How Can Videogames Make You a Kinder Person? | Game/Show | PBS Digital Studios
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2015
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Papers, Please opened the player's eyes to the realities of being a border patrol officer, Papo & Yo put players in the shoes of an abused child, and Cart Life put a burden on players to just survive everyday life. These games that try to impart some sort of knowledge of another person's situation are known as Empathy Games, and they may be the future of how we get to know each other. Join Jamin on this week's episode of Game/Show as he discusses how games can generate empathy, and what the future of empathy games look like. Hint: Virtual Reality!
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Not according to most politicians and mothers.
CJ Schlotman It is said that on our current level of technology, we can make AI-s as smart as a cricket. Now, those people are a little below that. Only a little.
Lkcdar Zadix ? O.o
Depression quest. The game that so boring you fall into depression when you play it.
Depression Quest isn't even a game, it's a visual novel. People don't seem to understand the distinction.
"In Depression Quest, you're walled in by, well, depression." No, you're walled in by first world problems while you have a waiting and eager support system. That game is an absolute insult to people who have had actual depression and not just been kinda sad for a little while.
Again, not a game, it' a visual novel!
Joshua Richardson "Visual Novel" implies there's some visual aspect of it. It's basically what DOS adventure games were before they started adding graphics to them.
I feel like this is a bit of a chicken and egg question. I think kind people will respond better to empathy games than unkind people. I do think that empathy games can expand your horizons and awaken kindness towards the subject, but you do have to be predisposed to be taken there first.
kootiepatra It's like arguments and reasoning. They don't work on people who aren't already on your side, but those who are, will have more confidence from them.
I honestly have a hard time swallowing the term "empathy games". I think any game with a well written story that instil that feeling in you, but as a genre of its own? Not really.
That's not to say the games mentioned aren't great games.
Video games definitely DO have the capacity to make you think about your feelings. Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Journey, The Last of Us, Brothers, Papers Please, and This War of Mine, All these games have made me sit back and think about myself, others, and just human emotions in general. This is all thanks to the interactive element of video games.
Sorry, yes, I meant This War of Mine.
***** I feel that they do justify their own genre as we can't really classify them properly otherwise. They are games solely about getting you to empathize. It's like horror games or romance games. Those genres instill feelings but, divert from the traditional objective of games to have you have fun. And you are never going to get empathy from a Mario platformer or an arcadey shooter. And Empathy Games as a genre is different from having empathy in your game like a game can have romance or horror elements but be something else.
PIKMINROCK1 I don't know about half of these but: Shadow of the Colossus is a classic style action/adventure type game (See also: Every Legend of Zelda starting with OoT), The Last of Us is a survival horror/action-adventure(as is the The Walking Dead video game as far as I am aware, though Wikipedia lists it as a Graphic Adventure/Interactive Drama like most of Telltale's other adventure games), and Papers Please is a puzzle/simulation game.
mattwo7 I don't count Shadow of the Colossus nor The Last of Us as empathy games. SotC uses it as a player's motivation and it doesn't really get us to understand anything (which is an important part of empathy). And TLoU doesn't have it bare down you as an empathy game would. Most of the time in TLoU, it's in a cutscene or implication of a scene (like playing as Ellie instead of Joel) rather than the moment to moment gameplay. compared to Telltale's TWD, where every action is a choice of survival and the game delivers you reminders of what you did to understand the gravity of your choices. While core mechanically it's an interactive adventure game, contextualizing it is the mechanic of empathy. All the resident Evil games for instance, are action games by their core mechanics, but you distinct them from Devil May Cry or House of the Dead by the use of various horror elements like limited supplies, rough controls and atmosphere. In Empathy games, empathy is a mechanic of the game
I'm probably shooting myself in the foot by saying this but: Genres aren't just about game mechanics. Games like House of the Dead, Left for Dead The Walking Dead and The Last of Us (which does not have the word "dead" in its name because their zombies are different lol), are all classified as "survival horror" (except maybe House of the Dead because it appears to simply be classified as a rail shooter, but I still think it more or less counts), yet that's not really related to core gameplay mechanics and has more to do with the setting and plot.
Here, Jaymin, is the lasting social impact of your entire series: establishing beyond any reasonable doubt, that games have an effect on our behavior, for good or ill. Watching many of your videos at a time as I have today, it becomes crystal clear that there is no longer an argument to be made that games don't influence us significantly. They might not always, and not for everyone at all times, but let us never again hear the refrain "games have no effect on my beliefs or behavior".
sometimes games are just games
Ioannis Maniatis So we shouldn't think about them or expect more from them? I don't follow.
Sometimes I wonder ... There's always some kind of social issue, for lack of a better word, that people try to push in the gaming industry. I get that games are evolving but sometimes people look to deep.
