I've been thinking about the word "essential" a lot recently. It comes up in the news all the time concerning "essential" workers. I've always felt like education is essential, but in a way, we've grown as a society to make it replaceable. Gone are the blackboards and in comes the Blackboard, so to speak. Yes, I'm still learning, but it's on my own terms. I'm lucky: even with the pull of second semester senioritis, the skills I've learned (attempted to learn?) in EMC keep me motivated to learn.
However, when pulling the word "essential" out of the world's context and applying it to my project, I have to wonder: what is the common denominator of all my research? The easy answer for me is storytelling. There's an a cappella term I learned from director Brody McDonald called "line" that sums up the storytelling process. You start at one point, and you have to keep connecting it as you go. The line may twist and turn, but it's still fluid. That's something important that game designers and developers have to keep in mind, tabletop and VR alike. However, I addressed storytelling in January, so what else has persisted in my research?
I think the essential question I want to explore for the remainder of my time with EMC Online has to do with empathy. How can we use the machinery of games to create something human and impactful? Can we exploit empathy and use it for good and for bad, and to what extent can we affect people with this form of media? I'm still workshopping (I want to try and divert myself from going down the storytelling path and instead look at brain function, hormonal changes, and the like when it comes to extorting empathy in gaming).
Some other things I'm in the works on:
- Just reached out to another RPI GSAS person, hoping to score an interview. If not, I may just talk to my compsci friend about his experience with friends/colleagues in the GSAS program.
- Talking to a friend of mine at the University of Rochester about strategy games (also planning to reach out to Ash about games like Civ) and hoping to put together something detailing why games like this are so compelling and perhaps what details are necessary vs. overwhelming for a player? Somehow, sandbox games and business simulators are so different but the same issue comes up in both: the issue of having too much choice.