Echo’s Awakening
#GDD#ux#TeamA therapeutic gaming experience for both therapists and the casual gaming enthusiast
Timeline
Skills
Tools
Feb - Apr 2024
UX Design, User Research
Role
UX Designer
Figma, FigJam, Discord
About The Game
Problem Statement
Highly-stressed and overworked Echo wakes up from a nap in a childhood fantasy world filled with old imaginary friends who desperately need her help. The world’s been overrun by different goblins and monsters whom Echo must defeat through a series of puzzles and interactions to collect fragmented soul pieces (emotional regulation techniques). Using the repaired stone (collected techniques), Echo can defeat the monster and return to the real world with new skills to implement in her personal life.
The current state of video game therapy has focused primarily on non-therapy based video games to facilitate conversation during counseling. What existing products/services fail to address is the seamless integration of therapy and a digital video game into one experience. We address this gap by gamifying counseling tools to teach and display various coping mechanisms.
Our objectives were to:
Create a game design for the Nintendo Switch that helps users passively learn therapeutic coping skills to transfer from a digital world to real-life scenarios
Incorporate game elements that could allow someone to translate therapeutic coping skills from a digital world to real-life scenarios
My Role
This project was the most collaborative one I have been apart of yet. When the team leader, Nia, presented this idea, we all got together to begin bringing this idea to life. Though we all participated and had no specific roles, I did these things:
Provided game inspirations and gameplay ideas
Provided an article for literature review
Facilitated an interview
Wireframed and prototyped screens
Created components
Research
Research is limited when it comes to in-game approaches to reducing common mental health symptoms. Though video game therapy is a thing, research and application is still very new. Many therapists that incorporate games use board games to break the ice, or calming and familiar video games (ex: Minecraft) to create a comfortable environment or monitor emotions.
Interviews & Affinity Mapping
Before we began work on the game, it was imperative that we interview people that we believe would be interested in a game like Echo’s Awakening. We conducted interviews with two therapists (one being a play therapist) and three casual gamers in their 20’s and 30’s (one being a game developer). These interviews gave us important insight to know what gamers want to stay engaged and what therapists need out of a game to keep it safe for clients.
After each interview, we reflected on what we found valuable from speaking to the interviewee instead of just typing down everything that was said. This allowed us to better analyze our conversation and find common behavioral patterns. Through our interviewees, we gathered: Interviewees prefer the game involve more passive learning with tips and skill highlights at the end of chapters.
While choice-based interactions in the game enthused them, they found the concept of a timer for decisions anxiety-inducing.
Interviewees highlight their desire to collect all items in a game to feel a sense of achievement, often replaying sections of a game multiple times just to achieve this goal.
The therapists want opportunities to facilitate conversation with their clients, particularly citing the pause menu as a chance to discuss in-game progress and decisions.
Personas
Through our research we established 2 user types: the Casual Player and the Therapist. The therapist would find this game useful as a supplemental tool to their existing sessions whereas the casual player would use it mainly for entertainment and to pick up new coping skills as they play. Both would require mutiple save points and constant game progression. We kept both of these POVs in mind while creating this game.
Frameworks
Wireframing
To help streamline the process of prototyping, we gave a lot of attention to wireframing. We created a simple mockup using Nintendo switch conventions and sizing. I wireframed the level map.
Prototyping
For the prototyping stage, I finalized my original level map wireframe, as well as the minigame screen and two components used in multiple points in the gameplay.
Usability Testing/Refinement
After our prototyping phase, we brought back three interviewees to test our design. I facilitated/conducted one of these interviews. We gathered these notes to improve our game:
Requested a longer delay to read the opening disclaimers
Felt the collectible mode disclaimer needed an explanation
Requested we use the word ‘replacement’ instead of substitute to ensure our message is at a 5th grade reading level/clear to the masses
Requested clearerer hover effects by adding an enlarging effect in addition to the highlight
Our main focus in the refinement phase was to apply these usability test notes and clean up any loose ends.
Lessons Learned
Speak Your Mind. In my last group projects, I struggled with letting others know what I thought of our progress or if I liked/disliked something we were doing. This group was wonderful and welcoming and I felt more free to speak up, which in turned allowed me to share useful information that we could use for the design.
Trust The Changes. When we first shared what our idea was to our professors, our scope was huge and it was a risk on whether we could produce the design that we wanted. That’s where the communication came in and we brainstormed ideas while being open to changing paths or narrowing our scope a bit. In the end, our vision was clear and our requirements were met.
