P2: The Empathy Machine

Two Worlds, One Heart

Overview:

The initial idea for my game– Two Worlds, One Heart– emerged from my interest in both social-emotional learning (SEL) and scriptwriting. I specifically have always wanted to create a story that centered around two characters who are discriminated against or marginalized, yet demonstrate characteristics like resilience and persistence which make them and their character development all the more compelling and impactful. The concept grew out of my desire to explore both the differences and the parallels between people, especially on how seemingly distinct backgrounds, cultures, and experiences can actually reveal shared humanity. From the start, my goal was to design a narrative that would build empathy for the protagonists while weaving in SEL principles grounded in the CASEL framework, which focuses on building self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

The game follows two main characters: Piko, an alien displaced from his home planet and struggling to fight for his place in the world, and Annie, a human girl with facial deformities navigating bullying, neglect, and social isolation. Despite coming from very different worlds, they form an unlikely friendship, which becomes the heart of the story. Each character faces their own challenges, whether it’s grief, anger, revenge, anxiety, and the cruelty of others, yet they also encounter moments of belonging, self-advocacy, and friendship. Through their interactions, they learn to lean on one another, grow emotionally, and develop resilience in the face of adversity.

The narrative was designed specifically from the perspective of Annie, but goes on to alternate between the two (especially post-Epilogue), as well as their internal dialogue, highlighting both contrasts and parallels in their experiences. This structure allows players to experience the story from multiple viewpoints, deepening empathy and understanding. By integrating SEL principles such as emotional regulation, perspective-taking, and interpersonal skills into the story’s events, I really wanted to take this opportunity to create a game that is both engaging and educational. Thus, the combination of sci-fi adventure, character development, emotional learning, with a hint of slice-of-life stylistic approach emerged organically from my love of storytelling and designing experiences that help players reflect on their own emotions and relationships. After playing this game, I want players to walk feeling a deeper sense of introspection, reflect on their own potential biases, and develop more understanding for both themselves and any communities that are marginalized.

Branching Choice Map

History Versions of Game:

First Version of Game – Pre-Playtest

At this stage, I was new to narrative design and wanted to focus on fostering social-emotional learning (SEL) through the story. I was unsure, however, which narrative structure would best support this goal.

To assess whether the game improved from earlier versions, I planned to conduct 10-question interviews with players. If time allowed, I would ask all ten questions; if not, I would select a few. The questions were designed to assess multiple aspects of the game, and the full list of questions is listed at the end of this blog. In the initial story, I focused heavily on integrating SEL techniques, but this emphasis sometimes caused the narrative itself to lose its natural appeal, which was what led me to start my first playtest to receive feedback on the direction of my narrative.

 

Image 1 & 2. (Initial brainstorm for narrative direction, potential character arcs/development, major choices and consequences)

Playtest 1 (Masters Student, Female, 23)– Feedback:
At this stage, the game included three main scenes– the bus bullying scene, the school scene, and the beginning of the space ship crash scene– though the ending remained undetermined. I had also created three to four interfaces in Twine, mainly to test narrative flow. During the playtest, I asked the player to first read the main script and then explore the three to four scenes in Twine. The player reported that she enjoyed reading the storyline and found the parallel structure of the two narratives to be quite interesting. When how she felt about the pacing of the narrative, she responded that it was only ‘acceptable’, because she felt that three days was too short a period for true friendship to develop naturally. She also noted that some of Annie’s scenes felt too stereotypical and predictable (i.e the bullied girl finally learns to stand up for herself). Finally, she suggested expanding on Annie’s relationship with her father and contrasting it with Piko’s relationship with his deceased father to add more nuance and layers to the characters and story.

Image 3. (Original analogue version of narrative, used for playtest 1)

Improvements Made: This was important feedback, as it helped me point out to me the potential directions of my narrative.   To address this feedback, I made several changes to improve narrative logic, character depth, and alignment with SEL objectives. First, I extended the timeline from three days to a span of two to three months, to allow for the characters’ camaraderie and friendship to develop more organically. During this period, SEL elements were also integrated, including specific scenes dedicated to capturing these SEL elements through scenes of training sessions where Piko helped Annie develop self-advocacy skills to address bullying situations at school, or where Annie helps Piko learn how to emotionally regulate. Another change I made was I added scenes that explored Annie’s strained relationship with her father, including more context that highlighted the origins of the sources of tension, as well as scenes with themes of eventual resolution and reconciliation. These additions helped create a richer emotional arc for my narrative and added a stronger contrast with Piko’s story, which made the story more engaging and more emotionally impactful.

