Addiction is a concept, like most things, that works as a spectrum. Often, when people think of addiction, they perhaps picture someone with a brown bag on the side of the road. However, addiction pops up in varying degrees for most people, simply put–addiction is the chronic dysregulation of a coping mechanism. Any behavior that is used in excess as a response to avoiding feelings can be categorized as addictive behavior, and therefore most people can benefit from the principles of recovery.

Design Process

The person we designed for was someone who recognized they had an issue, but felt a barrier to attending in-person recovery. Someone may feel that way for a myriad of reasons–covid-19 anxiety, not identifying with the singular addiction the meeting is specified for, and many other feelings that block people from getting the help they need from recovery. The Path allows access to tools of recovery for a person to explore in their own time.

The experience pulls resources from a bevy of places, namely ‘The Big Book’ of Alcoholics Anonymous, ‘A Gentle Path Through The Twelve Steps’ by Patrick Carnes, and Gabor Mate’s work on trauma. Pairing the metaphor of a path, or a journey, with an 8-bit game-play aesthetic helps people to identify themselves in the ‘game’ by externalizing their emotions and seeing positive feedback loops of their recovery.