It’s common for indie games to tackle issues like depression or abuse, but how about social anxiety disorder? One such game is in development by Alessandro Cacciotti, a sufferer of it himself who wanted to illustrate what it feels like to live with. The game, which the author describes as a sort of “Diablo of conversation” involves navigating through your daily life while trying to avoid small-talk from random people.

The twist? You’re playing as a hardcore metal musician named Todd Kilmister who, complete with his pale skin and black metal tee, has to perform his errands without going completely insane.

During your trip to the scary outside world, you will have to respond to ever-increasingly obtrusive questions from people with your own conversation-avoiding replies, hoping to evade them long enough to find relief in a safe hiding spot. In the developer’s own words:

AWKWARD TODD, at its core, is most closely comparable to something like Diablo – the Diablo of conversation, if you will. Todd has a series of mundane objectives to complete in his daily life – like picking up groceries, attending a doctor’s appointment, or returning a book to the library – all while avoiding as much social interaction as possible along the way.

In response, the player – as Todd – can respond with polite (light damage), neutral (medium damage), or rude (heavy damage) responses depending on his corresponding anxiety level, all in the interest of managing interest and anxiety levels to avoid a freakout.

You can see more of the game on its Indie DB news page.