Past

Coming from the bachelor Industrial Design I had already shaped a vision of wanting to research and design serious games for measurement of mental health. While in the bachelor the focus was on gaining expertise in all areas, in the master the focus narrowed to become an expert in two. Based on my vision and skills I chose the areas of Math, Data & Computing to develop skills for analyzing research data and object-oriented programming to aid the second area of Technology & Realization for developing experiential research prototypes in quick iterative cycles. Additional to these two expertise areas, I wanted to develop in User & Society to gain understanding of various research methodologies and how to execute them. Thorough expertise in these areas is how I envision a comprehensive skillset of a game design researcher.

The passion for research that developed during the bachelor's degree was immediately met with the course Constructive design research (DCM100) where I got an in-depth understanding of the various methods of research through design and the use of research prototypes. With wanting to research the effect games can have on mental health, I gravitated towards the lab approach for controlled and statistical testing of variables. In the course I got introduced to formulating hypothesis in the form of y = f(x) with y being a dependent variable and x the independent variable to facilitate selection of the research setup. A further conversation with my project coach informed me that an understanding of statistics is essential for setting up your research. Concurrently, in my Project 1 design (DPM115) we explored the use of games to create awareness of mental health disorders, particularly borderline personality disorder (BPD) in our project. This project gave me a different insight into the use of video games for mental health. Although an interesting direction, I was still more interested in another application of games to measure or serve as intervention for mental health. Furthermore, during the project I learned the value of expert stakeholders and the procedure of setting up interviews with vulnerable target groups. Linking to the lab approach, we also conducted a final user test with a pre-post study design to analyze the effect of the game on stigmatizing beliefs and I developed my skill in the statistical computing software R. However, I realized that I only know of simple statistical tests and wanted to further develop my understanding of statistics by getting familiar with more statistical tests to get closer to an all-encompassing skillset as researcher.

In Project 2 design research (DPM120) my knowledge of statistical tests expanded. My project topic switched back to the measurement of cognitive performance in games by adapting psychological tasks. In this project, I conducted a study to analyze whether data from the tasks in the game was similar to what is observed in the psychological tasks. Within this project I learned how to apply mixed effects linear and logistic regression models to analyze the data and learned how to make a game engaging whilst sticking to constraints of having to recreate a psychological task. This insight also led me to reflect that to make games, quick iterative cycles are needed to test various elements and their impact on the player experience to improve the design. Moreover, we identified points of improvement from the performance data of the game. Similarly, using data to drive the design process is a central pillar in the data-enabled design approach which I learned in the course with the same name: Data-enabled design (DBM160). This showed me how data can play a crucial role in fueling the design process and sparking ideas/opportunities for further development.

At the start of the second semester, I was also faced with the choice of selecting a track course. As my vision remained to research how games could measure mental health, I decided to do the Constructive Design Research track with the course Research methods (DDM140). From this course I learned more in-depth knowledge about the philosophy behind research approaches and to critically look at research papers to identify gaps in the literature. In this course, we also had to run our own research. Instead of conducting another lab quantitative study, I broadened my skills of research processes with a qualitative research study. Although qualitative approaches are not suited to scale effectiveness of in game measurements to a larger population, they can provide rich context of a player’s experience. In the future I will use this critical eye to identify and strengthen my own research position and use the qualitative research skills during the design process to gain rich feedback to improve the player's experience of my games.

