Fresh Start

Built by an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students led by Professors Josh Fishburn and Dr. Yifeng Hu, “Fresh Start” is an interactive video game with narrative immersion that aims to educate first year college students on mindful drinking skills, raise awareness about unhealthy drinking habits, and demystify alcohol misconceptions.

Guided by social behavioral theories, “Fresh Start” depicts the experience of a diverse group of first year friends at the authors’ college. Players must navigate challenges associated with alcohol and college parties and make decisions in various scenes. The game also presents reinforcement health messages in response to the choices that the player makes, to foster feelings of competence and promote intrinsic motivation. 

"Fresh Start" uses a foldback narrative structure with choices that lead to the same narrative outcome, ensuring that players experience all learning objectives while simultaneously reflecting on their choices and building connections with the game’s characters. “Mini-Games” are dispersed throughout the narrative for players to learn and test important skills, such as making standard drinks of different types of alcohol and finding effective ways of persuading a peer to stop drinking.