Table 1
Participant demographics by pseudonym.
| PSEUDONYM | AGE | DIAGNOSIS AS DESCRIBED BY PARTICIPANTS | EXPERIENCE WITH VIDEO GAMES3 | DISCLOSED COOCCURRING CONDITIONS4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axel | 30 | Autism | Avid player | Intellectual disability |
| Bernard | 45 | OCD | Avid player | |
| Lieke | 26 | Psychosis sensitivity | Avid player | Autism |
| Lydia | 24 | Early-onset autism | Occasional player | ADHD |
| Menno | 40s | Psychosis sensitivity | Occasional player | |
| Moniek | 29 | Classic autism | Casual player | Intellectual disability |
| Nelleke | 33 | OCD | Occasional player | |
| Roel | 35 | Autism (Asperger’s) | Casual player | |
| Silke | 25 | Compulsions | None | Depression and psychotic mood disorder |
| Simone | 44 | High-functioning autism | Occasional player (mostly with her son) |
Table 2
Video games with descriptions.
| VIDEO GAME | DESCRIPTION | PLAYED WITH |
|---|---|---|
| Prism | Third-person game where the player controls a fox who, being a night animal, experiences difficulties adapting to daytime and sunlight, which serves as a metaphor for autism-related sensory sensitivity. | •Roel • Simone • Axel • Moniek • Lydia |
| Split Mind | The only game from a first-person perspective, where the player steps into the mind of the female protagonist experiencing paranoid schizophrenia and plays as if they were her. | • Lieke • Menno |
| OCGame | The most abstract of the three games, designed like a retro platformer game where the player controls the female protagonist and looks at the events happening from a distance. Cut scenes with text boxes explaining her anxious thoughts and compulsions allow the player to relate to her experiences. | • Nelleke • Bernard • Silke |