Games, The Media, and Empathy 

yes games could be used to make people more empathetic no we should not do that because people should be true to themselves, not changed to better suit society as a whole if some are racist or sexist or hateful, they should remain that way, thats is who they are

Beautifully articulated. I'm dyslexic and Fighting Fantasy choose your own adventures unlocked literature for me, primarily because of the involvement and empathy those tales encourage. The experience of driving a narrative through those bite size paragraphs eventually led to me tackling non-interactive novels. They were the step-up I personally needed and, while I still can't spell worth a damn, I'm now a voracious and omnivorous reader - something which has done nothing but aid my writing/storytelling. In my spare time I'm a modder (a Skyrim companion) and I find experimenting with games as a story telling medium endlessly fascinating. I'm especially interested in believability and empathy in relation to NPCs. Because I'm not beholden to a studio, budget or anyone else's brief, I've perhaps been able to play with empathy in ways that would rarely, if ever, be possible in a triple A title - very few studios would waste resources on adding 7000 lines of dialogue to a single NPC, especially when much of that dialogue is gated by the way each player decides who they are and what they do. The companion starts in a very dark place when you meet him and is largely re-forged by his interactions with the player over time so a degree of empathy from the player is integral. They can be disparaging or encouraging with consequences but he's a good person at heart so there are limits the player can bump up against. I find these moments interesting too, but the real focus of the mod is the cumulative effect of hundreds of factors within the broader strokes. It's been fascinating seeing how people parse the results of their actions when the results are numerous but tiny, VS few and world-changing. Many players barely scratch the surface of the available content... but what they happen to uncover tends to be more personal to them. Perhaps this is why my work has found some small degree of popularity. While players sometimes don't consciously notice how the companion is developing as they play, a lot of them comment that he feels more present in their game than other NPCs. The flip side is that some players never develop him at all because he requires a certain degree of attention and only expands under scrutiny. The lengthy lifespan of a Skyrim player-character affords me a great deal of canvas to mess about with, a great deal of room for development should a player choose to dig deeper. In my case, I try to encouraging empathy and believability through countless small moments that reverberate through the rest of a players time with him. For instance having his barks, idles, and combat dialogue change subtly based on various conversations the player can only have in safe/dangerous areas, having him remember and sometimes be affected uniquely by certain quests he accompanies you on, discussing the pronunciation of a word with him then adding the player's chosen pronunciation to all his speech after that conversation, having him refer to an optional player comment days after it was spoken to give the impression he's been mulling it over, etc. I believe these little touches reinforce his believability in the game, and in turn aid player investment and empathy. When players first meet him he's linked to you by a narrative that's arguably more interesting than he himself appears to be, but over time people consistently grow to care about him. I believe this is largely because he reacts to them in a personalized and engaged way. In theory this bolsters a sense of involvement and consequence when larger choices are occasionally thrown into the mix. The problem is none of this is really possible, or arguably worth the immense amount of effort, for a big studio to implement at this level. Heck, if I wasn't making him for my own enjoyment I'd have given up long ago (he's been over 3 years in the making so far). That said, a lighter version of almost everything I've been experimenting with would be possible in most relative titles. In my experience a massive part of building empathy and believability is preserving, not destroying, what you've stored up. At any scale it's about consistency and appropriate behaviour based on what the player is witness to (including their own choices). As soon as an NPC repeats a line twice within a few seconds or acts out of character, believability and in turn empathy is sacrificed. Geesh! What a ramble. My apologies. Keep up the outstanding work. I greatly appreciate your clarity and rigour. You're also an absolute pleasure to listen to. Kindest regards. Gary

Your choice of music is excellent. That story about your guidance counselor was quite startling as well. I had no idea dnd used to have that kind of social connotation.

That was so emotional, I loved every second of it. I completely get what you mean, and as somebody who wants to be a writer I always try to make my characters feel as human as possible.

You come off as well-educated and your mother sounds like a lovely understanding woman.

You're doing really good work here man, keep it up. Videos like this are a welcome breath of fresh air 'round these parts. You've chosen the eyes of love over the eyes of fear - Bill Hicks would be proud. Kudos.

Hey dude, I love everything you do. You're going to be huge soon. Just don't lose track of who you are when you get there :)

Hey, nice to see that someone still takes feedback from the comment section! Now I can properly appreciate the video, thanks!

