Suicide Prevention: Interactive Mobile Serious Game - STAY WITH ME
This ongoing research and creative scholarship project explores how mobile interaction, augmented reality, and serious-game design can support suicide-prevention education and crisis-communication training.
Developed in Unreal Engine, the mobile experience uses touch, device movement, tilting, and other physical interactions to place participants in scenarios involving emotional distress, recognition of warning signs, supportive communication, and connection to professional resources.
The project also incorporates augmented reality (AR) components that explore how someone might respond when another person expresses suicidal thoughts or appears to be in crisis. The goal is not to simulate suicide as entertainment, but to investigate how interactive media can help users practice empathy, appropriate communication, and help-seeking behaviors in a controlled educational environment.
Players can interact with different character representations, including adult and adolescent scenarios. Because of the sensitivity of the subject matter, some imagery, icons, and interactions have been intentionally redesigned, restricted, or removed. Ethical considerations, safeguarding, age-appropriate presentation, and responsible communication remain central to the development process.
The project is also informed by personal experiences of losing close friends to suicide and by an interest in why people sometimes avoid conversations with individuals experiencing depression or emotional crisis because they are uncertain about what to say or how to respond.
Prototype versions have been shared with clinical organizations for review and potential educational use. The project is currently being revised in response to professional feedback, institutional requirements, platform policies, and evolving best practices in suicide-prevention communication.
This project is a research and educational prototype. It is not a clinically validated treatment, diagnostic tool, or substitute for professional mental-health care.If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis in the United States, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
