The Designed VR Game “Weirdno” on Emotional Regulations and Reality Connections

Abstract

Visual reality (VR) plays a huge role in mental issue prevention and therapy by providing an immersive experience and distracting patients’ attention from the pain. However, since researchers mainly focus on clinical psychotherapy, VR products are more inclined to formal medical treatment rather than recreational programs. To create a project that is both playable and helpful in improving players' mental health, a game called Weirdno is developed in this article. Weirdno achieves the purpose of making players feel the targeted emotions through the special plot design and immersive experience from the first-person perspective. The fantasy art style and scene design allow players to hover on the edge of reality and virtuality, stimulating a more realistic feel. The open-world mode and interactive design would also increase the playability of the game based on improving players’ emotional management.