Ioannis Maniatis why do some people even watch this channel if they don't want to think deeper about the games or media we consume...thats the whole point of it
***** People never look too deep my friend.
Rudy Illuminati Search "Extra Credits art" on RUclips and watch the first video with attention. -The End
I know that this is a bit different, but it relates to the episode where you discuss the fact that we recall what we do in video games as our own personal memories (For instance, I remember that I personally stamped virtual passports in "Papers Please," but I don't think of it as me telling my avatar to do so.).
In certain games, you have to choose the "wrong/immoral" choices to get the full storyline. The game that I'm thinking of in particular is called "Virtue's Last Reward" in which you can only get the true ending when you have gotten all of the bad endings first. Some of these bad endings come about when you betray certain characters. I always regretted betraying one or two of those characters in particular, but I knew that I needed to do it so that I could progress and learn the full story. While I knew that these were fictional people, I expressed and felt sincere regret which I even discussed with other friends who played the game. While I don't expect myself to get into a life or death situation as portrayed in the game, it does make me feel more empathetic as a whole. While it is true that I was mainly feeling empathy toward the virtual characters, I still think back on those decisions and my feelings of regret.
As you pointed out, games can be a space where we feel free to act as we please without any real-world consequences, so we can test out these kinds of moral/immoral choices in virtual comfort.
However, the consequences from our actions may only be virtual, they can still effect our emotions and how we view the world. While these dichotomies in video games may not be as clear cut in the real world, I still feel that they have a bearing on our mental and emotional psyches.
I would say games can make you a kinder person in the same way as thinking about how you would respond to a similar situation to one where a person faces difficulties in their life. I learned a wonderful extension of a common phrase studying counseling; "Walk a mile in their shoes but keep your socks on." Essentially this means you can empathise with a person by considering what it's like for them without it effecting your own full emotional state.
Video games can be a great visual learning aid, however basic they may be, for putting you in a difficult situation where your choices can have noticable and dramatic effects. It was playing depression quest that helped me make the decision to try medication, and it has helped tremendously! So even a point and click text adventure game that wouldn't be out of place on a Windows 98 PC, when well told, can really help illustrate the kind of emotional response a person would have to these difficult scenarios.
I clicked on his video simply because Jorji was in the thumbnail.
"Arstotzka so great, passport not required! Right?"
I remember playing my older brothers version of Tony Hawk Pro Skater 2 and loving Cypress Hills (Rock) Superstar. That was the first time I loved a rap song, being in my angsty indie rock teenager phase. I still think about that level from Tony Hawk every time I hear the song now.
I kind of think Mass Effect, and by extension other Bioware games, might have for me. Or, at least, it made me realize I was better then I thought I was.
bigfatcarp93 I think so too. After playing through all the Mass Effects, I actually thought more about my decisions I have made and will make in the future. On top of that, the dynamics between races like the Salarians and the Krogans or the Humans and the Turians helped me better understand historical events and current events and animosities. With all of that in mind, playing the game how I would react also made me understand what kind of leader I was and the difficulties of being one, and the consequences of my actions and others.
I'm cautious on calling some games empathy games outside of professional and educational settings like police officer training and rehabilitation centers. The reason is that there are many games that help inadvertently drive empathy but the main focus is elsewhere like Mass Effect. Other than that, empathy games as a genre seems more utilitarian than recreational.
Your closing comments framed the basic answer to "Can games make you a kinder person?". Most of the literature on the subject agrees that empathy is not something we can create; rather, empathy is something that we are born with (or without), and either squelch or nourish based on life experiences. When you commented that games and new media can act as a method of bridging the gaps in empathy, you were hitting the nail right on the head.
The way I see it, and the way I interpret modules such as Project Syria or That Dragon, Cancer, is that the goal is not necessarily to make people "more empathetic". Instead, we are attempting to break through our cultural desensitization to more actively share in the collective human experience.
This notion works well with the same conclusions that we as a society have drawn about previous media. We generally accept that books don't "turn people into serial killers", but what they can do is ignite the latent animosity in a person by exposing them to a particularly evocative concept, or forcing them to experience scenarios that they never have before. Similarly, reading the Bible does not magically turn you into a good person, but certain stories can engender a sense of camaraderie and goodwill that translates into real-world actions.
That Dragon, Cancer does not make me a kinder person, but it does allow me to share in another human being's life experience. Similarly, The Walking Dead games do not make me a better or worse person, but they do allow me to experience being a surrogate father figure in a dangerous world-gone-wrong.
tl;dr - No, games cannot make you a kinder person, but they can allow you to more readily tap into your existing kindness.
So,anyone got a favourite empathy game? Mine's "Valiant Hearts:The Great War". Such a good game.
TheIrishninjas I was thinking of that game... so sad
TheIrishninjas I cried so hard at the end of ICO...
TheIrishninjas I'm watching jacksepticeye play that right now. Very emotional game.
TheIrishninjas Probably Actual Sunlight, Gone Home, or both seasons of The Walking Dead Game. Cant choose one. Depression Quest was pretty good too.
