Designing Interactive Artifacts for Mental Health Education: A Game-Based Approach using AI as In-game Characters

Mental Health (MH) is fundamental to overall well-being, yet Mental Health Literacy (MHL) remains low despite growing awareness.Many individuals feel uncomfortable discussing MH due to persistent stigma, leading to misconceptions, discrimination, and reluctance to seek help.Reducing stigma requires education and open dialogue.Games have been widely recognized as effective tools for learning, and digital platforms increasingly play a role in MH interventions by offering engaging, interactive experiences.Similarly, Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, are being adopted across various domains for answering questions and facilitating learning.However, when it comes to sensitive topics like MH, users may hesitate to engage with AI-driven models or be unaware of the proper ways to ask questions to the model.Moreover, the potential of AI-powered game agents in MH educational context remains largely unexplored.My research investigates the design of interventions that integrate game-based learning with AI-driven conversational agents as Non-Player Characters (NPC) to promote awareness of MH, encourage self-reflection, and reduce stigma.Using a Research Through Design approach, I develop and evaluate prototypes where users engage with games and a chatbot to explore MH topics.The findings aim to contribute to the "Artifacts and Systems" domain by providing insights into designing effective and engaging digital MH interventions.