BraveQuest: Designing a Mixed Reality Game to Support Exposure Therapy for Children with Zoophobia

During their development, children often experience a rational fear of certain animals, such as spiders and bats, which may, if left unaddressed, gradually escalate into irrational phobias, significantly affecting their mental well-being, daily activities, and social participation. While traditional exposure therapy has been proven effective in treating such fears, it can be challenging to implement in real-world contexts and may cause considerable discomfort or resistance in children, potentially reducing its overall effectiveness. Hence, we present BraveQuest, a mixed reality game that combines virtual agents, gamification elements, and mixed reality-based exposure therapy techniques to help gradually reduce these fears in a safe, controlled, and engaging environment. Preliminary results from initial trials show that BraveQuest not only boosts children’s confidence in facing their fears but also offers an enjoyable and immersive interactive experience. This work informs the design of adaptive and inclusive interactive interface systems for interventions to address childhood phobias.