TheIrishninjas Papers Please and Transistor both got me good
When I play Fallout, I really struggle when I'm in a position where I have to hurt people. It's so hard for me to play a bad guy because I feel so empty when I kill everyone in GoodSprings. I definitely think video games can bring out empathy in people, but not sure if it can create it.
Looks like Jamin caved in and started wearing lenses in his glasses.
I'm not sure I'm on board with calling "empathy games" a genre, since they are all wildly different, and often have other genres. The aforementioned Depression Quest is a text adventure, This War of Mine is a survival game, and so on. Hell, a lot of the classics such as Final Fantasy VI and Zelda: Majora's Mask could be classified as "empathy games".
Undertale. The answer is yes.
Thanks for the spoiler warning on Brothers. I've been meaning to play that for a while, and would have been really frustrated to know the ending.
In regards to empathy in games, I think the response you're talking about depends on the player as much as the game. Recently I've been watching author, philanthropist and overall amazing human being John Green play through GTA V, and his reaction whenever the game makes him do something ugly is a mixture of shock, disgust and remorse (a response I rarely see from any game, let alone GTA), and it's really fascinating. Watching that kind of empathic response in what's possibly the least empathic game out there is really interesting. (But I do agree with you that having an "empathy game" really helps!)
TheSnappadoo DFTBA good man :3
1234kalmar Likewise. :)
My favorite empathy game is Team Fortress Classic offensive demolition man.
The weapon simply won't hit unless you consider the thoughts and reactions of the other person, because you'll always have to fight at close range.
I can't speak about the Team Fortress 2 demolition man, though. They made pipebombs sticky. I can't stand the sticky ones.
TestNeko I feel you man, I feel you.
I have not heard about this term before but it is definitely something that I would like to see more of to an extent.
What I do like about the idea of empathy games is that someone without experience of a situation would be able to have an impression of what life is like for other people. There's many people in this world that never get the chance to think of others as humans, and instead go through life feeling slighted by everyone they meet. A good empathy story helps in making people less likely to attack another person and continue the usual cycle of violence or harassment. Where as a good heroic story will hopefully get someone to react in a time of need, a good empathy story hopefully keeps that same person on alert to do better for the world.
Anyone interested in this subject should check out GameForChange (youtube channel). They just finished their 2015 conference and have a slew of content on similar topics. You should also check out the topic "Serious Games", which are games designed to make the player aware of some issue.
Frod ruclips.net/user/GamesForChange
Automatic like for Jorji in the thumbnail.
Jorji was my favorite in Papers, Please - I really wanted to help him - and it paid off
I'd like to point out that other games not just empathy games can make us kinder as well. Fighting games actually helped me curb my temper if you can believe it. Not in the way you would think though. They helped me by making me realize I had a problem with my temper in the first place, and helped me train to control it as well.
So far I've only been labeled a sexist, racist, angry and a violent person for only identifying as a gamer. This is prior to conversation, I hate when people generalize gamers as evil.
I think the word that I was looking to hear, but didn't, was "immersion". It's something that many of us crave, whether it be direct or indirect, and it is this facet of gaming that allows for empathy that can be translated into our daily lives.
Like most things, I believe that the empathy we [can] gain from gaming is temporary, but that's because I believe empathy to be temporary, a feeling that occurs in the immediate moment. The more I become immersed in the game, the more likely I am to feel something for the characters, and that will inevitably translate to real life because most people desire a connection to remove the solitude that life tends to offer. It is within this line of thinking that find these new "empathy games" fascinating, because they aren't presenting new ideas, just scenarios the average person will not encounter.
@0:22 Yay! Earthbound!
"For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong".
H. L. Mencken
Michael Jepsen First Mencken comment I've seen! I'm pretty clear at the end of the video that games aren't a cure-all.
I feel that it can influence you and your choices in life, much like any other media, but it can't make you who you are nor make those choices for you. If a person makes a choice in life, that choice can be influenced by any media, but often it only affects that choice because the foundation for how a person feels, about the situation leading to that choice, is already there. It serves as an affirmation of their choices and how they feel about those choices. It isn't often (but not uncommon) that a form of media actually causes someone to make choices that are different than their norm. But of course this leads to the predetermined decision making vs. free will debate and that leads to a whole other discussion.
(Spoilers to Transistor incoming! Go play the hell out of it if you haven't already!)
I got Transistor when it was out for free on PS+ a while back and I think It was one of the strongest hitting "empathy game" I had played in a very long time. I can't recall one time I cried at all from any kind of media (TV, Video games, Books, ect.) at all in my life but The ending of Transistor where you finally hear Red's voice after the entire game of her being silent and only having her lover and the occasional survey machine narrate the character of Red to us just hit me soooooooo hard.
