Playing with Perceptions

Reducing Mental Health Stigma through Proxy Experiences in Video Games

Dados Bibliográficos

ID21830310
AutoresLuke Simeon Pierce (Dublin City University, autor correspondente)
Ano2025
Volume17
Fascículo28
Páginas87-116
Data de publicação2025-01-01
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLoading (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1923-2691 • E-ISSN: 1923-2691
EditoraConsortium Erudit (PUBLISHER • CA)
DOI10.7202/1124430ar
OpenAlexW7151936185
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas33

This pilot study examines how self-identified gamers perceive video games as tools for reducing public stigma around mental health issues (MHIs) using a sequential, linked mixed-methods design. A closed online survey (N = 50) assessed demographics, gaming/media engagement, and attitudes toward MHI representation and served as the recruitment pool for an in-person qualitative phase, in which a subset completed individual playtests of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017) followed by semi-structured interviews (n = 7). Participants across both phases supported the use of video games for destigmatization. Playtesters emphasised that stigma-reduction impacts are more plausible when designers prioritise engaging narrative design, immersive play, and meaningful player autonomy over overt, moralizing, or didactic instruction. They linked Hellblade’s authenticity and ethical representation to the proactive collaboration between developers, mental health professionals, and people with lived experience of MHIs. They also advocated for wider consultation with related affected groups (e.g., family members) to better reflect the cumulative and far reaching societal impacts of mental health issues. Three developer-oriented recommendations emerged: define target audiences beyond “gamers” alone; design research-informed games that balance compelling play with sensitive portrayal; and disseminate across several platforms concomitantly to reach active players, wider gaming-related communities, and non-gaming publics

Autonomy · Dissemination · Mental health · Narrative · Social media · Video game · Digital Games and Media · Digital Mental Health Interventions · Educational Games and Gamification

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