Welcome to the
Digital Thriving Playbook!
A resource for creating online spaces that help people thrive
Explore Digital Thriving Core Concepts
Trying to find everything you can about a specific subject? Core concepts are what you need!
Latest Methods
Tactical and practical techniques
Creative Thinking through the Lens of Self-Reflection
Use self-reflection as a tool to identify ways to make your game appeal to a wider audience.
Design Considerations for Safety Features
Important factors to consider when designing safety features in games.
Safety and the User Experience
How to encourage safety and prosocial activity by designing features that enhance the user experience.
Evaluating the Stickiness of Game Elements with a Social Satisfaction Matrix
A tool that can help you assess the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of social elements in your games or other products!
Reaching Gamers: Creating Player-Facing Support Resources
Create support resources that feel authentic, engaging, and relevant to players, increasing the likelihood that they’ll have a positive impact.
Designing to Support Emotional Regulation
Prioritize emotional regulation by implementing design choices that minimize stress, empower player agency, and encourage healthy social interaction.
A Quick Reference for Developers Supporting Players In Crisis
Guidelines and resources to help you and your team support players in crisis.
Helping Players in Crisis
This guide provides essential guidance on how to support players in crisis with compassion and care, even if you’re not a trained crisis responder.
CGI Framework for Digital Thriving
The CGI framework is the most important tool in the Digital Thriving Playbook.
Eight Ways to Get Buy-In for Digital Thriving Work
Getting leadership buy-in for new kinds of work can be challenging. Fortunately, contributors to the Playbook are happy to help!
Latest Examples
Showcases of digital thriving in action
Adjusting Game-Design Based on RITEC: Three Examples
Learn how three game companies used the RITEC Framework to adjust their designs to enhance children’s well-being.
Holding Space in Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between
Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between was designed from the ground up as an exploration of holding space for players to reflect.
Playing to Thrive: Games Through a Salutogenic Lens
Here are some examples of how salutogenic design principles have enhanced existing games.
Beyond Virtual Hugs: Games That Nurture Mental Health
Video games can deliver experiences that can both resonate and nurture.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Games That Check In
We can break the fourth wall to connect with and care for players.
25 Examples of Prosocial Behavior in Games
Examples to help you spot prosocial behavior in games!
Games That Invite Creativity (and Don’t Involve Building Blocks): A Speed Run
Creativity in games takes more forms than you might think!
Encouraging Teamwork: A Collective Case Study
Explore how these games encourage teamwork in specific contexts.
Biophilic Design in Digital Products: A Speed Run
Products that offer many of the benefits of biophilia.
Player Typologies: A Case Study in Social Gameplay
Walk through applying a player typology for an existing online game.
Most Popular Guides
High-level tours of specific problem spaces
Safety by Design as a Gameplay Practice
Using the Digital Thriving Playbook in the Game Development Life Cycle
Cross-Industry Collaboration for Trust and Safety in Gaming and Beyond
Combating Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Gaming
A Developer’s Guide to Player Crisis Resources
The Many Dimensions of Well-Being: A Guide to Navigating Trade Offs
Organizations Supporting Trust & Safety in Gaming
Beyond “Co-Op”: A Spectrum of Cooperation
Latest Big Ideas
The foundational knowledge behind digital thriving
Prosocial Behavior in Games: 10 Common Myths and Misconceptions
This article dispels misunderstanding that is growing along with new interest in prosocial behavior in games.
Introduction to Prosocial Behavior
Prosociality fosters trust, cooperation, and a sense of belonging — all things that contribute to digital thriving.
Age-Appropriate Design
Creating digital content that aligns with the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental stages of children at all ages.
Designing for Children’s Well-Being in Digital Play: The RITEC-8 Framework
Learn about using the RITEC-8 framework to design games that contribute to children’s well-being.
Content Moderation and Beyond
Moderation is how we continue to reaffirm our values and cultivate an ongoing positive experience for our community.
The Big Picture on Digital Accessibility: Everyone Can Play
Digital accessibility in gaming ensures that everyone, regardless of ability, can participate fully.
What is CVAA?
The Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) sets minimum accessibility standards for communication features in video games.
Introduction to Community Management
Community management is a field within games that cultivates the relationship between audience, developer, and product.
Toxic Positivity (and How to Avoid It) in Games for Emotional Well-Being
What is toxic positivity, and how do you tell if your game is successful in supporting the emotional well-being of players without using it?
Social Rewards and Other Big Ideas Behind the RPM Method
Introduction to many of the not-so-obvious concepts woven into the RPM design method.
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