First off, you should practice empathy until it is the only way you interact with the world. This is the best way to be human.
Empathy as a designer is usually talked about in terms of listening to playtesters and incorporating culturally sensitive feedback. This is important too.
Also, maybe don't design around culturally offensive themes to begin with?
The above statements, along with most of the discussion I have seen online, are about you developing empathy as a designer. I don't really have anything to add to that other than: "Do the thing!" But there does seem to be a misconception that designers cannot create empathy in players. Not only is this not true, but there are concrete steps you can take to make a game more empathy-inducing.
Let's start with my game design philosophy: players are improv actors given the rules of the scene by you, the director. If you can believe this is true, then all the rules of theatre apply to board games.
What does it mean to create empathy in an actor? We think of actors creating all of their emotions independently as a part of their process. But any actor will tell you that set, props, lights, and costumes (especially shoes) can really propel a character into existence. Also, the script is pretty important when it comes to creating emotion, just saying. So, how do we create empathy in an actor?
Rule one: The actor has to want to feel empathy. An actor who is not there to play with what they're given is not going feel anything from it either. A subset of uncooperative people does not invalidate the attempt at emotional immersion.
Rule two: The character(s) should be engaged in meaningful activity. It really helps if the actor is playing a distinct character with goals. Those goals should have emotional stakes. The emotion behind an activity is what makes it meaningful. Emotional stakes create empathy. Emotional stakes should be apparent in the script, not something the actor has to dream up. Emotional stakes usually lead to 'higher meaning' themes.
Now, let's switch to the bridge genre between acting and board games: tabletop roleplaying games. One of the benefits of TTRPGs is that players can put on 'masks' in the form of ridiculous characters in order to explore emotions and difficult situations in a less vulnerable way. TTRPGs have been studied for their ability to create empathy in players. Practice pretending to be someone else has a positive impact on empathy (provided the player engages emotionally, see rule one). This is not that different than children 'playing pretend', another activity that develops empathy.
So, how can empathy be created in board games? Is a narrative-heavy script required? No. We do not have to copy narrative techniques in plays or books or movies to build emotional responses. Our audience is our actors. Instead of manipulating an actor whose performance manipulates an audience, we are one step closer to our audience. We can manipulate them (semi) directly.
How? Create feelings of imbalance, so the players can't assume their emotional response. Do this by avoiding stereotypes and flipping tropes. Forcing players to play characters they are uncomfortable with will cause players to confront their own biases. This may be difficult in a 'diverse' game if every player is able to choose the character that most closely matches themselves. Design a game about CEOs where every character is a woman, POC, WOC, queer, etc, but try picking just one minority. Then tie that character choice mechanically to gameplay, so that it makes sense and is difficult to retheme. Actions taken by characters should be unexpected but realistic. You will have players that push back on the idea of a game about African American women CEOs. As you get this feedback, you will be able to feel your players try to put your narrative or characters back in the boxes you are trying to free them from. Do not cave and make your game "more believable." My game Deadly Dowagers does this very intentionally. (I don't like using my own WIPs as examples, generally. But I don't think I've played a published game that works as an example.) Every character is a Victorian era woman who is greedy, ambitious, and murderous. None of those adjectives are very 'feminine'. This creates discomfort in my players. Some playtesters try to lessen the feeling by suggesting what 'should' be in the game: balls, fancy clothes, rumors, gossip, etc. Some of those ideas have been implemented to help build the world, but I have pushed back very hard that my characters need to be girlier. Making players comfortable with your theme is not always the goal of a design; often it shouldn't be.
Your game should also have a clear narrative. That narrative must be closely tied to actual gameplay. Imagine explaining Spirit Island without explaining narrative elements. I'm not sure it's possible, but also, why would you? You can explain the rules in a way that tells players why they are playing. Every element of a game should be motivated so that the 'why' is clear. When players know why they are taking actions, they can identify with their character. When the narrative is clear, players can look beyond the narrative to the emotional content. When the narrative is unclear, it is harder to imagine how a character would feel, because you can't tell what their underlying goals are. Narrative does not have to come in the form of a long lore dump. Your rules, mechanics, and art should all come together to paint a singular compelling narrative.