Seems that no matter what I do, A Man Called Ove will be claimed for copyright... Oh well.

Hey man I just wanna say thanks for this, thanks a lot. I'm currently recovering from leukemia and living in a shelter. Been contemplating suicide a lot lately. Shit just isn't looking too good for me at the moment, especially with my current financial situation. But hey should have known cancer treatment wont be cheap ahaha. Y'know everyday I've been fighting with my suicidal thoughts. Sometimes they just creep up on me, bringing with them a sense of despair and sorrow. Not being able to provide for the family. Not being able to finish school. Not being able to live life again. Shit like that just haunts me man. Anyways forgive my tangent. I just... Your video whether intentional or not, touched me. It made me feel not so hopeless. Listening to your personal anecdotes made me realize that suffering is not a individual element. Its universal. We all cry, we all bleed.

Talking about lack of empathy, most skyrim characters don't have a good back story, I just get bored so much playing skyrim, and realized that the reason was that one. Some time ago I was criticizing fallout new vegas saying it was not that great as people described it, then I played it again and I loved it., the game was so much more deep than I remembered.

Of all the things that could have been recommended to me this was really important right now and is making me remember how much better I was as a person and is making me realise how shitty a lot of my friends are because none of them have much empathy

Man I love the music in the background now. You played Carl Orff's O Fortuna, damn. Great work, very nice vid!

Damn, that was good, I really liked this one. I really like how it all comes together and I feel like the writing is a good means of connecting the viewer to the video.

Way better soundtrack selection than last time, with that distracting jazz and whatnot. Adagio In G Minor is one of my favorite pieces of music.

"Do you know that she dungeons and dragons is a game for devil worshippers?" Oh man, that hit home. My dad doesn't let me play d&d or any of the souls games and hates it whenever the word demon is brought up. While this may be ridiculous, I feel bad for him though because he was raised in an overly Christian household.

Been going back through these old videos with more abstract subjects than one video game at a time and they're amazing.

Everyone of your videos that i have seen (I'm new to the channel) is a huge emotional roller coaster and I love it. I clearly shows that you truly put time and passion into them and there isn't much of that anymore. thanks for keeping it real.

This has quickly become my favorite RU-vid channel as far as gaming and looking at pieces of media in whichever format in a different way goes. Refreshing to see somebody who can explain in length nuances in storytelling and mechanics. Your channel will be absolutely massive before you know it

You're amazing. you're anecdotes and passion for what you do is fantastic. I've been listening to your "rants" for days now. It's getting me through work. Thank you!

I just wanted to say I'm grateful to have found your channel. I've never known a gaming channel that was so thoughtful, and you're such a good storyteller. You're articulate and make very powerful points. I really like the fallout video you made. It was dark and your points became obvious. I learned much! As a 34 year old man, I am really attracted to these type of videos. Just wanted to let you know how well you're doing. Good luck with everything!

Superb video, mate.

Religious people are so scared of dungeons and dragons that they overlook the whole fact Jesus was basically a level 40 cleric lmao

I've stumbled across your channel, watched about 10 videos and I have to say, I really like your content, really good writing and flow in your delivery. Your videos and your channel deserve more exposure and views. Thank you!

Someone just told me about this channel 3 hours ago, and I haven't stopped watching your channel. You're already one of my favourite youtubers

This is an amazing video. It sums up what I love about well written RPGs in much better words than I ever could. Thanks.

This is great. You're stepping into the shoes left empty when SamyoulOnline went inactive a few years ago, and I love it. Not in the same way, of course, nor in the same way as MrBtongue, but it's really great to have this thoughtful critique of games as a medium. Samyoul focused mainly on the marketing and corporate aspects, but applying such logic and thought to the medium itself really gets at the heart of what makes a game great. And I agree, empathy is critical. Anyone wholly lacking empathy is not fully human to me. They're missing a critical part of what makes our species what we are. And ironically, for me, that is all the more reason to view such people with empathy of my own. Because no one should have to live as an incomplete person.

Your videos are always welcome at the end of the day before going to bed. A lot of thinking before falling asleep :P

I know i was harsh on your rant video but I just wanted to say this video is gold. It's why I subscribed. It blends anecdotal personal experiences with logic and social science. And finally ties everything to games. And that's awesome. Also love this song. Great choice, great video.:)

I'm glad that you shared your thoughts. Awesome video.

This channel deserves way more recognition. Wonderful video.

