The Stress Management Game – Final Draft

For my final project, I created an interactive game focused on stress management through everyday life scenarios. In the game, players are placed in different stressful situations and asked to decide how they would respond. The purpose of the project was to encourage people to think more carefully about the choices they make during stressful moments and to understand how certain responses can either reduce stress or make situations more difficult.

When I first designed the game, one of the main pieces of feedback I received was that the answer choices felt too obvious. Most players could quickly identify the “correct” response without really thinking deeply about the situation. Here is the link for the first blog post: https://reflect.creativitycourse.org/published/digital-narrative-games-part-4/. After receiving this feedback, I decided to redesign the final version to make the choices more realistic and challenging. In real life, stress management is rarely straightforward, and people often struggle to know the best response in difficult situations. By adjusting the scenarios and making the options less predictable, the game became more engaging and encouraged players to think more critically before making decisions.

If I had more time to continue developing the project, I would mainly focus on improving the visual design and overall user experience. Since the game was created using Google Slides, there were certain limitations regarding graphics, animations, and interactivity. Looking back, I think using more advanced design tools, such as Google Gemini Canvas, would have helped create a more polished and visually professional final product. These platforms could have allowed for smoother transitions, stronger visual storytelling, and a more immersive experience for players.

One of the most important things I learned from this project was actually about myself. Stress is something that many university students experience regularly, especially while balancing academics, responsibilities, and personal life. Because of this, many of the scenarios included in the game were inspired by situations I personally relate to. Working on the project made me reflect more on how people react under pressure and how automatic responses are not always the healthiest ones. It gave me a better understanding of why certain coping strategies are more effective while others may increase stress over time.

Overall, this project became more meaningful to me than just completing an assignment for class. It allowed me to connect academic ideas about stress management with realistic situations that people experience in everyday life. Through designing the game, I realized how much small decisions and reactions can influence mental well-being. In many ways, the project helped bridge the gap between theory and real-world experiences, making the topic feel more practical, personal, and relevant.

With respect to the images used in the project, all visuals were custom-generated using DALL·E 3 in order to ensure original, non-copyrighted content that aligns with academic integrity and Creative Commons standards. In addition, accessibility considerations were included during the design process. Color contrast was checked using the [WebAIM Contrast Checker](https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) to help ensure that the graphics and text remained visually clear and accessible for users.

Here is the link for the presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ccKagpm6CPyFvEIrgJy4JbVFXR9eO5eK/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=102517805007517549975&rtpof=true&sd=true