Documentation of co-creation and data supporting the development of a serious game for social skills

Abstract Adolescence is a critical period for the maturation of brain regions underlying social cognition, such as socio-moral reasoning (SMR) and decision-making. Adolescents—and adults who work with them—should have access to validated pedagogical tools and effective resources to support their social learning during this period. These tools are especially important when social or affective deficits are identified, given these can lead to maladaptive behaviors or mental health problems. However, few learning or intervention tools aimed at improving socio-moral reasoning and decision-making exist. The design of such tools should consider factors related to validity and youth engagement to ensure uptake and thus requires a break from traditional approaches. In response to this challenge, the Are you GAME? project aims to develop a serious video game (i.e., an interactive digital game designed for purposes beyond entertainment) designed to target socio-moral reasoning and decision-making abilities in adolescents. We present findings from four recherche-creation phases (Gamestorm session, Focus groups with adolescents, Focus groups with educators, Playtests) involving diverse co-creation partners (researchers, industry partners, user groups) to ensure transparency, support reproducibility, and inform future work in serious game design. The research-creation process comprised 15 co-creation sessions involving 72 participants, including adolescents, educators, researchers, and game design professionals. Qualitative data consisting of field notes, audio recordings, and written reports were analyzed through documentation across successive research-creation cycles. Preliminary Playtest results indicate that the game is a promising tool for promoting youth social competence.