I'm only 16 now, but Iv always had really bad communication issues. Especially with lovers. I'm never able to be completely up front with everything and often feel I don't explain things to the best of my ability. I start rambling and cant find a way to stop myself and If I do manage to catch myself I'll stop and try to make it simpler or just stop talking on a subject altogether hoping they understand what I was talking about.
The only way I felt I could ever explain things correctly or speak my mind to a person is though texts and whenever I interacted with one of the survey machines in game I connected this with how I learned to communicate things with people if I lacked the courage to do it in person.
Red's lover also communicated with me who I think the perfect person for me would be. Somebody that knows you so well you don't need to speak. They could tell just by watching what you do what your trying to say (Pretty unrealistic but hey a guy can dream I guess). So when the ending came and we got that simple exchange of Hi's from both of the characters I got the connection of "That was me, finally being able to say what I wan't to say upfront to a person." Something as simple as 'Hi' was enough to make that connection for me and I walked away with a huge smile on my face and all teary eyed.
A little thought on the term 'Empathy Games' too...
I don't think the games you gave as examples were enough to classify them into this new genera. If anything and 'Empathy Game', I think, should be a Sub-genera.
I mean for a game like "Brothers" I originally classified it as a puzzle game. The story was a big part of the game sure but when it comes down to game play its a puzzle game though and through. Another example would be the one I just made which is Transistor which I believe to be more of an RTS opposed to any other genera.
I think the closest you could get to a pure 'Empathy Game', from what I can think of, would be something like Heavy Rain or The Walking Dead games as they are very cinematic games with a tragic story's and you can't really classify them with any genera of game we can think of such as an RTS, FPS, Plat-former, Puzzle, Ect.
all this empathy stuff is difficult for me because of my asperger's syndrome but to think that video games could help me with that is so cool
thedoctorsassistant1 That's a great point! And I'm glad you see the value.
I think that Mother 3 definitely made me kinder. And it made me cry. A lot.
It might also deal with the fact that nowadays, as people tend to develop more anti-social syndromes and do not mingle with one another, giving some more introvert players a possibility of experiencing feelings or, as you mentioned - choices, they may be uncommon with, expands their spectra of perceiving. The more feelings people are familiar with, the more they can further express in their lives.
So yes - I'd say by broadening emotional horizons, games really can make you a kinder person.
I didn't realize that the genre Empathy Games had a name, but I'm a big fan of them!
Depending on the message the game portrays perhaps.
One thing I noticed about video game empathy adventures is the limitation of the narrative; while you experience real feelings attached to the situation, your choices are limited by game design and implied, rather than felt, restrictions. I feel this is far more pronounce in video games compared to other narratives, mainly because in a video game I'm given 'choice' (or at least the illusion of it) and ownership over it.
Depression quest is a good example of this; I love this game as an experiment but the limitations of the process don't reflect my real life experiences and feelings around depression/medication/support/success. I still think its a awesome game, just limited by the uniqueness of human experience.
Huge thanks for the spoiler alert for Brothers! That's one of those games that has eluded me so far, but that I'd still like to sit down and play.
Great video as always Jamin!!!
The thing is, is that one can never be turned into physco killer. You have to be born a certain way. The likely hood of a video game teaching someone to be violent is extremely thin. This kind of behavior is never taught. But one can gain a greater sense of empathy through experiences and can be taught. We've heard of life changing stories of people changing for the better. Empathy games have a great chance to let others experience something or make choices one wouldn't normally have to make. Human emotion is a powerful thing and we learn through them.
In violent games, usually there is no empathy parts to it. There isn't any real consequences and you just progress through the game. So there really isn't any 'teaching' mechanism to it. It's just in your face, wow factor. Empathy games or any other kind of games where the plot just grabs your feels in a kung fu grip, makes us feel something that will continue to linger inside of ourselves. It makes us think, it makes us feel something, it makes us search ourselves for the right choices to make. It's harder than shooting a guy and stealing his car in other video games.
As several people have brought up games that elicited strong emotional responses, I want to mention one that hit me pretty hard:
Pokemon. Mystery. Dungeon. Explorers of Sky.
Michael Carr Cool!
Studies consistently show that violent video games do not make people violent. It is logical to assume that a similar effect applies to all games. To discard and uphold the influence of games where it suits us does not make sense. It is also worth considering that game may favour and reward certain behaviours (such as who will go with Lee to rescue Clementine in Telltale's The Walking Dead). This is more likely to cause the player to perform to achieve benefits from the game, without exactly exhibiting these behaviours outside of their gaming avatar.
Games in general can be used to make you a kinder person the same way they can be used to make you more aggressive; by rewarding the desired behavior. The catch is that being a kinder person doesn't mean that you will do nice things much in the same way that being more aggressive doesn't mean that you will do violent things.
jinnd319 100%
Your first VR example is really weird that's still just observing in the end.
I've been thinking about making a game in this genre. About a video game shop that's trying to stay open.
