Trust and Freedom in Transformative Games
The "Problem"
Generating a sense of trust is important in order to communicate in a way that can have a transformative effect. The group discussed how games build or break trust and the factors involved in creating tustworthy games.
What we did
The group discussed different gaming experiences that had built or broken trust and the gameplay involved. We discussed the importance of trust and also a sense of freedom for players to feel secure in their user journey through a game. Finally, we discussed how we could outline a model for game development for developers aiming to create transformative games.
The "Outcome"
The group agreed that most gaming experiences can benefit from ensuring that players can take a break during the game in order to either reflect or emotionally process the experience. This should be easy to do, and not hidden inside complex menus, so that the player feels they have the freedom to escape from the experience at any time. It will help to build trust as it will help players feel more secure.
Building a sense of trust is important for games that have the intention of delivering transformative experiences, but not as much for other gaming experiences. Games primarily created to entertain can trick and scare players in order to generate suspense and interest. However, such effects are likely to lessen the learning for the player. The less the player feels in charge, the less likely the game is of providing the context for a personal learning experience.
At the same time, transformative games need to be motivating and many also use more shocking effects to bring their point across. Players can be tricked into doing immoral acts, either gradually building towards such a point or as a sudden surprise. While such situations can feel very manipulative and potentially trust-breaking, they can be very effective if the player feels that the gaming experience as a whole is trustworthy and relevant. Games like Lucas Pope's "Papers, Please", Brenda Romero's "Train" and 11Bit Studio's "This War of Mine" are relevant examples.
This example underlines how trust-generation for transformative games is about creating a relationship between the creator and the player - a "player contract" - that is solid enough to allow also for surprises and player manipulation without breaking the overall sense of participating in a gaming experience that invites personal reflection.
The group then discussed how to design a model that helps creators of transformative games to develop games that invite player trust and offer a sense of safety and freedom.