A Community of Friends
About
A Community of Friends is a board game in which players provide emotional or physical support for a character who is struggling with depression. The object of the game is to ensure the character obtains a positive mood through the support of his friends and family. I served as a product manager and designer on a team of 6 to design, develop, and test this game.
Problem
Through our own direct observation and online research, we identified a problem:
Those suffering from mental health issues often do not receive the support they need due to widespread misunderstanding and stigmatization.
Goal
We performed card sorting to identify and empathize with the game’s target audience and to determine the learning goals of the game.
A Community of Friends aims to increase community support for those suffering from depression by enlightening people in their lives to ways in which they may provide different types of intervention.
Process
To gain inspiration for the game’s core mechanics, we played cooperative games that focus on team-building and communication. We then created a prototype that adapted and incorporated the elements of those games that we felt would most successfully support our goal.
Play-testing
Through a series of user testing and directed interviews, we gathered feedback to incorporate into the game’s design. We found that users enjoyed the guessing aspect of the initial prototype but did not understand some of the more complex nuances of the rules. Through repeated testing and redesign, we created a game that was easy to learn but still provided challenge and fun.
Result
The game’s mechanics are designed to encourage thought and discussion around topics such as which types of support are necessary in specific situations, when it is best to give someone space, and how a community can work together to provide the assistance someone may need.
Our observation of gameplay shows that the game sparks conversations among players about supporting someone with depression as well as an increase in empathy for those with mental health issues.