The Use of Narrative Video Games for Empathy Building in the Non-Profit Sector

This research project is aimed at exploring ways that the power of video games has been harnessed for different fields other than commercial profits and used as an effective empathy building tool. Studies have found story-driven video games to have an impact on human emotions and can be used as tools to encourage social change. The non-profit sector relies on digital story telling campaigns to raise awareness and engage with audiences, but by being slow in embracing the possibilities offered by new media technologies, especially narrative video games, the sector has lagged in adopting the fastest growing media platform in the world. They have failed to understand the philanthropic motivations of a younger demographic, as well as their attitudes, behaviors, and their need for more immersive experiences. By researching game principles and game mechanics that focus on triggering human emotions to build empathy, which is the core foundation of social action, a game prototype is developed in the Unity 3D game engine, an industry recognised tool for creating indie and commercial video games. The purpose of this project is to suggest ways in which serious games can be used by non-profit organizations to engage with digital audiences in a more immersive way.