Interactive Empathy
- December 4, 2020
- Animafest Workshop 2019
Get on SteamTwo small experimental games made as part of a one-week game workshop in Zagreb, Croatia, as part of a project called "Interactive Empathy - Citizenship & Storytelling in Video Games". Inside is also a documentary video about the workshop, as well as a booklet about the whole project. Games available in: - English - French - German The participants of the workshop we…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game presents an interesting concept and has a psychological-driven narrative that can be engaging.
- It offers a unique experience that can be educational and thought-provoking, especially in its exploration of empathy.
- For a game jam project, it shows potential and creativity despite its limitations.
- The technical quality is very low, with issues such as hard-to-read text, bugs, and poor audio-visual presentation.
- Gameplay is confusing and lacks depth, making it feel more like an experiment than a fully realized game.
- The overall experience is short and can be frustrating due to bugs and a lack of clear direction.
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The story is described as confusing and minimal, serving primarily as a plot device to illustrate the passage of time and the theme of empathy. While the surreal nature of the narrative may be intentional, it leaves players guessing about the overall meaning and context.
“The story is an interesting experience, even if there isn't much going on in terms of gameplay.”
“The surreal nature of the narrative seems intentional, using the limited story as a plot device to illustrate a progression of time through acts of empathy.”
“Story-wise, there isn't much going on, and there really isn't too much gameplay, but it's an interesting experience.”
“In any case, it's quite a confusing story overall.”
“I can really only guess what's going on, but being so surreal is probably the goal. The limited story serves more as a plot device to show a progression of time between acting with empathy.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The music in the game is sparse, with some areas featuring only brief loops that can feel repetitive due to their short duration.
“The music is only present in certain areas, and the loops are often too short.”
“The soundtrack feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it easy to get tired of it quickly.”
“The background music doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- gameplay1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The gameplay is noted to be minimal and lacks depth in terms of story, yet it still offers an intriguing experience for players.
- graphics1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users reported issues with the graphics, particularly noting that switching from fullscreen to windowed mode was cumbersome and resulted in graphical glitches.
“Lastly, switching from fullscreen to windowed took several clicks, and then the graphics broke.”
“The character models look outdated and lack detail, making the game feel less immersive.”
“The textures are low resolution, which detracts from the overall visual experience.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is criticized for being buggy, with issues such as excessive white spaces and text being cut off, which detracts from the overall user experience.
“The PDF itself is pretty buggy, with a lot of white spaces, choices seemingly going too far below, and even getting cut off at the bottom in the middle of the text.”
