Youth Digital Health Intervention (University of Illinois Chicago)
Interactive social simulation for healthy relationship building.
PROBLEM
The University of Illinois Chicago required a novel approach to reach LGBTQ+ youth. They needed an engaging, accessible vehicle to teach critical skills for maintaining healthy peer relationships, but real-world practice carries emotional risks that can deter vulnerable youth from trying.
SOLUTION
We developed a game-based intervention app that delivers relationship skill-building through scenario-driven interactions. The experience emulates social-media patterns to feel familiar, reduce barriers to entry, and improve engagement for the target audience. Users make choices inside a safe virtual environment, allowing practice without real-world consequences.
To make scenarios feel authentic, we used OpenAI to generate realistic, natural-sounding conversations and supporting images that match the tone and context of each situation. This helped the app present believable interactions while keeping content controlled and aligned to the intervention goals.
We structured content so learning objectives map to in-app decisions and outcomes, enabling repeatable skill reinforcement. The solution is designed to support ongoing research and curriculum updates by allowing new scenarios, content variations, and feature modules to be added without reworking the core application flow.
6 Wks
Time to Prototype
AI
Generated Scenarios
100%
HIPAA Compliant
TESTIMONIALS
DON'T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
"I've worked with Denovo Studios for over a year now and the process has been absolutely seamless."
Dr. Ariel Smith PhD, RN - University of Illinois at Chicago
“Successful deployment of projects into our production environment within desired timeframe and budget."
Jeff Rogers - Cutting Edge Countertops
"The team is able to speak intelligently about what they’re going to do and what potential issues would be. I’ve had a lot of contractors just nod their heads, without knowing what I’m asking for, and do whatever they want. Denovo Studios really took the time to understand what I was looking for."
Sam Borick - Virginia Transportation Corporation
"The project was a success. Furthermore, they were great for helping us fix bugs that other developers outside of their organization had made and helpful in brainstorming sessions."
Alexander Brunache- Curenav
"Denovo Studios tackles requests very proactively. Additionally, their ability to outline all the steps needed to complete the project and their [App Development] capabilities have been valuable assets. Despite being a service provider, they feel like a part of the internal team."
Steven Strohl - Unrapp
"[Denovo Studios] were highly responsive, very knowledgeable, and easy to work with. They provided great service on our project, coupled with a deep understanding of the problem we were facing. They were able to quickly jump in and help us get up and running to meet our short development timeline. We would highly recommend them and use their services again when needed."
Noah DiCenso - Innovasystems International LLC
