Towards Gamified Alcohol Use Disorder Therapy in Virtual Reality: A Preliminary Usability Study

The combination of virtual reality (VR) and gamification opens up new vistas for innovative forms of therapy for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and have enormous potential to improve traditional therapy methods. In this paper, three gamified and one non-gamified AUD therapy applications for VR are introduced and evaluated. The games are based on two behavioral therapy methods, which are Cue Exposure Therapy (CET) and Approach Avoidance Training (AAT). The games are realized in the context of a virtual supermarket, which is considered as a relapse-risky environment. The aim is to help AUD patients practice avoiding alcohol first in a VR-based simulation and later in a real supermarket. In preparation for a long-term clinical study, a usability study was conducted with 13 healthy participants. The results show that the VR game was enjoyed, increased the motivation, and fewer errors were made than in the comparable non-gamified application.