SuperBetter
A game framework for building real-life resilience, from a game designer.
SuperBetter, founded by game designer Jane McGonigal, applies gamification to mental health: building resilience and tackling challenges including anxiety, stress, depression, chronic pain, and concussion recovery.
Its core is the Live Gamefully method, a framework that brings the psychological strengths and mindset of gameplay (challenge-seeking, allies, power-ups in the method’s language) to real life, rather than decorating a health app with points.
The design lesson: SuperBetter treats the game mindset itself as the therapeutic mechanism. When gamifying serious domains, the framework and framing matter more than any individual mechanic.
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