Playtest 2 (Lucas, Masters Student, Male)– Feedback 

For the second playtest, I received feedback from Lucas during a playtest in class. During his playthrough, he highlighted several aspects of the game that influenced his experience. He noted that the black background in some scenes created a feeling of isolation, which he found to be very effective for the story’s mood. He also suggested italicizing certain texts to emphasize key moments and recommended clarifying which scenes take place on planet Earth and which on planet Arctara. Lucas also shared that he felt a stronger connection to Piko’s story than to Annie’s. One suggestion he made was that the game would be more compelling if the player assumed Piko’s role as the main character. He also added that for some interfaces, the text was too long, which made it difficult to read without ‘straining [his] eyes’, and recommended shortening the text to make it more digestible for future players. He also reiterated previous concerns that the first playtester also made, which was that Annie’s story felt somewhat stereotypical of the bullied girl character arc, therefore leading to his suggestion that it would be interesting to branch out a bit more to make her narrative more unique.

Improvements Made: Based on Lucas’s feedback, I made several adjustments to improve the game’s readability and narrative engagement. First, I made sure to shorten the length of text on each interface to make the story more digestible and reduce eye strain. That means no paragraphs, no line after line of text, and making sure that the space on the interface is wisely used to convey different meanings and perspectives and symbolisms. Another adjustment I made was that I revised Annie’s narrative by adding new friends she meets through her journey from school. I wanted to take this feedback and use it to expand her social network and introduce new dynamics and relationships to make her story more unique and multidimensional, and non-conforming to the conventional arc. 

Image. (Original interface– wordy, long, lacking clarity with emotional message, with no colors or font or formation details)

Playtest 3 (Tianze, Christina, Aalaap)– Feedback 

For the third playtest, feedback was collected from three participants: Christina, Aalaap, and Tianze. Christina approached the game by selecting choices according to what she believed Annie would do, describing it as “do what she would do.” This was an interesting insight as I learned how some players connected with the characters, and how empathy was being built as ‘perspective taking’ is taking place while the player is reading the narrative and making choices. She also commented on the visual experience, noting that the color gradients of the background felt like ‘music accompanying the text’ and that the colors brought out the ‘texture in the story’. 

For Aalaap’s playtest, he mainly suggested shortening some passages and simplifying the graphics to improve readability. He also recommended creating a clearer transition between Piko’s and Annie’s stories and making the background visuals feel more Earth-like when they’re on Earth. When asked if he resonated with the story, he responded affirmatively, noting that he was particularly invested in Annie’s narrative and that the bullying storyline contributed strongly to that connection.

Image. (Aalaap playtesting on on first scenes of game)

As for Tianze, he mainly echoed concerns about text length, noting that some passages were not easily digestible and should be broken into more smaller parts. He highlighted that the red interface of the Arctara scene worked well and supported the pacing of the plot, as the game gradually feeds information to the player without overwhelming them. He also provided detailed feedback on visual design, emphasizing that the game would do well with more color, font, and layout changes for non-essential details—such as diagonal words or white space—which could help enhance visual impact, but also cautioned that they should not be overused. He used a particular example in a game he once played where a minor character’s entire line in the game was conveyed in the color purple, to signal royalty and superiority, calling it a very effective visual choice that aligned with player expectations and surprise, and suggested that I consider doing the same.