For my FMP preparation project, I continued with my project from Project 2, further developing the game and conducting research to measure stress from the game data. To further develop my research skills, I conducted a study with an A/B test with a stress induced group and a control group. I learned how to analyze the data of the different groups and how to analyze the effect of the stress induction in my research setup. Before conducting this test, I updated the game based on the data found in my previous project to adjust visual elements to improve performance. Additionally, I revisited game design frameworks to increase engagement and learned to use visual effects. Next to this project, I was introduced to behavior change theories in the course Design for behavioral change (DDM110). This course provided a design process that was heavily based on theoretical frameworks, which reminded me of my interest in theory-based design approaches to create significant impact. Within my project this was done with implementation of well researched psychological tasks for measurement of cognitive performance. I was first planning to continue in this direction, but I had to redo my FMP proposal because the distinction between my proposal and preparation project was not clear enough. This is also when my coach noticed that I should rethink my vision as he saw reduced motivation in my project. To figure out my new path, I dug into literature of games for mental health and reflected on my path going forward. I think I was missing a goal with impact in my previous project. The result with measuring stress is that you are aware that someone is stressed, but I wanted to explore what to do after that. How to improve someone's mental health? In the literature, I discovered the intervention side of games for mental health. Within this design challenge I saw potential to use my strengths and interests of theory-based design where I could use therapeutic intervention strategies and turn them into engaging games to create impact. This reignited my passion and made me explore the intervention side of games in my FMP where I designed an intervention game for anxiety disorders.

So, during my master I had a heavy focus on developing hard skills in research methods, statistics and research design. Furthermore, during projects and courses I have accustomed a theory-based design rationale and technological skills to realize and test prototypes in quick iterative cycles. These well-developed skills have prepared me towards my vision of becoming an independent design researcher of games for mental health.

Present

At the moment, I am finishing my Final Master Project. I designed Shift Perspective, a digital intervention game for anxiety disorders. After having explored the measurement side of games for mental health, I wanted to explore the intervention side. With user-centered approaches I learned to translate therapeutic interventions into game mechanic, improving my skills to design games for mental health. On this page I elaborate on my development and process.

Business & Entrepreneurship
From Project 1 design (DPM115) I learned the importance and value of involving experts quickly in a design process for games for mental health. For my FMP I used their insights to find areas of opportunity, gain feedback on the game content and expertise on implementing evidence-based interventions. Additionally, a collaboration partner was found with Therapieland who helped me throughout the process as a co-creation partner and providing the means to further develop and showcase the game. Furthermore, techniques I learned from my bachelor's degree were applied to define the position and value of the game with a competitor analysis and value proposition. Although no focus was placed on developing this competency area during my master's, I still learned a crucial lesson to not be hesitant to reach out to stakeholders as they can provide key insights for the design process. While initially not a focus of development, I've discovered its importance to create real-world impact. Within my vision as game design researcher, I’ve developed in this area to define value for the game and setup interdisciplinary collaborations with experts. I will further hone these skills to aid me in the design process to convert research artefacts into impactful games.

Creativity & Aesthetics
For this project I used a creative brief to help define criteria and as a brainstorming tool to find a fitting concept to the design challenge. Additionally, the design tool of PLEX cards, which were introduced in my bachelor, were used to think of an envisioned player experience. Despite these tools, I still managed to get stuck on brainstorming a concept. I had many loose ideas but was struggling with my creativity as I was trying to implement too many elements of intervention methods at once and discredited ideas quickly as they would not meet my requirements. A breakthrough came when my coach suggested presenting ideas to peer students during a stand-up meeting. This forced me to work out some concepts and helped me let go of self-set requirements as feedback from the peer students provided a new perspective and helped me to move forward. This sharing of ideas is also something that helped me generate new ideas when showcasing ideas to stakeholders. In future projects, I will take this learning point with me to generate concepts more efficiently and reach effective research prototype ideas. No large focus was put on this area, as I find that for research prototypes function is more important than form. However, the aesthetics in games can help to bring across feelings and experiences. With this area not being my strongest suit, I could further develop skills in Unity and Blender to obtain a greater toolkit to create compelling aesthetics in games and help spark creativity as I am more aware of what is possible.

