The NHS is Vibe Coding: Inside the First Clinical Game Jam

Health professionals from across the UK gathered this September for the first-ever Clinical Game Jam, part of the broader Clinical AI & Quantum Hackathon series. The goal? To explore how AI and modern technology could transform healthcare practice, and to do so by creating playable, educational games.

Rosebud was an official tool used by teams in this initiative, and we were blown away by the results. In just one weekend, NHS clinicians, many with no prior game development experience, prototyped meaningful healthcare-focused games using vibe coding tools, which lets anyone create a playable experience by simply describing it.

The Winning Game: A Mental Health Garden

The top entry was a mental health garden game, designed to help players practice emotional regulation. Learners earn seeds by completing mini-games that teach stress management and emotional resilience. Over time, their virtual garden blossoms, rewarding positive coping strategies with visual growth.

It’s a simple but powerful design: education through play, reflection through creativity, and reinforcement through reward.

This project follows a wider trend of mental health meeting gaming. Earlier this year, the Ad Council launched three Roblox-based mental health games in collaboration with the Huntsman Mental Health Institute and Dentsu. Roblox itself has also been recognized as a vehicle for social good, with brands and nonprofits increasingly leveraging its 66M+ daily active players — half of whom are under 13 — to create meaningful, interactive campaigns around issues like mental health and social awareness.

We’re also seeing major franchises lean in. The “Seize the Awkward” campaign recently partnered with FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH to encourage peer-to-peer mental health conversations.

More importantly, most mental health gaming campaigns receive overwhelming positive feedback, emphasizing curiosity for continued innovation in this field.

Why Gamifying Mental Health Matters

With global gaming participation at an all-time high (87% of Gen Z play video games weekly) and mental health needs rising, the intersection of games and healthcare has never been more critical. Clinical Game Jams are just the beginning.

For clinicians, these events offer a chance to rapidly prototype digital interventions without needing years of software training. For patients, they represent a new generation of engaging, accessible tools that fit into everyday life.

And for platforms like Rosebud, they prove that anyone can move from consumer to creator. By turning imagination into playable prototypes in minutes, vibe coding makes it possible for NHS staff, educators, or even patients themselves to create experiences that serve their community.

Rosebud’s Role in the Jam

During the jam, teams used Rosebud’s browser-native environment to sketch out mechanics, generate assets, and quickly test their prototypes. Because Rosebud runs in the browser with no installs, clinicians could focus entirely on design and purpose instead of debugging toolchains.

Our multiplayer architecture also made it simple to add collaborative elements, such as shared gardens or cooperative challenges, without worrying about server infrastructure. This meant participants could think at the level of “What helps people feel connected and supported?” instead of “How do I code a WebSocket server?”

From Hackathon to Healthcare

The Clinical AI & Quantum Hackathon series ties directly into the NHS 10-Year Plan, which emphasizes AI, genomics, and digital tools as part of a future-ready health system. Quantum technologies, agentic workflows, and zero-knowledge proofs were explored alongside gaming prototypes, but the energy in the room made one thing clear: play has a role in clinical practice.

Interviewed organizers described the vibe as:

“Impressive amount of work came out after just tinkering and playing.”

“We need to do everything we can to change health behaviors and improve quality of care.”

These weren’t seasoned game developers. They were clinicians, educators, and healthcare staff, yet in a single weekend they built working prototypes. That’s the power of accessible creation.

A Future of Playable Healthcare

At Rosebud, our mission has always been to democratize creation. We believe the future of healthcare games won’t be built only by professional studios, but by clinicians, patients, and communities themselves. With world models soon enabling real-time, responsive environments, the line between therapy and play, between training and simulation, will blur even further.

The first Clinical Game Jam shows the direction: from words to worlds, from ideas to interventions, from healthcare consumed to healthcare created.

👉 Want to explore how vibe coding could bring your own healthcare idea to life?

Start creating today at rosebud.ai.