmful claim that it's capable of curing addiction to tobacco. It is not capable of anything of the sort... this is garbage tier snake oil, a VR tech demo with a bunch of flipped assets and the same level of intent as your average email spam pharmaceutical bulk advertisers.
Trying to address serious issues such as mental, physical or emotional health through the medium of video games is misguided and can be harmful. While it's plausible to suggest the intention was noble (in some cases, not in this case), this can do more harm than good.
The "developer" here is not a professional in areas of mental health, psychology, physical health issues or social problems, and when they use video games to pretend they are, this is not only utterly ineffective, it can be harmful.
It's my opinion that it's improper to use video games to address any kinds of health issues. Apart from the harm such hamfisted attempts at addressing social problems can cause, this offers zero benefit to PC gamers.
People suffering from health issues or other social problems should seek out professional help rather than going to crap shovelware video games attempting to get attention/fame by exploiting such problems for their own benefit, as is the case here.
Also, importantly, this is not a game yet has been published on Steam as if it is one.
For those unfamiliar with what actually makes something a game, a "game loop" describes the interaction and feedback a gamer has when playing a game.
Tetris, for example, has a game loop where a random block appears, the gamer interacts with the block to position it, and then the game decides if that finishes a row or not, increases the players score if any rows were completed, then gives the gamer another block to position. Counter-Strike has a game loop where a player seeks another player, tests their skill against that player by shooting them or being shot, the computer rewards the player if they win, and then if the player survives, they repeat that loop.
There's no loop here, no true interactive feedback. It simply is not a game, it cannot be "played".
This has misleadingly been launched in the "Games" section of Steam instead of the "Software" section. This is a common mistake for developers who are new to Steam, or don't understand the difference between games and software which isn't a game. It seems this software published incorrectly as a game is simply lack of experience/knowledge of the correct process.
Here's a link for the process to publish non-game software on Steam:
[url=https://help.steampowered.com/en/wizard/HelpWithPublishing?issueid=925]Steam Developer Help With Software Publishing[/url]
It's unfortunate this process was not known about/followed, resulting in a software application being published in the wrong place.
Publishing things which aren't games on Steam in the Games section as games is misleading to gamers and somewhat harmful, because it pollutes the Steam marketplace and takes away visibility and market exposure for genuine game developers who do the right thing and make games for gamers.
There are no gameplay loops in this software, no "gameplay", no meaningful game like interaction. It's a software application and as such has no merits as a video game for gamers. Because of this, I cannot recommend this non-game software as a game to gamers.