I totally agree with this: playing such a human post-apocalyptic survival scenario - especially with a character like Chuck - in 'The Walking Dead' I felt gave me a much better appreciation for what it's like to be homeless. Ever since then, I've bought and cooked food for homeless people quite often and just talked to them about their life an awful lot more. I just realised that survival in that game must be quite similar to survival as a homeless person. Struggling for food - especially the right kind of nutritious, caloric food - and medicines and oral hygiene and a safe place to sleep, all without the mod cons that are so easy to take for granted, like hot running water, internet or cars. Actually, that about a safe place to sleep is the thing that I get told most often by the people I speak to that they want the most. I've heard stories of people literally being attacked on the street just because they were asleep there.
DSfan81 !!!
I feel games can make you a kinder person! I think it's a bit hard when many of the titles that do teach empathy are small indie titles not widely know. I believe more "triple A" games should adopt the idea of empathy. A young child playing the newest Call of Duty game or some other shooter with a complex protagonist going through turmoil could be very beneficial for someone learning empathy.
I probably don't know what I'm talking about XD
Well, with most games being fiction in general, you can empathize with characters on larger AAA titles as well, the same observant way one empathizes with characters in a book, movie, or tv show.
How many of the test subjects showed little capacity for empathy before the VR simulations but gained more afterword? Because that's the most important data...
On VR I think the other thing it can bring is the sense of scale. Even though the hardware might have to graphically output lower fidelity for the sake of two screens, seeing the colosseum in scale for example trumps the graphical downgrade.
hey, love your videos :) i was wondering, what is the name of the phone game app he talks about in the first 15 seconds of the video? the one where he has to take care of a bunch of cats. the game looks really cute and i really wanna play it :)
Kid Icarus turned me into an Angel :D
About the music, my nieces refer to Radiohead's Amenesiac as my Final Fantasy Tactics music, as well as Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits being River City Ransom music.
If you're saying that empathy = kindness, then yes. But empathy does not necessarily make us kinder. It does, however, make us less judgmental of others.
When I play Papers Please, I try to get all the endings. When I played to get the ending where you kill your family, I remember feeling this huge, horrible guilt about doing so. There is something to the idea of games and empathy, but it has to be a personal experience.
Very interresting video- the problem is, that it works also the other way around. Shooters are increasing your feelings of aggression and stuff. I was just recently playing a VR shooter and i just found it to be too real and it raised my concern about how it will have bad emotional effects in the long run on the psyche.
Is there a good resource for finding Empathy Games?
I'm in the middle of a new year's resolution to play as many games as possible without killing, so it'd be a lot of help I think.
Sadly it's not a common enough short hand for a solid list to come up in a google search, or at least that was the case when I tried
Currently I'm playing Life is Strange and I noticed something interesting I am doing with the protag . Prior to playing this game I had already learned through gif sets on tumblr that (SPOILER) the main protag Max and her reconnected friend Chloe somehow end up in a relationship. Despite the fact that I do not like Chloe the fact that I know of the relationship has changed the choices I make for Max and those actions I make more of a logical foundation for the relationship (such as taking responsibility for the pot found in Chloe's room). I know these choices are something I would probably make differently if I did not know about the relationship. I am empathizing with Max and her eventual relationship despite not liking Chloe as a person.
I think that this mostly boils down to a situation of people interpreting the art they consume. If we are to say that video games, or other forms of interactive multimedia, are art, then it can be assumed that that art will leave an impression. Such an impression is usually largely influenced by the authorial intent of the works creator, but always subject to its audience. Much in the same way a good hip-hop album may make a listener more empathetic to the struggles of the impoverished people in urban communities, interactive media can help draw strong lines of empathy to whatever the thesis of the work is.
I think games have the ability to effect our behaviors regardless. Be it making us kinder or other things... For example. I've been binge playing GTA 5 since it came out and I recently took a break after I was going for a walk and saw a truck driving towards me and immediately wondered if they were going to start shooting at me.
Playing the game had certainly taught me that vehicles driving towards me will likely shoot at me and I had adjusted my behavior or at least the way I thought about people in cars.
I think if I played Hatred, that game would make me more of a kinder person than before.
I would also like to know what the cat owner game in the beginning is..
Totalbiscuit recently made a video about how the violence in "Hatred" had no emotional effect on him while the violence in games like "Spec-Ops: The Line" did. The way he views it is that "Spec-Ops" provides the player with a rich narrative which focused on the players moral choices. Meanwhile "Hatred" didn't have a rich narrative and treated the NPCs as just obstacles which stand between the player and a simple goal.
In most of the examples provided above that focus on empathy building exercises, but whether those types of game translate into actual actions I believe have as much validity as the "violent games = violent people" arguments. We might see a momentary increase in empathetic attitudes then a return to normalcy. If you wish to see a game which actually encourages kind behavior, you would need a game in which the action is specific end state. A game where the actions of the player have impact not in some virtual reality, but in actual reality. "Fold@Home" is a possible example as the player is donating their time and labor to advancing real world genetic research, research which may one day save people's lives. "Kiva.org," a peer-to-peer micro-finance lender which allows people with money lend to entrepreneurs in poorer regions, have implemented a game-like user interface where individual users or groups can compete against one another to see who is the biggest lender.
