The game ‘Plan-it commander’ is a serious game that aims to improve the skills of children with ADHD so they are able to better function and feel more content. The game was developed by the game studio Ranj in association with Janssen Pharmaceutica/Healthy Solutions, Yulius Academie and the Flemish Society for Parents of Children with ADHD.
While developing the game we worked along with the target group, asking for their opinion and testing their enjoyment while playing the game. Children are able to play this game independently in the comfort of their own home. As it turns out, the children enjoy the game and are able to achieve better results in the game if they play it more often.
The game takes the form of an adventure game and centres on a situation involving considerable problems, a solution to which must be sought. Within the overall narrative, the player deals with problematic aspects of ADHD in several subgames. Furthermore, the player can learn to enlist the right help from their team at the right time. There is also ample room for interaction within an internal community. Children can watch and rate each other’s actions, can help one another and give advice. The time that the children can spend on the game has been limited to a well-considered maximum number of minutes a day.