Along the lines of a clear narrative, your theme should be a one sentence story. "Dogs" is not a theme; it is an art suggestion. "Dogs racing to unbury bones" is a theme. "Dogs racing to save humans from a collapsed building" is a theme with strong emotional content. However, a game can create empathy without needing the high drama of "save people from dying". Again, avoiding stereotypes and searching out unexpected stories can create empathy. Presenting low drama themes from unexpected angles can arguably create more empathy than high drama themes. This is because it requires more reflection on who the characters are as people in order to 'buy in' to the narrative. I don't find diversity in a post-apocalyptic setting to be as compelling as diversity in a contemporary or historical one, because we have more assumptions about history than we do about a fictional dystopia.
It should be obvious, but the most productive use of creating empathy is in realistic human characters. I am not convinced that feeling empathy towards rubbery aliens translates to feeling empathy toward minority groups. If your design goal is to create feelings of empathy in your players, your characters need to be human. Your characters should also feel human, while avoiding stereotypes. Ideally, your humans should be interesting in ways that feel 'foreign' to players. Do this by challenging assumptions about what types of humans belong in what types of roles. Need practice? Take a popcorn ensemble movie and list the characters and roles of the main squad, separately. Then shuffle the roles and deal them out to the characters. Now, rewrite the premise to rationalize why the 'tank' is the short, skinny kid. It may not make much sense, but you'll start to see the underlying assumptions made when casting those types of movies, most of which are not written to create empathy.
To summarize, create empathy in games by:
1. Introducing thematic imbalances to push the players out of their comfort zone.
2. Have a clear narrative to explain the 'why' of the game.
3. Have a one sentence theme that combines thematic imbalance and clear narrative.
4. Have human characters.
Note that none of these suggestions involves mechanics that require role-play. Players can identify with their characters and feel for them without having to act them out. Not all players are comfortable with role-playing. Besides, expecting players to do the work of creating empathy on their own is a design cop out. Any game could have spontaneous role-play break out if the character design is interesting enough. If you want to create empathy in your games, focus on what you can control: well-crafted themes, narratives, and characters.
Does having empathy as a designer make designing games that create empathy easier? Probably. For me the key is moving past assumptions of how people should behave and looking at how characters could behave under certain circumstances. That is the essence of theatre.
Empathy as a designer is usually talked about in terms of listening to playtesters and incorporating culturally sensitive feedback. This is important too.
Also, maybe don't design around culturally offensive themes to begin with?
The above statements, along with most of the discussion I have seen online, are about you developing empathy as a designer. I don't really have anything to add to that other than: "Do the thing!" But there does seem to be a misconception that designers cannot create empathy in players. Not only is this not true, but there are concrete steps you can take to make a game more empathy-inducing.
Let's start with my game design philosophy: players are improv actors given the rules of the scene by you, the director. If you can believe this is true, then all the rules of theatre apply to board games.
What does it mean to create empathy in an actor? We think of actors creating all of their emotions independently as a part of their process. But any actor will tell you that set, props, lights, and costumes (especially shoes) can really propel a character into existence. Also, the script is pretty important when it comes to creating emotion, just saying. So, how do we create empathy in an actor?
Rule one: The actor has to want to feel empathy. An actor who is not there to play with what they're given is not going feel anything from it either. A subset of uncooperative people does not invalidate the attempt at emotional immersion.
Rule two: The character(s) should be engaged in meaningful activity. It really helps if the actor is playing a distinct character with goals. Those goals should have emotional stakes. The emotion behind an activity is what makes it meaningful. Emotional stakes create empathy. Emotional stakes should be apparent in the script, not something the actor has to dream up. Emotional stakes usually lead to 'higher meaning' themes.
Now, let's switch to the bridge genre between acting and board games: tabletop roleplaying games. One of the benefits of TTRPGs is that players can put on 'masks' in the form of ridiculous characters in order to explore emotions and difficult situations in a less vulnerable way. TTRPGs have been studied for their ability to create empathy in players. Practice pretending to be someone else has a positive impact on empathy (provided the player engages emotionally, see rule one). This is not that different than children 'playing pretend', another activity that develops empathy.
So, how can empathy be created in board games? Is a narrative-heavy script required? No. We do not have to copy narrative techniques in plays or books or movies to build emotional responses. Our audience is our actors. Instead of manipulating an actor whose performance manipulates an audience, we are one step closer to our audience. We can manipulate them (semi) directly.
