Developing Digital Intervention Games for Mental Disorders: A Review

There is limited research on mental health interventions delivered in a digital game format and even less to guide developers on how to develop such games. This review focuses on understanding how to develop therapeutic digital games based primarily on mental health intervention games that have been empirically tested. The review was generated through database searches and backward search techniques for digital game-based interventions for specific mental disorders. We evaluated digital games that were based on validated psychological treatments. We located 24 studies and 18 games that met our search criteria. These games and their outcomes have been summarized. This review showed that these types of games have the potential to make an impact on mental health concerns but that there are currently few digital games available for the treatment or prevention of mental disorders. In addition, guidelines for digital mental health intervention game development have been presented. The consolidation of guidelines addressing multiple game development factors (e.g., time, cost, engagement) may help those interested in developing new therapeutic games that target a greater variety of disorders, thereby expanding access to larger populations.