RaySquirrel I'm pretty clear at the end of the video, that games aren't a cure-all and in fact, I'm pretty clear that if games can make you kinder, then we need to be mindful that we don't push people in the other direction. The key difference with violence vs empathy is that violence is not something you have an opportunity to pursue on a daily basis whereas empathy is.
My favorite empathy game is a tie between Mortal Kombat X and Grand Theft Auto V
Witcher 3 is an empathy game for me. I keep telling people to keep their crowns.
Make enough off the loot I grab off monsters and whatnot.
I think in most cases games can just bring out and facilitate who we are as people, not create new personalities. However, I think games (as in most story mediums) can help us see things in ourselves that we otherwise might not have looked for. Interesting topic, I enjoyed the video.
I fully agree that games can make a person more empathetic, especially the newer games that are created specifically for that purpose. I find Jamin's argument particularly compelling, but not necessarily for the reasons he intended. As he said in the end of the video, the sword has two edges.
We (people who play a lot of games) all know that video games can have a major positive effect on players. They can teach us organization, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, persistence, and fruit-cutting skills. It seems that, in a rush to defend our subculture, we often choose to ignore any possible downside to games beyond the irrefutable and uncommon ones such as obesity, social withdrawal, and basement residence.
Like most rational people, I don't believe that video games cause violence. However, I also don't believe that they have no serious effect on players. Everything Jamin says about the potential social and emotional benefits games can bring applies 100% as well for the inverse argument. Video games don't cause violence any more than tv commercials made people buy cigarettes, but we still banned cigarette ads on tv. Why? Not because people are being mind-controlled They Live style into unhealthy consumption. We as a society just decided that tobacco companies need to have their influence limited.
I'm definitely not calling for banning of anything. There are lots of things I wish didn't exist, but whose right to exist I recognize. Even the things I find most reprehensible, like hardcore porn, depictions of graphic sadistic violence, and reality shows where rich women throw glasses of wine at each other all have a place in a society where adults make their own decisions about what media they consume. Likewise, that freedom brings responsibilities. We each have to consider what sorts of media are best for us, not just which are most enjoyable. Developers also need to consider the impact of their work. They shouldn't self-censor, really, just think about what kind of art they want to create and what kind of impact they want that art to have on the world. Quentin Tarantino, famous for incredibly detailed and prolonged violence in his films, said he cut part of a scene in Django Unchained because it was just too disturbing . He said he wanted to be true to the subject, but that he didn't want to keep people from sleeping at night. Even the most free of artists can be aware of his social responsibility.
I love the idea of video games being created specifically to have a positive effect on the emotional development of players. I feel like the medium I have loved my whole life is starting to grow up and will soon take its place alongside older artforms. But as another commenter said, we can't have it both ways. Either games have potentially both a positive and negative effect or they have neither.
whats that cat game in the beginning called?
I think there are games like Brothers which can evoke empathy and/or feelings in you besides joy or accomplishment - like certain books or movies can. But they do not have to. Mass Effect, Telltales Walking Dead and others had some choices that made me empathetic with the characters and their fate and also made me think about "how would I have reacted? Would I be able to make such a choice in real life?". So for me this is possible but I also am happy that there are games that work around mechanics rather than story telling,
I think you should've touched more on interactivity in games. That's where games can differentiate themselves from other mediums. It makes a huge difference wether you're the one getting to make them, makes you feel responsible for the results.
Missing that in your video.
Of course. Didn't even need the tech. Simply giving a novice new weapons in an mmo or trading/giving extra cards in a card game are prime examples. I feel simulations may help too, like how you don't want to fail someone you care about
What game is that at 2:47?
***** It's not out yet! :)
Spec Ops The Line will make you think about all the killing you've done
6:47 Umm no actually the BGM of Hyrule Field doesn't go at random, there are certain triggers, such as the time of day system and when you talk to Kaepora Gaebora.
Nah, he's right. I just submitted a paper on this today. It was 8 though, not 12. Kondo said that it was upon re-entering the field from a separate area that it would switch up.
Games are a form of Play. Media like games, introduce the player to an environment where they may have the opportunity to empathize with the characters. The game may guide the player (in either direction), but it's ultimately the player's choice on how they participate. In this way the player can learn to change their outlook (positive or negative).
