Hark: A VR based interactive narrative game / meditation app hybrid to help manage digital addiction in young people

那些与幻灭、孤独、欺凌、神经多样性和家庭困难作斗争的年轻人更有可能退回到舒适的数字领域，在另一个被认为更安全的世界里寻求逃避、联系、身份和成就感。这可能导致数字成瘾，加剧心理健康问题，并导致不良的长期发展结果。这使公共卫生部门陷入两难境地：面对特别需要干预的人群，但通过目前的解决办法难以达到这一人群。我们的目标是通过一种新型的虚拟现实应用程序来支持心理健康和福祉，从而接触到这个难以接触的群体。我们采用了与《芝麻街》类似的模式，实验心理学家成功地开创了用吸引人的角色向孩子们介绍他们的参考框架之外的新概念的想法。我们会采纳这个想法，但会用角色和一个深刻的原创幻想世界来吸引更广泛的年轻观众。我们的项目_Hark_结合了VR互动叙事与迷人的生物充当向导的万神殿，向玩家介绍冥想和对话叙事。游戏的每个元素都是参照心理学理论和治疗模式开发的。其目的是“利用数字媒体做好事”，支持年轻人的健康和社会情感发展，以长期改善心理健康结果为目标。许多游戏和其他形式的数字媒体（如在线赌博和社交媒体）都试图通过提供源源不断的刺激来最大化用户粘性，而《Hark》的目标是平衡刺激、粘性和冒险的周期，让玩家获得更长的平静和安宁。游戏玩法的顺序是通过使用心理学和神经科学理论来解释情感、动机、行为和神经生物学途径如何在数字互动过程中相互作用，从而最大化有益的可能性。其目标是为一种新的、更健康的、更具恢复性的数字媒体形式铺平道路。我们称这种方法为“数字人体工程学”。

Young people who are struggling with disillusionment, loneliness, bullying, neurodiversity, and difficulties at home are more likely to retreat to the comfort of the digital realm, searching for escapism, connection, identity and fulfilment in another world that is perceived as safer.This can lead to digital addiction, exacerbating mental health problems and causing poor long term developmental outcomes. This presents the public health sector with a dilemma: facing a population in particular need of intervention, but one that is hard to reach via current solutions.We aim to access this hard-to reach group via a new kind of VR app to support mental health and wellbeing. We build on a similar model to Sesame Street, where experimental psychologists successfully pioneered the idea of using appealing characters to introduce children to new concepts outside their frame of reference. We will take the idea, but use characters and a deep original fantasy world to engage with a broader young audience.Our project _Hark_ combines a VR interactive narrative with a pantheon of enchanting creatures who act as guides, introducing the players to meditation and dialogical narratives. Each element of the game is developed with reference to psychological theory and therapeutic models. The aim will be to 'use digital media for good', supporting the wellbeing and socio-emotional development of younger people, with the goal of improving mental health outcomes in the longer-term.Whilst many games and other forms of digital media such as online gambling and social media seek to maximise engagement by providing a non-stop flood of stimulus, Hark aims to balance periods of stimulation, engagement, and adventure with longer stretches of blissfully restorative calm and tranquillity.The sequencing of gameplay is designed by using psychological and neuroscientific theory to account for an understanding of how emotional, motivational, behavioural and neurobiological pathways interface during digital engagement to maximise the beneficial possibilities. The goal is to pave the way for a new, healthier, more restorative form of digital media. We call this approach 'digital ergonomics'.