Mental Jam: co-creating video games about the lived experiences of depression and anxiety as a form of creative self-expression

This dissertation details my design, critical reflection and evaluation of my creative practice–based research project called Mental Jam. Mental Jam is a series of three game jam workshops that I developed to co-create with young people video games about their lived experiences of depression and/or anxiety using different game design approaches, namely narrative, metaphorical and gameful design. Mental health is a vital part of our health and wellbeing. Mental health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a state of wellbeing where a person can recognise their abilities, handle normal life stress, work productively and contribute to their community. One of the goals of the WHO’s Mental Health Action Plan is to decrease stigma and discrimination by educating the public through mental health awareness campaigns. One of the ways to promote mental health is through the knowledge translation of lived experiences via different artistic mediums, such as video games. Video games can be a powerful medium for telling people’s stories as they are interactive and immersive. Empathy games can inspire players to gain more insightful understanding of the experiences of others. Accordingly, my practice-based research is motivated by the following question: “How can participants with lived experiences of depression and/or anxiety co-create video games as a form of self-expression?” I have addressed this question using the participatory action research methodology to engage my participants at different stages of the video game development process, including lived experience interviews, game jam workshops, post-game jam interviews and player group interviews. I conducted three game jam workshop iterations that were refined based on the feedback from the participants and players, and which resulted in the development of the Mental Jam Process Framework. The framework outlines a process for co-creating video games with people in relation to their lived experiences of depression and/or anxiety. My study is important because it explores depression and anxiety from the perspectives of young people with lived experiences, rather than portraying representations of depression and anxiety as defined by mental health professionals. Use of participatory action research ensured that my participants’ voices were heard and their contributions were valued throughout the study, following the WHO recommendation to engage and empower people with lived experiences by collaborating with them in mental health advocacy projects. My original contributions to knowledge are the Mental Jam Process Framework as well as three video games: Amour de Soi, Life in Progress and Anyo, which were co-created through the game jam workshops as a form of creative self-expression. Mental Jam provided a venue for people with lived experiences of depression and/or anxiety to share their stories, learn new skills and work together to develop video games. My research is situated in the field of video game design and expands the perspectives on empathy games and video game co-creation.