SKAZKA

Video games like Journey (thatgamecompany, 2013), Shadow of the Colossus (Team Ico, 2011), and Undertale (Fox, 2015) have proven that empathetic experiences can be commercially successful, even as academic studies demonstrate how cooperative play increases empathy. In order to explore play and narrative mechanics that foster cooperation and empathy, I created a game design document for my video game, Skazka. Skazka is a two- player cooperative and exploration-based game featuring playable characters Katya, a girl, and Volk, a wolf, as they navigate a fairytale Siberian landscape in search of Katya’s brother. Over the course of their journey, they overcome the beautiful but treacherous terrain and survive encounters with the animal-like lords of the land. Skazka’s design goals are to encourage cooperative problem-solving between players, reward group discovery, and foster empathy between players. Drawing from traditional puzzle and exploration game mechanics as well as cooperative online play, Skazka deemphasizes the precision of movement and actions in favor of communication and coordinated effort between players. The puzzle segments and world exploration are designed to foster cognitive empathy, or
rational understanding of another person’s feelings. The narrative themes of mutual interdependence, loss and grief, and courage in the face of adversity are intended to foster emotional empathy, or emotional understanding of another person’s feelings. As an indie game built on cognitive research, Skazka bridges the gap between commercial design and research related to empathy-building.