GDC 2025 Session Viewer

When games are at their best, they can induce a state of flow and absorption much like meditation, fully engaging players in the present moment. But what about putting an actual meditation into a game? Is there any place for that?

In our increasingly distracted world, it can be hard to settle down. Our fractured attention can lead to stress and anxiety, making it difficult to sink into anything. Games tend to be about moving forward and reaching goals, and live games especially can be a never-ending pursuit of attaining more things. Can we bring ourselves to stop?

Sometimes you need to rest, breathe, be still, and come back to yourself. So we wondered, could we make our players feel okay with just stopping and doing nothing? This talk explores thatgamecompany's experiments to incorporate moments of calm into their live game Sky: Children of the Light to promote player absorption and wellbeing.

Takeaway

Attendees will learn about the core philosophy that drove this exploration and understand whether this approach may work for their game. They will see concrete examples of in-game implementations of such experiences from various stages of development with detailed player response shown through data, surveys, focus groups and playtests, giving practical tips for implementation of mindful in-game activities.

Intended Audience

Game creators who are interested in applying the theory and practice of mindfulness into their gameplay experience.