Can we support empathy, compassion, and perspective-taking skills through games? Can we solve social problems such as bullying, harassment, & bias through games? General principles related to empathy and perspective-taking: Role-playing or taking on a role Avatar creation and customization Interactions with NPCs (non-player characters) Exploring virtual worlds Communication with others Simulation situations, systems, and trends Deliberation, dialogue and discourse Choices and consequences Reading, evaluating, interpreting, and analyzing information Agency and responsibility Reflective moments

1. Key Takeaways
Empathy, Compassion & Games
Dr. Karen Schrier

2. Book 3: 100
Games for the
Classroom &
Beyond!
Coming out in 1
year
Free books!: google
LEG ETC Press Schrier
Karen Schrier @drgamermom www.karenschrier.com

3. Coming soon:
Using games to
teach ethics and
civics (Oxford
University
Press)
Belfer
Fellow/ADL
Center for
Technology &
Society
Empathy,
XR/Games
Upcoming Research/New Work - 2018-2019

4. Can we support empathy,
compassion, and perspective-
taking skills through games?

5. Can we solve social problems
such as bullying, harassment, &
bias through games?

7. Working with ADL/CTS this year to:
• Create a game design framework &
whitepaper related to identity, bias &
empathy.
• Run an October Game Jam with
Global Game Jam.
SNEAK PEEK!

8. Three Approaches to Designing Games for Identity,
Compassion, and Anti-Bias
*Adapted from the ADL Trainer Guide; the IDJA/Anti-Bias Framework (Southern
Poverty Law Center); Schrier’s EPIC framework (2015); Schrier’s Moral Learning
Framework (2017)

9. 1. Share and reflect on your own identities.

10. 2. Learn about other’s identities and consider how
to represent them in a game.

11. 3. Consider and experiment with other perspectives
and identities.

12. General principles related to empathy and perspective-taking:
• Role-playing or taking on a role
• Avatar creation and customization
• Interactions with NPCs (non-player characters)
• Exploring virtual worlds
• Communication with others
• Simulation situations, systems, and trends
• Deliberation, dialogue and discourse
• Choices and consequences
• Reading, evaluating, interpreting, and analyzing information
• Agency and responsibility
• Reflective moments
*Adapted from Schrier’s (2015) Epic Framework and Farber/Schrier’s UNESCO
paper (2017), “The Limits & Strengths of Games as ‘Empathy Machines’”
See more @drgamermom // www.karenschrier.com //

13. 1. Allow players to reflect on and express their own
identities.

14. 2. Enable players to interact with and experiment
with other identities and perspectives.

15. 3. Help players cultivate awareness of other
cultures and individual and systemic biases.

16. 4. Allow players to negotiate their (and other)
identities and consider other perspectives.

17. Assumption 1. Games/gaming platforms are “real”
communities with evolving, shared norms and
values just like any other group.

18. Assumption 2. The design of the game/community
can shape behavior.

19. Five Takeaways

20. 1. Players may identify more with their avatar, but
empathize more with another character or player, because
they need a little distance to support empathy.

21. 2. If a person over-identifies with their own group (their
in-group) and/or has low self-esteem, perspective-taking
may backfire. Also, this may not work in a highly
competitive or conflict-filled type of game.

22. 3. Make sure that any choices are meaningful--both
to the game, as well as to the player.

23. 4. Games can help players build trust and make
attachments - given the right design and context.

24. 5. Consider when players should feel they have
agency, or control, over their gameplay.

25. Moving forward….

26. How do we better support empathy, compassion,
and cultural humility?

27. What are the specific design principles that inspire
perspective-taking, ethical thinking, trust, identity
reflection, resilience, and care?

28. How do we support greater perspective-taking
through modeling of behavior, dialogue, emotion,
and game design/community design?

29. While still letting people experiment and push the
boundaries of gaming and gaming platforms?

30. Questions?
Contact me about: Games & empathy,
compassions, ethics, perspective-taking, civic
engagement, learning & more!
Dr. Karen Schrier