In partnership with WHO, Goodville has been transforming a classic farm simulator into a measurable mental health tool.
Goodville has marked its third year of collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) by introducing a new in-game character Sarah, a smart AI resource assistant for health. Sarah is designed to help players better understand their health and well-being while offering expert, actionable tips based on WHO’s guidelines for physical and mental self-care.
Players can interact with Sarah directly through in-game chat and share their emotional states via interactive tests, seamlessly integrated into the gameplay.
This collaboration began in 2022 and represents a unique long-term collaboration between Goodville and WHO. It initially introduced Florence, WHO’s first virtual assistant in the game. Since then, 1.5 million players have engaged with the assistant, and over 930,000 have completed a dedicated quest line.
These guided interactions help players assess their emotional states and receive tips for improving mental and physical health, including guidance on quitting smoking. On average, the game records 2,500 daily interactions with its health assistants.
Goodville’s mission
Therapeutic content has always been central to Goodville’s mission. From the game’s inception, characters like Dr. Socool have served as ambassadors of emotional well-being and psychological education.
To date, there have been over 5 million player interactions with Dr. Socool, with 12,500 engagements occurring daily. Goodville leverages dialogue mechanics to measure how well players absorb and apply the information shared. Impressively, the game achieves a 75.8% effective comprehension rate, underscoring its impact as a tool for mental health awareness and support.
Goodville and WHO remain committed to exploring the intersection of video games and health, paving the way for innovative approaches to health and well-being in interactive entertainment.
“We welcome efforts by the video game companies, such as Goodville, to encourage their large online communities to take the necessary steps for better health and well-being. We need to continue to reach people with science-based, trustworthy health information where they are, in the palms of their hands.”
Andy Pattison, Team Lead of Digital Channels at the World Health Organization
“Video games hold incredible potential to make a positive difference in people’s lives, with mental well-being playing a vital role in overall health.
Our ongoing collaboration with WHO has been instrumental in helping Goodville fulfill its mission of supporting emotional resilience and mental health for players worldwide.
This meaningful collaboration has already enabled us to reach and support over 1.5 million people through engaging in-game mechanics and psychological tools.
We are excited to deepen this collaboration, leveraging WHO’s expertise to expand our impact even further in the coming year, bringing meaningful support to even more players around the globe.”
Alexey Meleshkevich, CEO of Goodville AG