Because games are designed after life, most games teach the player to positively. You take a game like Grand Theft Auto, and to the layman you would think it's a morally bad game. The reality is the opposite. It let's player loose in an environment where they can do whatever, where the consequences are modeled after real life (to a lesser extent, it is a form of play after all). The game will also force the player to do morally bad things, this provides an opportunity for the player to test their empathy in a safe way (similar to a book or movie, but the potential to have more impact). And when I say test I mean to test the player's feelings in completing the act, and not to see if the player would go through with it. ...Just don't think you can take a stripper home, that's the only illogical exception the game teaches.
I believe the whole double edged sword thing is why I feel so wary of news on the game Hatred. Unlike GTA which largely could influence you to drive safely and is satirical, Hatred is actually putting you in the position and telling you to kill innocent people.
And I would say that living the lives of other people has made me empathetic to others, and I think it can fall into the idea of choice. Some people do not have a choice, but in many cases I can have the choice to actively do things better for others. I also want to mention that I have been playing a visual novel lately called Katawa Shoujo, where the heroines suffer from various disabilities, given me some interesting insight into how one might act around people like that.
Ultima Underworld/Underworld 2 and Weezer - Pinkerton are irrevocably linked in my mind, because I played through those games while playing Pinkerton on endless repeat...
Kazriko Redclaw Pinkerton could be every soundtrack as far as I'm concerned.
I always wondered about Papo y Yo why the title is in Spanish when it takes place in Brazil... maybe 'Papo e Eu' doesn't have the same ring to it.
What game is it at 0:48
Lisastacy99coolios Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons!
really appreciated that spoiler alert, more videos should take care to do that
Alex Bees Generally, I don't care about spoilers, but this time it was warranted........
Yo, next time you have a spoiler you should link to the point in the video where it's over
Worsey Worsey Sigh, I know.... good point!
Wow, you actually put lenses in your frames.
Kalkbrenner no more squints
I think questions like these are best addressed through a rhetorical perspective. Games don't just make you be in the role of someone else, they make arguments about the systems and events depicted therein. In Every Day the Same Dream, you take control of a dude going to work, and the argument about the system depicted is conveyed through mechanics and aesthetics, while Depression Quest makes arguments about depression through the story and limiting your choices. These arguments can lead to empathy and, ultimately, to people being better human beings, but as with all persuasive communication it depends on how predisposed the audience is to accept the type of claims being made. Just like, for example, someone who has accepted as core belief that global warming is a hoax will never accept scientific studies showing that it's real. Likewise, someone whose opinion has been made up on immigration is unlikely to be persuaded to change their perspective by Papers Please.
So can games make us better people? I would say that's a qualified yes. (Yes but only sometimes and it depends)
To paraphrase a quote from the Nostalgia Critic: " When you think a video game can benefit you let it, if not let it just be a game.
TheChaosStormBringer I don't think I follow?
Well when this type of question is asked the most often response I see is "But it's just a game." So while the Quote originally refers to movies it can apply to all mediums as well. That being that all fictional work has the potential to benefit in some why if your open to it if you think it can harm you just let it be a fictional work and put it aside.
Also upon thinking about it the question shouldn't be can video games benefit us, it's can they benefit us more then say books or movies?
I'm in desperate need of the video where you said games offer power, autonomy, group play, and progression. I am writing an article about creativity in game design and would like to cite that quote. Thanks!
EDIT: I've been through all of my watched videos according to youtube and I can't find it. It's now 1AM so I'm calling it quits which is why I'm pleading.
Lord Farqwhad I think it's this one: ruclips.net/video/cu-Yrqcq3Ps/видео.html "The feeling of competence and power through skill-building, maintaining autonomy, and being important to other people."
Thank you!
If flying an aircraft in gta 5 ends in being called even mlg insult in the book? Then no.
>Aphex Twin while playing Tony Hawk games
As much as I love Aphex Twin that seems weird since the skate/pop punk soundtracks complemented the gameplay of all the games.
the idea that videos can alter behavior in a stable person is an argument i'll always be rather dismissive of, it can at best give someone something to think about but suggesting that there is a causation going on is just to much for me to buy into.
Is that a Bowser parody of Uncle Sam in the background?
What's the game used at 1:55?
ParaVet Heavy Rain!
Thank you.
lol depression quest. Thats a slideshow not a game, silly.
Its about the social justice narrative. Not gaming. He doesn't care.
worldlystone
He's also Sarkeesian's shill, so I'm not surprised.
Prot07ype he's also in with Leigh Alexander and ben from polygon.
Why are you people even here? Go back to KotakuInAction or /v/ or whatever.
Rauron I don't stay in a hug box kid. I go where the action is.
What's the name of the Cat owner game?
All of these games already have generas, some of them have two. They don't need another.
I believe that games can change ones view on a subject and if you are exposed to it more than once, you will begin to think about it, but then again, there are people who are just too stuborn or stupid to realize how the real world is and would deny any chance of an experience where you see the life through another persons eyes.
Similar to some other people in the comments, I'm not entirely sold on the idea of, "Empathy Games," as a genre. Empathy is something that you get out of a work and the word doesn't really function as a way to categorize types of works in any medium. I'm fine with games that try to elicit empathy, but using the term as a genre classification seems inappropriate.
