Interactive ConScience: A Video Game Addressing Drugs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/ceide.16076079e.2026.27.1.8Keywords:
serious games, addiction prevention, adolescent mental health, Mexico, educational innovationAbstract
What if, instead of repeating warnings to adolescents, we allowed them to explore their decisions through an interactive experience? From this question emerged ConCiencia contra las drogas, a serious video game aimed at Mexican adolescents aged 12 to 17 which turns data and warnings about substance use into playable dilemmas set in everyday scenarios. In this digital environment, familiar spaces such as a plaza or the school become contexts for decision-making, where young players engage with six mini-games that address, in an integrated manner, decision-making, the effects of substances, social pressure, risk, and protective factors, as well as the school context. Evaluated in secondary schools, the video game has evolved based on feedback from its own players, achieving a sense of closeness and acceptance that technical manuals rarely attain. By integrating technology and psychology, this proposal seeks to foster learning through a combination of pixels and reflection, opening a promising path for substance use prevention through interactive learning.
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