The Design Process of ‘MindTrekking’ : A Digital Game of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to Treat Internet Gaming Disorder

This study presents a design process of a digital game, ‘MindTrekking’, as a digital therapeutic intervention to treat Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) through mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). The low utilization rates of mental health services by adolescents can lead to difficulties in their regulation of impulsivity, in turn leading to heightened impulsiveness and externalized behavior problems. Such a situation can ultimately result in various addiction-related issues, including IGD. MBCT was originally developed as a psychological treatment program to prevent the recurrence of depression. However, it has since been demonstrated to be effective when used to address various mental health issues, such as panic disorder (PD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and IGD. Given the accessibility limitations and high costs associated with offline intervention programs, this study integrates MBCT into a digital environment to propose digital therapeutics (DTx) with greater accessibility and stronger sustainability. ‘MindTrekking’ digitizes the original eight-session MBCT program by Zindel V. Segal (Segal et al., 2013) into game-based mechanisms. By embedding core MBCT practices into the game’s interactive design, it allows users to recognize and manage their thoughts and emotions, thereby helping them reduce their gaming addiction behaviors. This study not only addresses the limitations of offline treatments, such as low compliance and limited accessibility, but also leverages the interactivity and immersive nature of games to integrate MBCT’s key principles, enabling players naturally to internalize these practices through gameplay.