Improvements Made:

Based on the feedback, I made several adjustments to improve readability, pacing, and the emotional impact of visual elements. First, I shortened each interface more, ensuring that passages were concise and easily digestible while retaining narrative depth. Second, I worked to refine the visual design and implemented color themes for each character and key scenario to enhance the emotional experience. Building on insights from Playtest 2, where Lucas noted that the black background effectively evoked isolation, Playtest 3 participants also suggested that adding color elements would further enrich the game’s aesthetic. Therefore, following this guidance, a major change I made following this round of feedback was to create a list of assigned color themes to each character:

• Piko: Initially a bright blood red to represent Arctara and his internal turmoil of revenge and anger. But as he interacts with Annie, orange is introduced, blending his blood red with Annie’s initial grey to symbolize their growing connection and path toward a harmonious approach to healing. By the time he embraces his identity and successfully learns emotional regulation, his red softens into a more grounded hue as a way to reflect his readiness for leadership, groundedness, and growth.
• Annie: Initially grey to represent all the adversity she faces, from loss of mother, neglect from father, and bullies. When alone in the forest, scenes shift to pastel green to signify her connection to nature and the peace she feels in her inner sanctuary. Later, her color palette evolves into a blend of pastel purple and orange, which represents her emerging essence as a more confident Annie after forming friendships with the art kids while still carrying traces of Piko’s influence and lessons.
• Gordon: Introduced in dark grey, representing his negative influence on Annie, as well as the shut-off nature that he has from his unhealed trauma of losing his wife. During reconciliation scenes with Annie, his color shifts to a deep blue, symbolizing restored harmony and tranquility.
• Kayla and the bullies: Bright yellow, as suggested by Christina, which effectively conveys unease and nastiness
• Image. (The green background coupled with the italicized text to highlight inner dialogue/monologue to give more voice and dimension to Annie’s character, as an attempt to not fall in the hole of her narrative being too stereotypical)
• Image. (Blue background and embossed words demonstrate Gordon’s attempt to reconcile with his daughter and be a better father.)
  These changes were implemented to improve narrative clarity, visual engagement, and most importantly, emotional resonance, to make the story more compelling, narratively and aesthetically.

Playtest 4 (My Sister, Female, 27 years old)– Feedback 

For the fourth playtest, my sister provided feedback that focused heavily on visual design, narrative formatting, and character development. She liked the storyline and found herself gravitating toward Piko’s story– it was interesting how each playtester had their own ‘favorite’ protagonist. But she also suggested blending background colors to give more thematic significance to each character. When it came to the fonts, she pushed me to think about how Piko’s text could evolve from the initial “smear” format—representing his lack of clarity and identity, as well as his alien/outsider identity both on Earth and on Arctara—to reflect his emerging voice as a leader, particularly during the fight with the Celadonian soldier. She also suggested considering different fonts for other characters to highlight their unique perspectives. Regarding narrative formatting, she thought about how placing Piko’s text on the left and Annie’s on the right can visually represent the parallels and differences between their experiences, and can be especially useful in scenes of conflict between the two protagonists. Additionally, she recommended adding an epilogue for Piko, as his story felt incomplete ending with his departure to space.

Improvements Made: Based on this feedback, I made several targeted improvements to the game’s fonts, narrative formatting, and character development.

Fonts:

• Piko: His text initially appears in a “smear” format to highlight his difference from the Earth context and his lack of clarity as a potential leader. During the fight with the Celadonian soldier, his text transitions to bold to reflect his emerging leadership. In subsequent scenes, I combined both smear and bold to symbolize his duality, and how leaders are not made overnight, and he is still growing but moving in the right direction.
• Annie: When experiencing anxiety, self-loathing, or emotional suppression, her words are angled or rotated sharply (diagonally) to represent the lasting impact of both physical and emotional scars from bullying, tensions with father, and any other conflicts.
• Kayla: Her words remain blurred throughout the story, but for distinct reasons. Early on, the blur represents Annie’s habituation to bullying, in that she’s so accustomed to this treatment that she just passively filters it out. Later, after Annie learns how to advocate for herself, the blur represents more of her conscious choice to block Kayla’s negativity and blurring it out, rather than becoming numb to the negative treatment.
• Gordon: His text initially appears in a “wavy-strike” format, emphasizing the disconnect between father and daughter and the difficulty Annie has in understanding and perceiving the importance of his words. After reconciliation, the text appears white to symbolize peace and restored understanding between the father and daughter duo.

