This document summarizes a presentation about the dating simulation game LongStory, which aims to help players learn about healthy relationships and sexuality. LongStory provides choices and scenarios to allow players to work through emotional situations and experiment with different outcomes. The game does not present a single model of relationships, but instead includes diverse characters with different beliefs and backgrounds. The goal is for players to care about the characters, think the game is fun rather than educational, and provide feedback about what they want from the story.

1. Games for emotional health
Presenter: Miriam Verburg

2. LongStory is a progressive and queer-positive
dating game that helps players
sandbox healthy relationships and sexuality.
The first episode was released March 7,
2014
Platforms: IOS, Android, Desktop
Audience: All ages
Downloads: 70,000 +
Marketing budget: $800 not counting
airplane tickets and hotels for conferences.

3. 3
DATING APPS ARE PROBLEMATIC

4. … BUT A VERY POPULAR GENRE FOR
YOUNG PEOPLE
846,000 tween girls in Canada and 18 million in the US play video games.
Dating games and ‘romance’ games are extremely popular in this
demographic on the app store.
4

5. WHY A DATING GAME ?
LongStory is a game that helps players
learn how to talk about and understand
their relationships, feelings, and desires.
The game provides guidance in the form of
choice options and different outcomes so
players work through emotional scenarios
and replay or experiment as much as they
want.
Example: Abby can be a great friend, maybe
even a girlfriend. But first you have to figure
out what you want.. And even then… It’s
complicated.

6. EMOTIONAL HEALTH LEADS TO
HEALTHIER CHOICES
Youth are not learning what they want to know
about sexual health.
In a recent survey by Planned
Parenthood Toronto, learning
how to maintain healthy
relationships, was in the top tier
of issues young people want to
learn about.

7. FOR THE LOVE OF CONTEXT
Youth from different cultural
backgrounds and with diverse sexual
preferences have different kinds of
healthy relationships.
In a global village, a game about
love, relationships and dating
shouldn’t present a single model
because youth bring diverse
values and beliefs to the table.

8. In LongStory, characters express different
feeling and attitudes towards, intimacy, sex,
desire, sexuality and gender.
The story shows the interaction of these
beliefs without privileging one set over
another.
Example: Marcel has a really hard time
with PDA. He’s originally from Dubai and
back home kissing a girl was something
you only did in private. He’s also not so
sure how he feels about gay kids being
out, but he doesn’t want to make waves
either - he’s the new guy after all.

9. DESIGN STRATEGIES

10. Give players multiple options for
meeting their needs and expressing
boundaries

11. Create realistic non-player
characters with
traits that encourage
empathy.

12. Create a game context that is like their real
world. Include elements such as texting to
provide a realistic experience of intimacy.

13. Ask players to make difficult
choices, but support them so
they can do so comfortably

14. KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
• Players don’t think it’s a
health game
• Players ask for second
episode
• Players care about the
non-player characters
• Players start telling us
what they want from the
story

16. What makes games good tools for
addressing emotional health &
wellbeing challenges?

17. Thank you for listening
Download LongStory at:
http://longstorygame.com