I have probably three comments on youtube, but I just have to say, you are an artist. I have tremendous respect for you man. Sociology, anthropology and gaming with a touch of poetry is such a crazy mix, but make so much sense in hindsight.. I have to figure out how to share things now... damn! :P

I liked this more that I suspected I would. Good points, nice clips and great music.

I want you to know that your videos have had a profound effect on me. You have changed the way I write and think about some things.

At 12:28, I crushed the yoghurt I was eating. That was the moment I understood Ove. I know quite a lot of people whose ideologies, beliefs and morals are shaped by past suffering they've experienced or witnessed. I too have been shaped by pain. To put it bluntly I'm untrusting. People have wondered why I'm paranoid, and others have felt hurt whenever I didn't have confidence in them. Bit by bit I'm getting better at this, but I only became like this after being betrayed and hurt time and time again by friends, family and acquaintances who I trusted not to do what they did. A Spanish philosopher once said, "I am I and my circumstances" and I don't think these words could be any truer. The world is a certain way, but I can only interpret it from the angles I've seen, which may not coincide with everybody else. People often refuse to see the perspective of others, to empathize. What seem like irrational fears can often be the result of past trauma, what seems like irredeemable prejudice can often be the result of pure ignorance. Sometimes I wonder how much of a better place the world would be if we all just stopped a minute to try and comprehend the other person, regardless of who they are...

👍👍👍 very well done. This is a perspective everyone owes it to themselves to consider. I love your videos, please keep up the amazing work.

How can I "thumbs-up" this video even harder? This video reminds me that the world still has some compassion and love in it. Thanks for reminding me about that, I appreciate it immensely

Just know that your content is what we need more of, it's dense with knowledge and it makes you think.

Wow okay, you re the first gaming youtube character that made me think I need to improve my English more. And I like the music you put on background of your videos. Respect! Sometimes it is too loud, but however doesn't feel so mindless and missfiting like on other chanels.

amazing as always but this has to be one of your best. It saddens me that so few follow your channel. So much to say & a wonderful way of saying it. Keep it up my friend..

Why you don't have more subscribers is beyond me. This is some quality content man. Really leaves you pondering, love that.

You are a good person. Thank you for this video. Please keep them coming.

The content here can be very thought provoking to say the least. Your own experiences and how they reflect themselves in this channel is a pleasure to be a part of. Thank you.

I've read a book like that as a child. I even mapped out all the possible branches of the story.

Well done, thanks for making this.

Damn these are good. I hope you plan on making more.

your content is really good. you gonna rock very soon fella

I LOVED the Endless Quest books...I received several of them one Christmas...eons ago. I lost track of them over time...but purchased a few recently just for nostalgic purposes...the Dragon of Doom, the Pillars of Pentagarn, The Dungeon of Dread, Light On Quest's Mountain...damn the 80s were great.

amazing work my friend

Nice, I can finaly watch it👍

excellent music choices

Of course, the music choice to go with this is great. I especially liked the pairing of A Man Called Ove with Fortune Plango Vulnera. Games, movies, music, and television all can serve as "empathy trainers". Players often try to put themselves into the character's shoes, or when a narrative isn't presented, they'll invent one. I often found this to be the case when I was younger. In retrospect, this was essentially me trying to explore the fundamentals of empathy and character motivation. While it may be harder to empathize with people in real life as not all people are "characters", with simple motivations or well-explained histories, starting from the ground up is often productive. One interesting side effect of this is that a one-dimensional character can be empathetic and even realistic, given sufficient motivation. If a man has his entire family murdered, certainly that's strong motivation for him to seek various types of revenge. In real life, however, tragedies are often smaller-scale, being constituted of hundreds of compounded issues rather than a single, character-defining moment. Especially in A Man Called Ove, you begin with seeing the culmination of his life. Just as you do day-to-day. You see how someone's attitude has been shaped, not what shaped it. And I think seeing the motivation behind them in the form of a movie better helps us to imagine the potential motivation behind people that may otherwise seem just rude or bitter for no reason. I think we all have a bit of Ove in us. It's quite easy to see how somebody can become bitter, especially as years go by and friends, family, and loved ones fade away. Still, as tragedies strike and pain compounds, I think it's important to realize that we aren't characters, we're people. Complicated as we are.

Thank you. I truly am happy to subscribe to your channel

This was a master piece. I can't believe it only has 31K views.