Image. (The diagonally shaped and angled texts from Annie representing the warped perception and emotional scarring she endures from the trauma and challenges she faces in her life)

Image. (The blur of Kayla’s negative words shows Annie’s initial habituation and passive acceptance)

Image. (Another example of color them, font, format, and choice of point of view coming into play to make the narrative more emotionally resonant and cohesive)

Format and Narrative Adjustments:

• In response to feedback on making better use of the space of each interface, I worked to position Piko’s text on the left and Annie’s on the right to visually highlight the distance and differences in their experiences while maintaining narrative clarity.
• I added an epilogue for Piko, expanding his story and showing how Annie’s teachings continue to influence his leadership on Arctara, including negotiating a ceasefire and strategic planning with the Celadonians.
• I also incorporated some first-person narration for Annie in select scenes, providing moments of internal monologue to deepen her perspective and make sure to give more voice to her narrative so it doesn’t fall into the hole of being too stereotypical.

Image. (A final interface showing how SEL is incorporated into the training session between Piko and Annie. The background is a mix of grey and blood red, showing the merging of both Annie’s grey (emotional state), and Piko’s blood red (vengeance, hatred), as they both work together to confront these issues).

Image. (A final interface showing the conversation between Piko and Annie, incorporating changes such as font, format, and different first/second person voices)

All these changes helped strengthen the visual and emotional impact of my game, which I definitely felt coming through better as the iterations went on, as I was able to better clarify character development, and enhance narrative depth so as to create a more immersive and meaningful playing experience for the player.

Reflection:

For P2, I created a narrative-driven game that explored social-emotional learning through the experiences of two marginalized characters, Piko and Annie. Through multiple iterations and playtests, I learned just how much the small choices, like color, font, text layout, and interface design, can shape the way players feel and engage with a story. Watching playtesters respond differently to a blurred word, a diagonal sentence, or a shift in color made me realize that every visual element can communicate emotion, tension, or growth in ways that words alone cannot. One other interesting lesson I learned was that this iterative process also helped me understand that “show, don’t tell” applies not only to writing but also to game design, as players often pick up on subtleties and context when given the space to interpret, which makes these small choices like visual elements all the more important. 

I also discovered the value of pacing and narrative structure, of letting characters develop over time and giving their friendships room to grow naturally. Seeing how feedback from multiple playtesters guided adjustments, from shortening passages to clarifying timelines, to experimenting with color themes and font changes, showed me how important iterations are to create emotional resonance.

Next time, I would like to explore expanding beyond the visual, tapping into other elements like sound and music. I want to continue experimenting with ways the game can engage the senses to evoke empathy and better convey SEL principles. 

* I used AI to help brainstorm ideas for scenes involving SEL content, ensuring these lessons are meaningfully woven into the characters’ experiences. 

*For some reason, the blog wouldn’t let me upload certain images (I especially wanted to show the transition of color theme from blood red to neutral red for Piko). Here’s a google folder link to all the important artifacts and images I collected of the game: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1o5X-8KSSWPSzZKpnjgD05o7POEM40_0c?usp=sharing

Link:

Link to game (passcode– CS 377G): https://mariellez.itch.io/two-worlds-one-heart 

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Post-playtest interview questions:

Story Logic & Coherence

• How clear and logical did the story feel as it unfolded? Were there any moments where you felt lost or confused about what was happening or why?
• Did your choices feel meaningful and consistent with the story’s logic? Were there any that felt random or disconnected?

Engagement & Fun

• At what point, if any, did you feel most engaged or immersed in the story? What made that moment stand out?
• Were there any parts where your attention drifted or you felt less interested? If so, what do you think caused that?
• How would you describe your overall experience—more like playing a game or reading a story? Did that balance feel right to you?

Empathy & Emotional Connection

• Did you feel emotionally connected to any of the characters or situations? What made you feel that way (or not)?
• How well did you understand or relate to the main character’s motivations and emotions?

Visual & Design Elements

• How did the visual design, including colors, layout, font, and transitions, affect your experience? Did it add to or distract from the story?
• Was navigation through the passages smooth and intuitive? Did you ever feel unsure of what to click or where to go next?

Overall Direction & Improvement

• • If you could change one thing to make the game more engaging or emotionally impactful, what would it be?