Salutogenic Game Design: A Primer

Salutogenic game design helps you build experiences that cultivate resilience, healthy coping, and joyful engagement.

Big takeaways

Salutogenic design goes beyond metrics like playtime or retention. It aims to promote player well-being by making the experience feel meaningful and rewarding, regardless of score or progress.
By fostering comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness, games can help reduce feelings of anxiety or being overwhelmed. This empowers players to find satisfaction in overcoming challenges, making even complex or serious games deeply fulfilling.
Salutogenic design necessitates a fundamental shift in our approach. It’s not a checklist of features, but a holistic philosophy of considering the player’s entire experience, from the clarity of the interface to how the game cultivates resilience in the face of challenges.

Salutogenic game design draws inspiration from salutogenesis, a health model pioneered by medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky. This model shifts the focus from treating illness to investigating the factors that promote well-being and resilience.

big idea Introduction to Well-Being in Gaming

Well-being is a key to helping our communities thrive and taking care of ourselves while doing so.

Sense of coherence

Central to salutogenesis is the “sense of coherence,” a feeling that life is comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful:

Comprehensibility — Feeling the world around you is predictable, structured, and understandable.
Manageability — Believing you have the tools and resources to overcome the challenges you face.
Meaningfulness — Seeing your actions and experiences as worthwhile and contributing to a larger purpose.

For game designers, this framework offers fresh perspectives on creating experiences that nurture players’ emotional, mental, and even social health. By understanding how games can foster a “sense of coherence,” we can design for lasting positive impact beyond mere entertainment. In short, salutogenic design shifts the focus beyond traditional player engagement (time spent, repeat visits) to be inclusive of a greater goal of overall well-being.

Salutogenic principles in game design

The following design recommendations are inspired by salutogenic design. While they may not always apply to your specific game, they nonetheless illustrate how a sense of coherence can be achieved via a game’s design.

Comprehensibility: Clarity as comfort

Core idea: The game world feels understandable and predictable.

This can be achieved via:

Intuitive interfaces and mechanics — Streamlined controls, clear tutorials, and easily accessible information empower players to easily grasp the game’s systems. For example, the simple controls of Stardew Valley or the gradual onboarding of Animal Crossing help players smoothly on-ramp.
Predictable patterns and progression — Games with well-designed difficulty curves let players learn, adapt, and feel in control, so avoid random difficulty spikes or unclear goals. For example, the incremental challenges in Celeste or the progression system of Hades help players of all skills manage their progression well.
Objective transparency — Even in open-world games, clear quest logs, waypoints, and hints guide players without feeling restrictive. For example, quest tracking in The Witcher 3 or the map markers in Breath of the Wild are unobtrusive but offer key information when players need it.

Screenshot from the game Celeste — *Celeste* empowers players by letting them set their own pace and define what “success” means within the game. The game naturally fosters a sense of growth and accomplishment that extends beyond just beating levels. Image courtesy of TIGG.

Manageability: Skills + supports = self-efficacy

Core idea: Players have the tools and confidence to overcome challenges.

This can be achieved via:

Scalable challenge — Offer difficulty options (easy, normal, hard), customizable game mechanics, or assist modes. This provides agency and helps players of all skill levels experience success. For example, the assist mode of Celeste and the difficulty settings of Horizon Zero Dawn make the games adaptable to different skill levels and preferences.
Needs management — Provide clear ways to gather resources, level up, or unlock abilities. Strike a balance between challenge and reward to avoid frustration. For example, the resource gathering in Zelda: Breath of the Wild and the general skill trees in many games help players determine what they need and how to fulfill those needs without necessarily trading on agency.
Clever hints, not hand-holding — Deliver subtle support through well-designed tutorials, hints from NPC companions, or environmental clues that guide without spoiling the solution. For example, the guiding wind in Ghost of Tsushima and the context-sensitive hints in the Metroid series feel like a natural part of the game world without overpowering the game itself.

Stock screenshot from Horizon Zero Dawn. — Unlike many games that solely focus on enemy damage and health scaling, the settings in *Horizon Zero Dawn* influence several gameplay aspects, including resource scarcity, crafting costs, merchant prices, as well as Aloy’s health regeneration rate. Image courtesy of press kit.

Meaningfulness: Beyond points and leaderboards

Core idea: Actions feel significant and contribute to a larger purpose.

This can be achieved via:

Impactful choices — Let choices have narrative or world-state consequences, even if small. A thriving village you aided early on might show lasting evidence of your impact when you revisit. For example, persistent consequences in Undertale or the major narrative shifts in Detroit: Become Human.
Self-expression — Whether via customization options, choice of playstyle, or narrative roleplaying freedom, self-expression helps players feel invested in their own journey. For example, open-ended character builds in Skyrim, creative freedom in Minecraft, or diverse approaches to missions in Dishonored.
Values alignment — Games exploring thought-provoking themes can spark introspection, empathy, and discussions that extend beyond gameplay. For example, exploration of civilian conflict in This War of Mine, artistic portrayal of grief in Gris, or Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and its depiction of mental health.
Community connection — Shared experiences within multiplayer games or vibrant online communities can create a sense of belonging and collective purpose. For example, Eve Online boasts one of the most active and passionate online communities in gaming.

Screenshot from the game Undertale — In *Undertale,* your actions significantly alter the game world, its characters, and future play throughs. Many choices force you into morally grey areas, encouraging reflection on your motivations and the impact on others. Image courtesy of TIGG.

Additional design considerations

Inclusive and accessible features (colorblind modes, remappable controls) widen the player base able to experience the salutogenic benefits your design provides.
Consider downtime as design — moments of calm are as important as tension. Include quiet exploration zones, non-essential side activities, or simply beautiful places to exist — providing breathing room is mentally restorative.
Constant events pushing urgency to log in may tap in to the fear of missing out, but long-term undermine true well-being. Build breaks into your content cycle that support healthy play habits.

While game design cannot replace professional mental or physical health treatment, it can play a role in promoting well-being. By thoughtfully applying salutogenic principles, we can create experiences that nurture resilience and offer positive engagement.