Faculty of Design
Industrial Design
Vermont Urbanovich
Vanquishers
Industrial Design
2021
A fantastical, cooperative, and conversational card game that teaches youth the warning signs of mental health issues.How might we teach young people the signs of mental health problems in a fun and inherently social way to empower them to have conversations with their peers and seek help early?
“VALUE PROPOSITIONVanquishers is a collaborative card game where you work together to defeat monsters using resource cards, create a space for conversations, and participate in fun challenges. The game uses wound cards to represent the different symptoms of a mental health condition that each character has. Vanquishers teaches youth about the signs of mental health struggles and to de-stigmatize conversations around them. It is the card game to first game harness game-based learning to teach teens, an approach that uses fun and repetition to help teens memorize the signals and reduces stigma by associating mental health conditions with heroic characters.INSIGHTAn estimated 10-20% of adolescents globally experience mental health conditions which are underdiagnosed and undertreated (WHO). Don’t Worry Village in Mokpo, Korea displays the effect of pressures to be normal and ignorance around mental health. iRespect & Protect in Salem, USA show parents are concerned with teen mental health, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons exemplifies how games can have a therapeutic effect.IDEAA card game built for education, collaboration, and conversation. The wound cards associate mental health symptoms with physical damage and by being specific to characters, players can understand and discuss these signs and how they relate to each other. Players work together in the game, creating an environment where they depend on each other and receive help. The breaks in between combat create space for conversations, with prompts that encourage self-reflection and appreciation.IMPACTI want to educate about the warning signs so they notice it in both themselves and others. Teens can use this to learn about themselves and their friends and have catalyst for conversation. Teachers can use this to supplement teaching about mental health. Parents can use this to learn about their teens and to spark action. Early detection and action can literally save lives.”