A Yale doctor is using a video game to fight the opioid crisis

The play2PREVENT Lab, founded in 2009, has created five video games about issues related to adolescent drug use, STI/HIV testing and prevention, and mental resilience. Akin to its other offerings, “PlaySmart” is a character-driven, cartoon choose-your-own-adventure style game where the players are placed into various situations, such as a party, and shown what happens if they make certain choices, such as kissing a person with herpes. The player is then taken through the consequences of that decision before being allowed to “go back in time” and make a different choice. The game also involves mini games that enable players to build up various skill sets, like persuasion, to better equip their characters to handle certain situations in the game.