Although this does remind me that I've never quite been satisfied with how video game genres are classified. A lot of video game genres are focused around the most prominent mechanics certain games use, such as jumping from platform to platform and using guns to shoot enemies from fixed perspectives. However, the genre classifications as they stand now don't describe anything about the tone of a game or the tropes of any of its other elements. I can describe both Dark Souls and Kingdom Hearts as ARPGs, but they're vastly different games when you get down to it. The same applies for Serious Sam and Crysis. I don't know if we need to reinvent the wheel or just use more adjectives, but the video game genre classifications don't work 100% of the time.
Okay, 3 seconds in and I already have an opinion. Video games can in fact give a greater sense of empathy towards others. Both utsuge and nakige, for example, are game genres that make use of a lot of depressing elements that give some sense of empathy. Although I do admit that some will argue that many of those are not games, I still say they are. Some may also argue whether or not depressing elements can cause empathy, seeing how we all don't react the same to an experience. I say we all don't react because of what I learned in regards to the Structural Differential.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. The heroes fight, defeat the bad guys, but die in the process. Due to their death, they leave friends and family without their loved ones. Although the expected reaction would be sorrow, some may also feel anger because the heroes died, respect because they fought bravely before dieing, or indifference if they didn't care about the story and/or characters.
As for the second part to this, and your opening question. Again, I believe this is based upon the individual. If none of these aspects effect you, you're not likely to be a kinder person. However, if the fictional work does effect you, more notably on a personal level, then it can make you a kinder person.
All in all, it is a matter of how the fictional work conveys what it attempts and how the individual reacts to what is conveyed. If I have more, I will say more.
Yeah, I have nothing else to say in regards to this week. As for last week, I'm still a bit disappointed. Someone actually made mention of music theory, which I think applies very much to last week's subject. Well, that's pretty much all I have to say for now.
i guess it really depends on the type of games the person plays. if the person plays a more competitive kind of game then there is a chance that that person might end up becoming more aggressive. but if they play games like empathy games then well they are basically going to develop more empathy (be kinder to others). the types of games you play basically show the type of person you are to some extent and would probably effect how you would be in the future ( if you don't change). but then again this is just my opinion on this. and there is more research that needs to be done on the topic of gaming.
I whished these kinds of games were more popular. The problem is that not many people just play a game with the idea of emphatizing with other people. People play games to have fun. Therefore it would be nice if many of these emphaty games could combine some "fun elements" in them, so that they could reach more people. Or the opposite, that just for fun games included some emphaty elements, would also be nice.
carlos faurby But they can be both, right? I "enjoy" Papers, Please in a way but it also asks some hard questions. Fun is a tough word because it implies having a good time. But games aren't about that anyway. We fail and that's frustrating. Hardly fun. So empathy games will only work if they're good *games* first and foremost.
PBS Game/Show
they can certainly be both. What I meant was that these games need some elements that are more "atractive" to the broader publicum. I don't really know if that is possible, or if that would spoil the game, I just think that it would be nice if more people got into these kinds of games.
I believe so. Because when i play games, where i can make decisions, like to kill civilians in gta, i try not to, or be a brave hero who helps people for whatever the case, because i'm not afraid to die if i make a wrong step. In real life i wouldn't try to protect someone if it would mean my death.
I don't think just Empathy Games have the possibility of making people kinder. Sometimes I'll be playing GTA V and i'll get hit with a wave of empathy. For example if I steal a car that's similar to my grandmothers car and i pull and old lay out of the drivers seat, it makes me wonder if that really did happen to my grandmother.
no games make me stay up all night and then im grumpy, also if im in game and people talk to me i respond terribly :P
+Jack Kierath
like when i was playing emily is away. nice empathy, when i realised i couldnt get emily i literally just screwed up everyone elses chance lol.
Game Spoilers. Hopefully they are below the post more
I think it really depends on the willingness of the participant to see an changed perception of feelings. For instance in the Papers Please game, you have dozens of outcomes dependent on how you interact with the characters and you're choices of either allowing, stoping, or detaining people. Many people like Nialsey of the Yogscast has played the game multiple times to get different outcomes and see the interactions, ranging from True Neutral, to Chaotic Evil, and to Benolvant Good. This doesn't necessarily change how you interact with the world, but the true test is seeing the reactions for the first time. Seeing a person react to hard and very jarring experiences like in Presentable Liberty with the suicide of Charlotte being able to have people interact with seeing that a person you spent the game getting to know killed herself because of her isolation from you, the player. You also saw this when they showed Pewdipie crying when Clementine having to kill Lee during his Telltale's The Walking Dead playthrough. However, not everyone is willing to be as moved as others. You see this when people do not cry with emotional movies like Forrest Gump, Titanic, or other pieces of media like that.