How? Create feelings of imbalance, so the players can't assume their emotional response. Do this by avoiding stereotypes and flipping tropes. Forcing players to play characters they are uncomfortable with will cause players to confront their own biases. This may be difficult in a 'diverse' game if every player is able to choose the character that most closely matches themselves. Design a game about CEOs where every character is a woman, POC, WOC, queer, etc, but try picking just one minority. Then tie that character choice mechanically to gameplay, so that it makes sense and is difficult to retheme. Actions taken by characters should be unexpected but realistic. You will have players that push back on the idea of a game about African American women CEOs. As you get this feedback, you will be able to feel your players try to put your narrative or characters back in the boxes you are trying to free them from. Do not cave and make your game "more believable." My game Deadly Dowagers does this very intentionally. (I don't like using my own WIPs as examples, generally. But I don't think I've played a published game that works as an example.) Every character is a Victorian era woman who is greedy, ambitious, and murderous. None of those adjectives are very 'feminine'. This creates discomfort in my players. Some playtesters try to lessen the feeling by suggesting what 'should' be in the game: balls, fancy clothes, rumors, gossip, etc. Some of those ideas have been implemented to help build the world, but I have pushed back very hard that my characters need to be girlier. Making players comfortable with your theme is not always the goal of a design; often it shouldn't be.
Your game should also have a clear narrative. That narrative must be closely tied to actual gameplay. Imagine explaining Spirit Island without explaining narrative elements. I'm not sure it's possible, but also, why would you? You can explain the rules in a way that tells players why they are playing. Every element of a game should be motivated so that the 'why' is clear. When players know why they are taking actions, they can identify with their character. When the narrative is clear, players can look beyond the narrative to the emotional content. When the narrative is unclear, it is harder to imagine how a character would feel, because you can't tell what their underlying goals are. Narrative does not have to come in the form of a long lore dump. Your rules, mechanics, and art should all come together to paint a singular compelling narrative.
Along the lines of a clear narrative, your theme should be a one sentence story. "Dogs" is not a theme; it is an art suggestion. "Dogs racing to unbury bones" is a theme. "Dogs racing to save humans from a collapsed building" is a theme with strong emotional content. However, a game can create empathy without needing the high drama of "save people from dying". Again, avoiding stereotypes and searching out unexpected stories can create empathy. Presenting low drama themes from unexpected angles can arguably create more empathy than high drama themes. This is because it requires more reflection on who the characters are as people in order to 'buy in' to the narrative. I don't find diversity in a post-apocalyptic setting to be as compelling as diversity in a contemporary or historical one, because we have more assumptions about history than we do about a fictional dystopia.
It should be obvious, but the most productive use of creating empathy is in realistic human characters. I am not convinced that feeling empathy towards rubbery aliens translates to feeling empathy toward minority groups. If your design goal is to create feelings of empathy in your players, your characters need to be human. Your characters should also feel human, while avoiding stereotypes. Ideally, your humans should be interesting in ways that feel 'foreign' to players. Do this by challenging assumptions about what types of humans belong in what types of roles. Need practice? Take a popcorn ensemble movie and list the characters and roles of the main squad, separately. Then shuffle the roles and deal them out to the characters. Now, rewrite the premise to rationalize why the 'tank' is the short, skinny kid. It may not make much sense, but you'll start to see the underlying assumptions made when casting those types of movies, most of which are not written to create empathy.
To summarize, create empathy in games by:
1. Introducing thematic imbalances to push the players out of their comfort zone.
2. Have a clear narrative to explain the 'why' of the game.
3. Have a one sentence theme that combines thematic imbalance and clear narrative.
4. Have human characters.
Note that none of these suggestions involves mechanics that require role-play. Players can identify with their characters and feel for them without having to act them out. Not all players are comfortable with role-playing. Besides, expecting players to do the work of creating empathy on their own is a design cop out. Any game could have spontaneous role-play break out if the character design is interesting enough. If you want to create empathy in your games, focus on what you can control: well-crafted themes, narratives, and characters.
Does having empathy as a designer make designing games that create empathy easier? Probably. For me the key is moving past assumptions of how people should behave and looking at how characters could behave under certain circumstances. That is the essence of theatre.
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