Games have a really big influence on people especially if they are created nicely and every aspect and detail of the game is thought about some games you play have a really strong impact on you and some of them you don’t really remember because there isn’t anything memorable happening that will make you remember it and differentiate it from the rest. The games i picked to do this reflection are all very different from each other in themes, ideas and also game design some are more successful in some aspects because they are more memorable and impactful 

• Empathy toy (in class) 

The empathy toy was a game we played in class that was memorable to me because it was interactive and required us to be hands on and create things with our hands and it was fun to play. Unlike some of the other games like the board games (EX: sucrose) where you have instructions and questions to follow. This game on the other hand you have more freedom to create and it requires you to actively participate and play close attention to details and it helps you improve your descriptive skills. 

One thing i really liked about this game is that you either get a chance to build the object and describe it to the other person, or be the person building based on the descriptions made or just watch both and see how difficult it is to watch something do something wrong without being able to help and see how much a good description and communication really matters in this game. 

The game made me pay really close attention to details such as the patterns and designs 

on the blocks which made the game more interesting and descriptive and would help the person building describe the objects to the other person since they can’t see. I had to really focus on describing what I feel in detail since both players can’t see. The “sense” we use the most is sight and without it sometimes everything feels hard and that’s why we need to improve things like communication and descriptive skills. 

Another thing that I found super interesting is how the game made me feel more aware of understanding things from another person’s perspective. And how even if two people are doing the same activity they could interpret it in different ways and think in different ways. They might describe and understand things very differently from you. That’s why you need to ask straightforward questions and be patient and listen very carefully. 

I also realised that we overly depend on some senses like our sight and we overlook some details. Also it showed me how communication is not easy and sometimes we could describe things in a way that the other person could understand differently from the way we intended

  What I would improve is making the game more interesting and challenging by adding more pieces and blocks that have more details and designs to make it more fun and descriptive. 

• Bury me my love (professional)

Link: Bury me, my love 

This game was really interesting and fun to play. It was super interactive and the game design was really good. I loved how realistic it was in a sense but still had its own unique design and cartoonish aesthetic. It was really creative, emotional and suspenseful. Also a detail that made it really personal to me was that the characters name was Nour so it made me feel extra connected to the story and made it so much more personal since i hear about stories similar to this all the time. 

The games design was really well made, the interactions, text messages, images etc.. were super realistic in a good way. It felt like a real life conversation between two people. The use of messages, voice notes, images etc.. made the experience feel super realistic and made the game more fun and interactive. The overall atmosphere and aesthetic of the game felt really realistic and felt connected to reality. This made the game and the story easier to follow and I felt like I was a part of the conversation rather than just playing a normal game. 

The game was also really suspenseful, like when the text messages would stop or the typing would be longer. I would be curious about what was going to happen next and how my choices affected the story and the outcomes. 

What I learned from this game was understanding the difficulties refugees face, the constant fear, suspense and uncertainty they were living in and how that affected their everyday life and their choices. The most powerful aspect of the game is that many of the outcomes are very tragic which nour does not survive. This shows us how difficult their lives are and that most of them do not survive. 

I also learned that some games show real life world issues that are really harsh in a very powerful way. But the way the game was created and designed allowed people to experience living in their world and experiencing the struggles and makes it feel super personal and allows us to feel empathy. 

There aren’t a lot of things I would change since I really liked the way the game was created and designed and i wouldnt change anything in the storyline or the main concept. But what I think would make the game even better is including a better personal storyline for the characters and understanding who they are etc.. to make the game feel even more personal and be more impactful. It would be very interesting if you could experience even more of the characters feelings and inner thoughts as well. EX: adding thoughts, inner dialogue and a preview of the characters personalities, lives etc.. will make us experience a more emotional side of the game

Overall this game was one of the most memorable games i played and the one i enjoyed the most since it was fun interactive but also impactful. Because of its suspenseful storytelling and design, it showed how a successful game doesn’t have to include rules and things such as points etc.. to keep a person interested in it

• Skills practice: A Home Visit (professional)

Link: Skills Practice: A Home Visit

A home visit was also a game that I thought was really good overall. It was really interesting and interactive since it included different outcomes and has many options to choose from. Its different from the other games and stuck out to me since its different videos that you watch from your perspective as if you’re living inside the game and experiencing everything from your own point of view. 

The game allowed me to make decisions and interact with the situation and it was very detailed and realistic as well.i liked how i felt involved  What I enjoyed the most about this game was that it was different than all of the other games since it included photos and videos and i felt like i was involved in the situations and they felt really nerve wrecking and suspenseful and it made me feel as if i’m actually the medical worker trying to help the woman suffering. 

What i learned from this game is that the way we communicate makes a difference in how other people understand us and interact with us and what we say can either make people open up to us and be comfortable and trust us or we could give them a negative impression based on how we say things and how we interact in different situations. I also noticed that in the game every action and choice has a consequence and you have to listen very carefully to the video and pay close attention in order to choose the right answer which made me think carefully before choosing any response.

What I would change about this game is to make all of the choices have different outcomes and not just have a right or wrong answer. It was really frustrating when you would pick a “wrong” answer and you’d have to rewatch the video and re-pick your answer till you get the “correct” one and I think it would be so much more fun and interesting if all of them just lead to different outcomes and live through the different scenarios. 

