The players’ perspective of Reach Out Central : a therapeutic interactive online game

Therapeutic online games are potentially a valuable way of improving the mental health of young people. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the qualitative component of a formal evaluation conducted on Reach Out Central (ROC), an online game for 16-25 year olds which aims to improve mental health. Participants completing a post-program survey from the evaluation (n=154) were required to respond to two open-ended questions; what they liked most, and least, about ROC. Responses indicate that online games can be a successful way of educating, as well as attracting and engaging, young people. Suggestions are made regarding issues future developers should take into consideration when developing programs of a similar nature.