Math, Data & Computing
As Math, Data & Computing is one of my main competency areas to focus on as I believe it is a crucial competency for a researcher to have great understanding of research setups, statistics and programming skills for prototyping. In my masters I have therefore developed much in this area. My Project 2 design research (DPM120) and preparation FMP (DFPM210) were research projects with a great focus on data gathering and analysis. This helped me develop a good understanding of statistics and research setups. In this project, I shifted more to qualitative feedback during the design process from stakeholders and tested the final prototype in a pre-post study design. These skills of data analysis are useful for quick iterative testing of games and to use player data to generate ideas for further development. To further develop this area to become a skilled independent researcher of games for mental health, I want to learn how to analyze data of larger longitudinal studies and how to report them in papers.

Technology & Realization
This expertise area was my second focus as I believe that creating experiential research prototypes are important as a design researcher and being able to quickly iterate is important in a game design process. Throughout the master I have upgraded my programming skills in earlier projects and the courses Designing with and for digital twins (DBM190) and Designing user interfaces with emerging technologies (DBM170). Moreover, throughout previous projects I learned more aspects of unity such as creating animations and visual effects. Although these courses benefited my realization skills and taught me to work with new libraries in various programming languages, I struggled with sorting my code in Unity. During this project, I wanted to upgrade my code with the book “Level up your code with game programming patterns” [1]. Through following the book, I learned to implement the SOLID principles and interfaces to structure my code better. Additionally, a game developer from Therapieland helped me with tips to improve the performance of my game. Moreover, during this project I learned how to model and animate 3D characters in Blender. These skills will help me create better games that are less susceptible to bugs and clearer to work on. In the future, this will help make research setups run more smoothly and make it easier to collaborate on code through following structured coding principles. Due to time constraints, I still ended up implementing some unstructured bits of code. So, to further improve in this area I will read through the rest of the book to gain a better understanding of the principles and apply them in further projects.

User & Society
As mentioned under Business & Entrepreneurship, Project 1 design served as a good example of how to design games for mental health and involving users early in the design process. In that project I learned which ethical risks to be aware of and how to interview a vulnerable target group and applied those skills in my FMP as well when interviewing people with experience with anxiety disorders. Moreover, in the master I was introduced to more in-depth knowledge of research methodologies in the courses Constructive design research (DCM100) and Research methods (DDM140). The knowledge base I acquired helped me select appropriate research setups to conduct tests. The game was showcased to stakeholders for qualitative feedback and was tested for its effectiveness and player experience with a general healthy sample. Due to time constraints and ethical considerations, the game was not tested with people with anxiety disorders. However, to further test games and their effect I want to develop myself to be able to setup larger studies with these vulnerable target groups and learn how to conduct longitudinal studies. Understanding research setups is an important skill as a researcher. Through further learning about more advanced studies, I will reach a more complete understanding of every part in creating games for mental health. From the initial concept towards an evidence-based product that can create real-world impact.

Professional Skills
During my board year at the student chess association, I learned how to collaborate with people from different backgrounds. I think the skills I gained during this time helped me set up interdisciplinary collaborations with mental health professionals and people with lived experience of anxiety disorders. Additionally, I have always struggled with time management during my studies. Especially, in my Preparation FMP (DFPM210) I noticed that nearing the end I was building up a lot of stress. Therefore, I decided to take better measures in my FMP and try to stick to daily structure and my planning. Unfortunately, I fell back into old habits in the middle of the project, not making much progress. At this time, I contacted study management for guidance on how to fix my procrastination behavior. I joined a graduation group for weekly meetings that provided me with tips to regain structure and decrease procrastination. These tips helped me get back on track and will be useful in the future to help me be more productive in self-guided research projects.

Future

To further develop myself as a game design researcher I am planning to pursue my interests with a PhD in the direction of games design for mental health. In this master I have developed myself towards this goal with knowledge of user-centered and theory based design approaches, technological skills to make experiential research prototypes and understanding of data and statistics to setup and conduct research. With this skillset and passion for research, I think a PhD on the topic of games for mental health is a perfect fit. In a PhD I want to further develop skills as an independent researcher, learn to conduct larger studies and improve my academic writing to pursue paper publications. I hope to contribute new knowledge in the research area of games for mental health to work towards a healthy future through the power of play.