Hey everyone,

I’m conducting an independent study on how digital environments interact with mental health, specifically focusing on Old School RuneScape (OSRS). I’m looking for 10 participants who have a current diagnosis of depression, are relatively new to OSRS, and own an iPhone (to utilize Apple Health’s built-in mood tracking).

What’s Involved?

• I’ll provide two weeks of OSRS membership for you to explore the game.
• You’ll track your mood daily using Apple Health’s built-in mood-tracking feature.
• You’ll play at your own pace, and I’ll gather data on in-game behaviors.
• I’ll conduct a brief initial interview before you start and a final interview at the end to discuss changes in mental state and gaming patterns.
• No prior OSRS experience is necessary.

How Data Will Be Tracked

To analyze the connection between in-game activity and mental health, I’ll set up a custom RuneLite client with essential tracking plugins:

⦿ Chat Logging – Every chat message sent in-game will be logged to analyze communication patterns.
⦿ Progression Tracking – Automatic screenshots will capture level-ups, tracking personal achievements.
⦿ XP & Efficiency Monitoring – I’ll use an external website to track experience rates, efficiency, and overall engagement.
⦿ Daily Mood Logs – Using Apple Health’s built-in mood tracking, participants will record how they feel throughout the experiment.

I’ll personally guide each participant through setting up the OSRS client and ensuring all tracking methods are running smoothly.

Why RuneScape?

OSRS is an open-ended MMO that fosters routine, social interaction, and achievement-based progression—all factors that can influence mental health. I’ve observed strong correlations between in-game behavior and real-world emotional states, especially among long-time players. This study aims to see how a structured digital environment may affect mood, engagement, and self-perception over time.

What’s the Goal?

This is not a formal scientific study, but rather an exploratory effort to see if gaming patterns and mood tracking reveal any meaningful trends. If successful, this could lay the groundwork for a deeper analysis of digital spaces as reflections of mental health.

Who I’m Looking For

⦿ Current depression diagnosis
⦿ New or inexperienced OSRS players
⦿ iPhone users (for Apple Health mood tracking)

How to Participate

💬 DM me if you're interested in participating.
💬 Leave a comment below for general questions or if you're interested in helping refine this study.

If this sounds interesting to you—whether as a participant or someone who wants to help fine-tune the approach—let me know. I want to make this as useful as possible.