Good story. Heady stuff too! Subscribed!

excellent.

Your videos keep filling my favorites folder. I wish I could have shared this with my close friends but, alas, most of them don't know the language.

you're so right .. to not be an asshole seems to be the most difficult task for human kind nowadays

If Rants were art, this guy would be a Master.

That censor beep scared the crap out of me.

Excellent music choice.

your intros are really great! keep up the good work, or maybe start writing :)

damn, dude thanks for the rant

1:00 is a scene from Russian TV series "The Master and Margarita". I'm really surprised to see it here, even in Russia it had less than million viewers. Ho did you find it?

Glad this was recommended at a time like this. I got chastised for saying that we need to forget our past if we ever want to get over this racism thing. It'll never end I wish humans were better.

Keep makin' videos.

My god your videos are amazing. What games have you worked on at EA?

4:27 BEST. MOM. EVER!

That whole off therapy day thing hit hard m8

14:10 what's that 'song' called? I've heard it so many timesbut I don't know what it's called :)

Your writing is excellent sometimes.

Does anyone know the name of the first song? its most popular part is at around 1 min.

This one is gong to be BIG

If there's a solution that is win win for each party in a dilemma, then why would the player ever choose anything else. Gamers tend to abuse the systems provided, so how would you prevent this neutral option from flat out being the best, without making the entire conflict shallow like you see in mass effect or tell tale games. The depth created in understanding the evil cardboard cutout characters/situations is awesome and, as you pointed out, an interesting way of turning the players disdain into empathy, but shouldn't that device be used to create more grey area scenarios as in F:NV? Rather than, "oh lets make everyone win!". Maybe I'm misunderstanding a point of yours here. Anyway, I subbed to you for these interesting points. I like to dream up games in my free time, so hopefully through understanding some of the things you say, I can execute something that isnt shit. keep it going

Yes, yes they can. Of course to certain level. Or at least you gain premotion what your actions can cause and make you more aware. Empathy - it can, at least to try making life better for your surrounding (or family, animals,...) and can spark strong motivation in you.

Was this a second upload of this video?, Because I saw this video earlier but it was shortly deleted

Whereas I sit giggling madly as I make mounds of corpses out of the level’s enemies in dishonored 2

I like how you included that clip of Ben Affleck making an ass of himself.

Dude we need to have a game where we play as Uva. Like: We're show Uva: a detestable asshole. And then: We begin play as a different person. Super nice. We have a good time. And then tragedies are shown to us. And through each the character slowly transforms into Uva, and now we understand - hopefully emotionally - why he became this way.

What is that song called in the background?? 10/10

I wish more people thought like you... but thats just it most people don't everyone is going to have there biases, but if more people could have more empathy I don't think the world would be (sorry about this) the FUCKED UP mess it is. I used to think of my grandfather as an asshole he always thought our family was cursed with the mysterious things that happen to us I can't totally blame him, but even though he didn't like what we did and thought me and my brother were lazy he still cared. He bought me and my brother a few brand new games and we got to choose one thing we really wanted at one point. My brother chose the PS4 and I chose the Xbox one partly for more variety in the games we got to play, and with what my mother and aunt have told me about his past I wouldn't be surprised if he was more of an ass than he was so he was actually a pretty nice person surprising considering what he went through in his life. He died a few years after my grandmother he was the last grandparent me and my brother had left it affected me a bit, but me and my brother never knew our grandparents that well and before he died he had to live with us for a few years his last years. I still don't know how he went though me and my brother came home from school, and found out he was still in the house we never really saw him at that point, but the weird thing about it is that I saw him just that night the day before he died he went to the restroom came back out and went straight to bed in the middle of the night. I wish I could have known him more but even if your trying to come to an understanding with another person through empathy how do you know the other person is willing to do the same with the biases the might have. If people had more empathy a lot of people wouldn't be so cold take me for example I am a emotional person I love that feeling when there's a connection and you can understand something on an emotional level, and I always strive for that but a lot of times it has hurt more than helped. There has been quite a few times where I think about ignoring those emotions and becoming more cold not to the point of being an asshole, but just not giving a crap about other peoples problems or what they think and I don't want to be that way but as time passes on parts of me agree with that out look more and more because of how the world is and the people around me. I was talking to my dad a little while ago and I told him "you know your cynical" and he comes up to me and says "life makes you cynical" and even before I talked to him I was already in agreement with that I always try my best not to be cynical though but it doesn't always work out because well life. My favorite game is mass effect and I know the game has a lot of glaring problems and quite a few things in the universe that don't add up at least to me, but the emotional connection the games give you is something I don't think I can experience anywhere else even though I played it 10 times over. I still cry at the end sometimes these virtual characters are like the best friends I will ever have and this is the end for them permanently because their story is over or Shepard's story is over. This is the only game that I've really repeated things are the way they are and it's very hard to see passed them at times but I keep trying to have empathy even if it is a lost cause because if I don't it hurts more than helps at least for me. (Sorry for the MASSIVE comment)

