Production Blog
Production Update 5/25/24: We’re in the last 4 weeks of production, and should be Beta Testing in April on target for a Summer 2024 Release on iOS and Android.
WELLNESS HERO is a video game for social impact that simulates depression, teaches coping skills, destigmatizes mental health challenges, and spreads awareness. The casual emotional energy management game transforms the CBT & MBSR based “Spoon Theory” concept into a gamified psychoeducation experience. A framework based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The final game will include in-game interactive calls to action for advocacy, donation, and crisis support through mental health non-profit partners. Designed for mobile iOS and Android platforms on the Unity game ending. (Previously ‘Waves’)
Producer, Creative Director - David Negrin
Art Lead - Hannah Barone
Code Lead - Carson Moon
Design Lead - Donovan Mercado
Marketing Lead - Maxwell Neale
Prototypes & Game Balancing
One of our latest prototypes next to a concept of the field. Once core gameplay was built in the Unity project, we could begin playtesting and iterating on balancing the fun, difficulty, and social impact goals of WH.
Art Style & Game Space
Finding the art style and color palette is an ongoing process between our Art Lead and Creative Director. Our goals were a casual game interface, with metaphorical elements, where strategies will emerge intuitively while subtly achieving our psychoeducation impact goal.
Menu & UI Concepts
These menu and user interface concepts represent an intermediate version of a simplified game loop.
Badge Concepts & Sprites
Journey Interventions and Day Events are represented in game by badges that communicate the journey path or the life area of your daily tasks.
Hero Concepts & Models
We worked through multiple concepts for the ‘Hero’ figure from humanoid to completely abstract to somewhere in between. The variations below represent the increased awareness of the player as they level up in their wellness journey.
Game Loop & Ruleset Refinements
Transitioning from the tabletop prototype to the video game project allowed us to scale down a complex ruleset and refine the game loop.
Design & Paper Prototype
Design of Wellness Hero began with a table top “paper prototype” to iterate on the core gameplay, the early rules set, and its social impact goals. It was created with pen and ink sketches, Table Top Simulator, and Photoshop.
Concept & Ideation
Concepting of Wellness Hero began with an iGDD, or interactive game design document, combining my ideation, references, social impact aspirations with game mechanics, game art, and game narrative.
Interactive GDD & Prototypes