A Blueprint for Unraveling Therapeutic Video Game Design

Abstract

Video games are increasingly used as complementary interventions for anxiety and depression, yet the principles that guide the selection or design of such games remain poorly documented. As a result, researchers and designers lack guidelines as to which video games may be preferred. As a first step toward a common design framework, we report preliminary findings from a systematic review of video games used in randomized controlled trials aiming to alleviate generalized anxiety and depressive symptoms. Our pre-registered selection protocol yielded 25 unique games. The Design-Principle taxonomy of Laine and Lindberg (2020) was leveraged to determine the presence or absence of design principles (DPs). In addition, each DP was mapped onto one of the four engagement types — cognitive, affective, behavioral, sociocultural — proposed by Plass et al. (2015, 2020). This work-in-progress focuses on two questions: which design classes and engagement types appear in games for mental health, and how are design-principle classes distributed across engagement types? Early results reveal a compact core of Feedback and Goals, supported by Challenge and Control, while Creativity, Exploration, and Social play are markedly underrepresented. Moreover, affective and cognitive engagement dominate, while sociocultural engagement remains rare. We close by proposing a blueprint for how to report therapeutic game design to make design choices transparent, searchable and shareable.