Are you looking for a new challenge in your survival world? Something simple that doesn't stray too far from vanilla, yet creates unique challenges to spice up your survival gameplay? Would you also like to improve awareness around an underrecognized eating disorder that overlaps heavily with autism, ADHD and other neurodivergent disorders? Then this mod may be for you!

What does this mod do?

This mod challenges the player and simulates the real-life condition ARFID by restricting them to a narrow group of foods, known as safe-foods.

At the beginning of a world, the player will be randomly assigned a group of 4-8 safe-foods. All vanilla Minecraft foods will remain available in the game as normal, but only this assigned group of foods will be consumable. The selected foods can be anything- hearty meals like steak, meager foods like raw potatoes, impractical foods like chorus fruit, uber-rare foods like enchanted golden apples, and even downright toxic foods like rotten flesh.

Due to the variable nature of the restrictions, each playthrough with the mod will be different. Each roster of foods gives the player a different challenge, while showing them just how diverse the condition can be.

The player's roster of foods will also change slowly over the course of the gameplay, with foods being removed or replaced one at a time.

It is worth noting that while foods can be removed, they cannot be added, causing the player's diet to become more limited over time, much like the diets of real ARFID sufferers.

What is ARFID, and how does this mod help?

As described by ARFID Awareness UK, ARFID is "characterised by a pattern of eating that avoids certain foods or food groups entirely and/or is restricted in quantity." This can be for any reason not related to body image, including but not limited to emetophobia, sensory processing issues, or food-related trauma. Some sufferers may not fully understand what causes their specific case of ARFID- for some, their restrictions can seem as arbitrary and senseless as they appear in-game.

ARFID is a relatively new diagnosis, having been added to the DSM-5 in 2013. As such, few people know of its existence and methods of treatment are still being researched. It is often brushed off and downplayed as simple picky eating, which can prevent a sufferer from realizing they have a problem at all and seeking the help- and answers- they need.

This mod was created to replicate the ARFID experience, allowing those without ARFID to experience first-hand the frustrations and challenges ARFID sufferers face every day through a medium they understand. The hope is to raise not only awareness for this highly unrecognized disorder, but generate compassion for it, by showing others what it is like to:

Be trapped in a body that refuses to eat

Go to extraordinary lengths to acquire a food you can eat

Have to choose between unhealthy options of starvation

Have to fend off starvation while your options are heavily limited

Two Distinct Modes

The ARFID mod can run in two different modes, either of which can be selected when starting up a new world. These modes are Authentic Mode and Recommended Mode.

Recommended Mode is recommended because it is the more "playable" of the two. Though challenging, it is much more achievable than Authentic Mode. This is because, in Recommended Mode, you are informed from the beginning which foods your character can eat.

Authentic Mode is for the brave souls who want the full experience. In this version of the game, the player has to figure out which foods are edible and which ones aren't through trial and error. But, they must be careful- among the "inedible foods", are foods that can be consumed but at a high cost. This version, while more difficult to play, offers a fuller view of the ARFID experience- the player must go through the process of finding their safe-foods for themselves like someone in real life would, while enduring the nerve-wracking game of luck that is, "can I eat it or will it make me sick?"

ARFID Resources and Support

If you are an ARFID sufferer in the UK and/or want to donate to the cause, consider ARFID Awareness UK, the only ARFID-specific charity in the country!

Most eating disorder programs and charities cover ARFID along with other eating disorder diagnoses. Check your local programs and organizations and ask if they cover ARFID!

Join r/ARFID, an active, informative, and supportive community of both ARFID sufferers and their loved ones with an informative wiki and a discord server.

Made possible by Craft1x!

All thanks to Craft1x for making this all possible. While the idea of the mod was my own, Craft1x is responsible for all of the coding that made that idea a reality. Consider checking him out here!