An Interactive Story Decision-Making Game for Mental Health Awareness

Abstract

Few studies apply digital games to grow awareness about mental disorders, such as depression and social isolation. In this work, aiming to increase mental health awareness and focusing on self-care as a form of prevention, we present COEX-IST, a short, interactive story decision-making game experience for mental health. The narrative is about a socially isolated person at home suffering from depression, built from the personal experiences of undergraduate students during the pandemic. Most of them expressed severe levels of depression and anxiety due to restricted social interactions. As the game unfolds, the player can learn more about depression, the character's thoughts and feelings, and the story's context. Decisions have weight; thus, players must carefully weigh the consequences of their choices.