Psychological safety is a sense of security that encourages players to fully engage with the game and its community, build meaningful connections, and contribute to a more positive and inclusive environment.
- Psychological safety is a sense of security where players feel comfortable expressing themselves, taking risks, making mistakes, and asking for help within a game community.
- A psychologically-safe environment boosts collaboration, creativity and problem-solving, and promotes prosociality, while reducing disruptive behavior. Additionally, it will improve overall player well-being and enjoyment.
- When representation and inclusivity are lacking, players with marginalized identities face increased barriers to feeling psychologically safe, as the dominance of other identities can leave them feeling vulnerable.
Why psychological safety matters to game development
Psychological safety is the shared belief among members of a team or community that they can take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences. This can mean feeling safe to express ideas, ask questions, admit mistakes or try new things.
The presence of psychological safety on any team can have a profound effect:
- Enhanced collaboration — People are more willing to share knowledge, coordinate strategies, and support each other when they believe they won’t be judged, ridiculed, or scolded.
- Increased creativity — Feeling safe to try new things or suggest out-of-the-box ideas fosters more dynamic player experience and increases problem-solving effectiveness.
- Reduced conflict — Players feel valued and understood, leading to deeper engagement and loyalty toward the game and its community.
- Improved well-being — The stress and anxiety associated with online social interactions is reduced, leading to a more healthful and enjoyable experience.
- Reduced disruption — When players feel respected, they’re less likely to resort to inappropriate behavior and conflicts can be resolved more constructively.
What’s more, psychological safety and trust form a positive feedback loop. As people experience psychological safety and build trust, they become more likely to extend trust to others, further strengthening the sense of safety within the group.
Marginalized identities
Psychological safety is subjective and varies across individuals. As designers, it is essential to avoid assuming that what psychological safety means to you will apply universally to all players. This is particularly important if you hold identities that are more prevalent in gaming communities as there is a risk you might overlook the experiences and perspectives of more marginalized or vulnerable identities.
Factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomic status can significantly influence how a person perceives and experiences psychological safety. For instance, a cis white male player might feel comfortable speaking up and sharing ideas in a game space, whereas a female player from a minority background might hesitate to do so due to fear of harassment or discrimination.
Creating a psychologically safe environment for all players requires an understanding of these diverse experiences. It involves actively listening to and empathizing with marginalized voices, seeking feedback, and being open to challenging your own assumptions. It also means being mindful of the power dynamics within the game space and ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate and contribute without fear of judgment or retaliation.
Safe to fail
The nature of difficulty in video games shapes how players view failure, from playful experimentation to sources of embarrassment. This is especially true in multiplayer games, where one player’s struggles can impact teammates and create a vulnerable position.
Games where difficulty is embraced (like the Dark Souls series) or where failure itself is humorous (like Human: Fall Flat) minimize negative feelings surrounding failure. However, in games where failure feels like a personal shortcoming, particularly in competitive or team-based settings, the experience can be discouraging and lead to players withholding full participation.
In Human: Fall Flat, failure is an expected and playful event, often contributing to the enjoyment of the game as players fail in hilarious ways. Image courtesy of TIGG.
“You Died.” In the Dark Souls series, death is not the end, but a lesson in perseverance and a core part of the journey. Image courtesy of TIGG.
This impact can be amplified for players from marginalized backgrounds. For instance, female-identifying players may feel pressure to disprove negative “girl gamer” stereotypes, making them reluctant to engage with the game fully if they fear validating those biases through perceived failures. This can create a hostile environment and ultimately limit a game’s potential player base.
Identifying underminers
It is helpful to understand some of the specific behaviors that can negatively impact psychological safety in a game environment:
- Griefing — Deliberately targeting other players to ruin their experience (e.g., repeatedly killing the same low-level player, blocking essential gameplay progress).
- Harassment — Targeted abuse with hurtful, derogatory, or threatening language toward another player’s identity, skill level, etc.
- Unwarranted criticism — Harsh, discouraging, or demeaning comments about a player’s gameplay choices or skill level that go beyond constructive feedback. For some players, any criticism can be too much if they don’t feel secure enough to receive that feedback.
- Gatekeeping — Excluding or belittling players based on arbitrary factors like experience level, character choices, or playstyle.
- Trolling — Intentionally posting controversial or inflammatory statements to provoke others and disrupt community discussions.
- Doxxing — Publicly sharing private information about other players without their consent (and often with malicious intent).
- Cyberbullying — Extends harassment beyond the game into social media platforms, emails, or other online forums.
Some behaviors listed here might be occasional annoyances, while repeated patterns create a pervasive thread to psychological safety and can invite further harmful behaviors. Of course, a player’s sense of psychological safety can also be significantly impacted by factors beyond the game itself, such as their personality and personal experiences.
What does psychological safety look like?
Detecting psychological safety directly can be difficult. There are many signs, however, that can help you understand if your players and community are experiencing psychological safety:
| Success signs | Warning signs | |
| Individual | Seeking or offering help Willingness to try new strategies, characters, or playstyles High creative expression | Hesitancy to participate or ask for help Conformity, over-reliance on established strategies Defensiveness |
| Group | Respectful collaboration Constructive conflict resolution Collective learning; mistakes seen as growth Inclusive leadership | Gatekeeping Blame culture Stifled communication |
| Community | Welcoming atmosphere Positive sentiment and encouragement Player-driven mentorship Diverse voices and perspectives | High negativity, personal attacks, cynicism Polarized conversations Disengagement of veteran players Suppressed creativity |
Now what?
When we can improve the conditions for psychological safety in our games, it leads to better experiences for players and communities.
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Further Reading
- Clark, T. R. (2020). The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation.
- Edmondson, A. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth.
- Helbig, K. & Norman, M. (2023). The Psychological Safety Playbook: Lead More Powerfully by Being More Human.
