Avatar Therapy is a therapist-assisted, computer-based intervention in which therapists facilitate a conversation between patients who are experiencing persistent persecutory auditory hallucinations (i.e. hearing voices) and a visual representation of one of the persecutory voices (i.e. the avatar).

Deep epistemic gamification (DEG) is something we have been working with for a few years in collaborations with partners in the health sciences. Our goal is to take you from basic serious games, which many of us have mastered now, to the next stage. Here are three types of serious game that we should divine at the outset. 

Epistemic Games: These are serious games where the game play and real life are merged. As you progress in the game, things change in your life. Or, as you pursue things in real life, your game experience changes. Think of it as a unity between game rules and real world impact that is seamless. 

Deep Games: These are games that tap into deeper psychological processes, they might be used in psychotherapy, for extended adventure game play or similar applications. The frequently feature role playing, avatar development and open world design. 

Narrative Games: These are games based on an unfolding story line. Narrative is core to DEGs, with a mix of micro-narrative and macro-narrative elements.