The Wellbeing Game

Project Aim: To develop a serious game (or games) to use as tools in designing mental health and wellbeing interventions.. Games will be field-tested with partners before being made available online.

Games have a unique place in the human conscious because they let us solve tricky problems with simple rules. We start playing games as soon as our minds are able to (witness any baby allowed to handle their own food as they tackle the difficult problem of culinary aerodynamics) and continue playing with crossword puzzles, riddles, Sudoku, football, gambling, and computer games until our minds stop. ‘Serious’ games take the problem solving mechanics of these and apply them to real world issues, providing not only a new perspective but an alternative model to work within.

Having a soft spot for serious games, Thassit Lab is launching an ongoing project to create some of our own. The ultimate aim is to design something anyone could use to create their own wellbeing interventions in an engaging way. Once we’ve got some prototypes up an running we will test and develop these with some of our clients, and the finished products will be available on our website. Watch this space for updates.

February 2021 update

We’ve been busy and have two games on the go!

The first is a serious pervasive game to reduce social isolation, with the working title Project Labyrinth. We’re in the early stages of playtesting and you can read more about it on our projects page here.

The second is a tool to improve wellbeing in any given system or service by looking at what makes us tick as human beings. The initial design of this is still being tweaked and we hope to have a working prototype next month.