Discord joins Safe In Our World’s Game Dev Champions as Gold Sponsor

We are thrilled to announce Discord has come on board as a Gold Sponsor for our Mental Health Game Dev Champions event!

This inaugural Mental Health Game Dev Champions event is aimed at empowering gamers and developers to create personal video games based on real lived-in experiences. 

The jam is in full flow with some amazing mental health themed games in progress, but there’s plenty of time to join and submit a game before the closing date of 31 October 2024.

We chatted to Patricia Noel, LMSW, Mental Health Policy Manager at Discord, about the importance of this sponsorship.

What is most exciting for Discord about becoming the Gold Sponsor for the Mental Health Game Dev Champions event?

I was so excited when I came across this event you all are putting on. Discord’s mission is to make it easier and more fun for friends to talk and hang out around playing games. I’m Discord’s Mental Health Policy manager, so it felt like a natural fit. I believe that mental health care should be innovative, and that includes looking at the ways in which games can help people share stories and process emotions and experiences. I can’t wait to see the ways in which those who’ve entered the event use games, which are a powerful medium, to share their stories. 

Discord has done a lot of work to highlight mental health support and encourage positive behaviours on the platform – can you tell us a bit more about that?

Yes! At Discord, we’re committed to mental wellbeing and helping to empower our users to uplift each other and their communities. First and foremost, having a role dedicated to mental health is huge, and I’m extremely honored to be in this role. Additionally, our users are in control of their experience—they decide with whom they interact and what communities they join. There is no news feed, no endless scrolling, no counting of likes, and no “going viral.” We emphasize real-time interaction and connection among friends.

We believe teens deserve to have a safe, welcoming online space to explore their interests and connect with others, and are deeply committed to helping to bridge the gap between our users and the mental health resources they deserve by meeting them where they already are. Last month, we launched our Teen Charter, which includes four principles, authenticity, privacy, inclusivity, and transparency, that teens told us are important for them to thrive online. These principles aren’t the only things they keep in mind when engaging on the platform, but they are standards that they hold Discord to as well. While these principles were made in collaboration with teens, I think they’re a great rule of thumb for anyone of any age on Discord. 

We also have our Warning System, which gives users more insight into the actions Discord has taken if it’s found that they’ve done something that isn’t aligned with our Community Guidelines. Our Warning System helps users know exactly why they’re receiving a warning or violation so they do not repeat the action in the future.   

Lastly, through partnerships with organizations such as Crisis Text Line, Digital Wellness Lab, and the National PTA, we work to provide users with a sense of safety and support, empowering them to foster positive relationships in the digital world. 

What do you love about games that touch on mental health topics?

Mental health care isn’t just therapeutic interventions, but it also involves education and awareness. As I mentioned, there’s so much space for us to innovate within the mental health space, and I see a huge opportunity to do so with games! Many clinicians use games to support their clients, be it mental health-specific games or games that people turn to decompress. I also love that people might see themselves and their experiences represented in a way they might’ve not seen before. Games can help people feel seen and less alone in whatever situation they are experiencing. Mental health topics in games can even help normalize some of the experiences we as a society may not talk about often. There’s a lot of magic and potential in games that have specific mental health themes, especially when they’re done right. 

What are you hoping to see from the developers participating in this event?

I’m really excited to learn their stories and see how they’ve decided to share their lived experiences. I’m sure some games will be personal, and others will be used as a way to educate people on certain topics. I can only imagine the creativity and storytelling that will be included in these games!

How can Discord support developers looking to create on their platform? 

We have the Embedded App SDK to help developers build Activities, which are games and social experiences that can be played by friends and communities in Discord! Activities allow developers to get their games discovered and shared by an interested audience. For more information, read our developer documentation  or join our dedicated Discord Developers server.