Abstract
With the growing demand for mental health and the development of digital interactive media, using games to address psychological well-being has become increasingly possible. To address the current lack of effective translation of psychological theories into game experience design, this study introduces the PERMA model from positive psychology and proposes a game experience design approach oriented toward psychological well-being. Through user research, key needs were identified, and design exploration was carried out across four dimensions: visual, narrative, interaction, and theory. The interactive effect was implemented using the Unity engine and Kinect somatosensory technology. The design practice employed both NPS and CSAT scales to evaluate the experience. The results show that the design performed well in dimensions such as engagement and sense of achievement, demonstrating significant potential for psychological intervention. This design practice can effectively enhance the positive psychological experience of a wide range of users and help promote games as a novel and effective medium for emotional healing.
Keywords
Game experience design; PERMA model; Interaction design; Positive psychology
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.830
Citation
Zhao, J.,and Wang, R.(2025) Game Experience for Psychological Well-being: Design Translation and Practice Based on the PERMA Model, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.830
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 5 - Design Thinking
Game Experience for Psychological Well-being: Design Translation and Practice Based on the PERMA Model
With the growing demand for mental health and the development of digital interactive media, using games to address psychological well-being has become increasingly possible. To address the current lack of effective translation of psychological theories into game experience design, this study introduces the PERMA model from positive psychology and proposes a game experience design approach oriented toward psychological well-being. Through user research, key needs were identified, and design exploration was carried out across four dimensions: visual, narrative, interaction, and theory. The interactive effect was implemented using the Unity engine and Kinect somatosensory technology. The design practice employed both NPS and CSAT scales to evaluate the experience. The results show that the design performed well in dimensions such as engagement and sense of achievement, demonstrating significant potential for psychological intervention. This design practice can effectively enhance the positive psychological experience of a wide range of users and help promote games as a novel and effective medium for emotional healing.