The mini-games should be simple and replayable. There will be five - one for each pet. They should be heavily focused on CBT. I am planning for the player to have to complete each mini game at least three times for their pet to level up. Below are the initial ideas I had for some possible options.

Prototyping:

1. Catch and doge —> The idea of this mini-game is that the player has to catch the positive feelings, thoughts and behaviours and dodge the negative ones. For this prototype, I used a mannequin and attached a paper box to the hands. Krissy helped me with this by being the source of the positive/negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviours (the positive were represented with the yellow figures, the negative were represented with the grey figures). Initially, she threw them from in front of the mannequin, however, this was making it really difficult to catch. After we realised this, she started dropping them from above. This was much more effective and has taught me that the projectiles should be coming from the top of the screen when I make the actual game in Unity. The main mechanics of this game is catching & dodging.

Image from iOS (4).MOV

1. The next game idea features three different categories - thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. The idea is that the player will receive a selection of different examples that fit into one of the three categories. They simply have to read each one and determine where they belong. To prototype this, I used three paper boxes for each of the categories and put a label in each one. I wrote some examples of different thoughts, feelings, and behaviours down on individual pieces of paper. Then I attached them to a thin wire which allowed me to place them into the boxes. The main mechanic of this game is sorting.

Image from iOS (3).MOV

1. For the third mini-game example, the player should aim and ‘shoot’ or ‘knock down’ the negative thoughts, feelings, and emotions. To prototype, I used the same texts attached to the wires from the previous video and stuck them into a block of clay so they would stand straight. I then got Krissy’s help again to aim and hit the negative options. She found it quite difficult to target them, especially as I was moving each one. This led me to think of a different way of demonstrating this idea in a more effective way. Please see the video and description below for this.

Image from iOS (2).mov

This is the second prototype for the 3rd game example. I got extra help from Molly and Phil so that I could write the thoughts, feeling, and emotions on a larger piece of paper. Having human-size targets made it easy for Phil to target and shoot the negative options, which then ‘disappeared’. I think this is a more accurate representation of my ideas. The main mechanic for this game is aiming and shooting.

Image from iOS (1).mov

Overall, the goal is get the players to think more about their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. This will be the main foundation for each of the games so I will have to research more into different examples, as well as determine how many of them I will need.

Mindfulness Techniques

Possible examples of mindfulness techniques to include.

https://www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques#mental-techniques