Every time I check Steam reviews for the new Torment I want to break something. Did these people even play P:T? Or just say it's the best game ever because that's the general consensus and they're just parroting opinions of others like a bunch of tools. Tides of Numenera was exactly what I would expect from a game bearing the title "Torment" and I'm glad to see a video where one of its strong points is explained so eloquently. Would love to see a vid of yours talking more about this game, I'm interested in what you think about its other aspects.

Honestly the reviews that got me to turn away had nothing to do with story and everything to do with them cutting content for console release. The game was Kickstarted as a CRPG, it was funded as a CRPG, sacrifice anything for consoles without informing your investors is the kind of shit that just erodes any trust I have in a game.

14:50 whats that ben affleck clip from?

I know it sounds dumb but after playing the lonesome road dlc and actually paying attention and giving a shit about it, I felt like a better person. Feeling genuinely confident in constant oppression of the opposition, relying upon your wits and weapons, it builds character I feel, let's you respect the game for what it is.

You are basically a philosopher at this point. Empathy only comes from overcoming hardships. You have a lot of empathy.

Hey strat, you should probably stop putting that red rim around the edge of the video's thing cause it really blends with that red bar that shows if you've seen the video.

what movie is vova

My favorite one is Kai Chronicles, check it out, you will love it.

What's the game being shown at 17:30?

Sorry, Edge. I... I... just can't play a video game right now. *stares into the blackness of my soul*

14:50 you're DEFINITELY talking about russia right there

He's a good writer

Damn, your mom sounds great. Here's to great moms.

I remember the satanic panic. I suffered constant physical attacks by small groups on a daily basis for playing D&D and listening to metal.

Ah that story about the book was great. Tfw your parents got your back.

I have watched several of your videos today only just discovering your channel. I really enjoy your content, but I fear the videos may be a bit too long for mass appeal. I hope i'm wrong.

stay hungry, youre quite adavanced yet the rabbit hole is far deeper

Geeze this takes some weird turns! But if we can end it by saying, "Video games don't make people violent. They make people empathic," then I'm cool with that. My mom was one of those Born-Again Christians and I had to hide my devil-worshiping DnD ways. Which ... just meant playing at a friend's house and keeping my books in my book bag. Ooooh. I'm so evil. On a personal level, we're all Uwe. We all have backstories. If we can open up enough to share, maybe that gives us something of a pass for being a dick. But at the end of the day, that's all in the past. It may be sad, but we've all had $#!7 to deal with. It's not a free pass. It's what we *choose* to do, who we *choose* to be, that defines us. If I'm a dick it's not because my father died when I was a child, my mother mentally abused me until I joined the military to escape home (wow was that not a bright idea), I was physically abused by foster siblings that my mom brought into our home because they needed love and her own real children didn't, et cetera ad nauseam. If I'm a dick, it's because I chose to be a dick. Just like I choose to help people more often than not, because I'm also actually really nice. People are complex. That's why prejudice sucks. If we decide how to treat someone without giving them the chance to show who they are and what they can offer to the world, then we're being f'ing stupid and it becomes our loss. But there's only so much slack I'll cut anyone no matter how good their sob story because we've all been there and we are the only ones who get to make the choice of how that affects us. No one else can. Literally. We choose. And not choosing is a choice. It's on us then to be who we want to be or not, regardless of what input came before the moment of that decision. Taking responsibility for our choices, our lives, is literally the first step in becoming an adult IMHO. And let me tell you, there are a lot of man-childs and woman-childs out there who may have grown up to be big, but are still not adults, in my opinion. My step son is one of the worst man-childs I've ever had the misfortune of being a 'rental to. LOL But that's too f'ing serious. So let's play some games already!

"Asshole currency"! Awesome! Where I can I cash this here check?