Empathy Games for Depression Using Virtual Reality: A Literature Review and A Study Design

Abstract

Raising public awareness and accessing information about depression can help the patients receive social support and timely treatment. Studies have shown that serious games benefit education and healthcare. The interactive and immersive environment embedded in serious games can help people learn and apply the concepts. In this paper, we reviewed prior research in designing empathy games for depression using virtual reality (VR). We proposed a study design for a VR game to reflect the feelings and struggling the patients with depression experience through interactive and immersive game scenes. The game intends to cultivate caregivers’ empathy and compassion for the patients by enhancing their understanding of depression. By raising social awareness of depression through the immersive game, we hope that this study will encourage discussion and further research in the field.