DeepWell DTx Game Jam to focus on games that treat mental health

This story about games for good, boiled down, in 0:58 minutes.

What's the fuss?

An upcoming game development powwow will have a unique focus on destigmatizing mental health. Such a focus can be instrumental in combating the unseen disease.

The situation

Founded in 2008, Global Game Jam is the largest game jam event organizer in the world operating in over 100 countries.

• Each Jam brings together thousands of creative video game developers for a weekend of collaboration and creativity.

The next event from Global Game Jam, in partnership with a therapy-focused game studio, will be focused on creating game concepts that can help diagnose and treat mental health issues.

• This new event aims to acknowledge how game developers can use video games to benefit mental wellbeing.
• Participants will be asked to demonstrate how game themes and mechanics can be utilized to treat illness while using the art form to dispel misconceptions and social stigma related to mental health discussion.

Boiling it down

A game jam, similar to other tech-related jams, is a fantastic vehicle to generate ideas in an efficient manner.

• The idea is for participants to collaborate with others to form ideas and develop final games in a limited time span, in which they must present their product to their peers.
• Some of the world's most innovative, transformative tech products have been a result of a "jam".
  

Although the topic for this upcoming jam is one of the first, there are existing video games that address mental health that could provide inspiration.

• Nonetheless, it is incredibly exciting to speculate the kinds of gaming innovations that will come from this jam to destigmatize mental health.
  

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