• Orphans and society (student)

Link: Orphans and Society (2022) by Joe

The Orphans and society game shows the experiences of orphans and the way society treats them and how they feel and their personal experiences. It shows us the difficulties that they face in their everyday lives and how people’s actions and words could really heavily impact and affect their lives. 

It gives you options and it puts the players in the position of orphans and asks them to make decisions in different situations and conversations with people. Each scenario has a problem and the players have several choices to pick from and all of the outcomes of the answers are included and the different choices have different outcomes and reactions. 

For example: one scenario that stuck out to me was the use of the word “mallga” when people are referring to orphanages. The players have to experience the different scenarios and also decide whether to correct people using this word or not and the different results and outcomes that comes with that. Also another scenario where there was an activity in school where they had to write about their mothers which is a very hard situation to be put in as an orphan who grew up in an orphanage. There are also other scenarios that include things such as trust, identity and being treated badly or unfairly. 

I liked how the game was super interactive and the decisions you made affected what happened next and it made me think about how I would feel if I was living in these different situations and experiencing all of these problems. The scenarios about identity were really interesting. For example the scenario about mothers day shows how a normal activity made them feel excluded and left out and how hiding emotions and real identity makes them feel lonely and unseen. 

What I learned was that the game made me think about how important it is to think about other people’s lives and think about all their circumstances before making assumptions about them and judging them. I also learned that people face challenges that aren’t always visible to other people. Something that could be very small and normal for someone could be something really big and impactful for someone else like questions about family and personal questions. 

What I would improve in this game would be that I would include different perspectives to every situation to make it more detailed and realistic. And also at the end of each question or scenario they should include a small paragraph or reflection on explaining all the results and consequences of the choices and which is the best outcome etc.. which could make the overall message even stronger. But overall i think that the game is very affecting and it raises awareness about the experiences that orphans face throughout their lives and it allows us to think before we make any assumptions about anyone because you don’t know what anyone is going through

• Gender inequality (student) 

link: Gender Equality (Mohamed and Fatma, 2017)

This game is an interactive game that shows the expectations of society on women especially (in Egypt) through different stages of their lives. The game shows different situations in which the players have to make decisions while they face a lot of pressure from family, misogyny and social expectations. 

One scenario shows how in the girl’s sophomore year of college when she was 19 years old she was talking about her future plans and her social life and the mother started to discuss marriage and finding her a husband while she is still young and in college and still has things to do like graduate and find a job etc.. The player has to pick whether they should follow the traditional rules or pave their own path and focus on her studies. 

The scenarios include gender stereotypes even during childhood where the father tells the young girl that this game is not suitable for girls and it is made for boys

What i liked about the game is that it is very interesting and it shows really realistic situations that happens to a lot of girls in Egypt where they face pressure from their families and society to behave and do certain things because thats what is “appropriate” and what i learned from the game is that gender inequality can be shown through small interactions and comments that influence a woman’s decisions that have a major impact on her life. And that every woman should have the freedom to do what she wants and to not be affected by society and “traditional” values and ideas if she doesn’t believe in them. 

What I would improve is the design of the game, the aesthetic and the design could be improved and making it more interactive and having more options and responses to choose from and including different storylines as well would be interesting to see. And also including some choices that would lead to more positive outcomes like choices that would convince the parents of something beyond their traditional views and encourage respect, independence and fairness. 

Comparison 

After playing all of the games I noticed some details that were more successful in some games that made them more memorable and interesting to play. Even though they have different themes and designs they all include the players in the game and make them experience the stories in an engaging way. 

The empathy toy is the one that was different from the rest because it’s a physical game and its hands on and it involved communication, interaction and teamwork. Which is what I loved the most about the game. 

Bury me my love and house visit are very similar because they are both digital storytelling games that aim to make the players feel like they actually are experiencing what’s happening in the games through the eyes of the characters which makes it more impactful. Bury me my love showed this through text messages while a home visit did that through real life videos (acting) which made it feel extremely real. They are very similar but use different ideas to portray different messages and situations

Also both of those games were very successful in making the choices have outcomes that could differ based on what you pick and could change the results of the game. Which is something that I would improve in the student games which is the game design (interactivity) and also adding more consequences and responses. Both the student games were also very similar; they had the same format and idea of scenarios and situations and different choices to choose from. The way of the storytelling that’s used in the game bury me my love could make the games feel more real and suspenseful.

My own game idea: Through their lens 

After playing all of the games I thought of an idea for a game I could create that’s called through their lens. The main purpose of the game is to teach people how to understand different peoples experiences through their own eyes and perspectives in order to develop empathy. 

You would have a bunch of different characters to pick from and you get to live through their point of view and experience their everyday lives. I would include a wide variety of characters with different backgrounds, ethnicities, religion etc.. to give people options to learn about different people and live in their shoes. The players would experience different situations through different characters and they would have to make choices that will affect the overall results of the game, the relationships and the endings. 

The main idea of the game is to understand other peoples experiences because its very important and helps develop empathy. My goal is that the players would finish the game with a completely different perspective and try to eliminate any bias that they had about any of the characters before playing. I would pick a specific location/ place that all the characters would be experiencing and living in. such as a country, place like school, college, workplace etc.. to make it more focussed.