FearTherapy: Assessing the Impact of Therapeutic Games in Virtual Environments through Physiological State Measurements

The integration of virtual reality (VR) with therapeutic games offers a novel approach to mental health interventions, allowing for immersive experiences that can evoke and modulate emotional states. This study explores the potential of VR therapeutic games to identify and influence emotional responses using physiological measurements such as heart rate (HR) and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR). We conducted experiments using a custom-designed VR game, FearTherapy, featuring interactions with four animals—Hermit, Bee, Wolf, and Spider—each chosen to induce varying emotional states. Physiological data were collected using IoT wearable devices and analysed using machine learning models.