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EmpathyGames EmpathyGames

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10 January, 2022

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ABOUT EmpathyGames

Change Your Perspective

"Good fiction creates empathy. A novel takes you somewhere and asks you to look through the eyes of another person, to live another life." Barbara Kingsolver

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My goal/journey here is to broaden my own perspectives, but do join me. I have created 6 lists so far for games fitting into categories around training yourself to have empathy, or if you like, games to just relax into. It is largely true that men have low empathy, but also true that it can be leaned, or we can at least enjoy trying. Some categories may require a box of kleenex.

Relaxing and just chilling (easy)
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/90741/
Walking simulator type games
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/90678
Hugs needed (slightly sad ones)
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/91358/
Physical pain or distressing games
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/91748/
Labour of love/Indie standalone games
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/90740/
Connections to others
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/166620/
Free games
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/93017

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I aim to Curate and review one game per week initially, until I run out of suggestions from you for Empathy rich games. I intend to score the games I'm curating at some point and use a set of icons. I'll try keep Steam Announcements low, but I'm aware it's a good way of reminding people they belong to an active group.
PRESS THE JOIN BUTTON OR ELSE YOU WILL NOT GET ANY UPDATES (unless you subscribe to the whole group forum.)

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Criteria for inclusion revolve around a game being story rich, commonly around things people typically associate with walking simulators, and also game mechanics. Game mechanics cannot involve a lot of distracting strategy, mass killing stuff, scoring and parkour. Normally I don't do horror, but I'm making a concession and including horror in the curation as an example of my own empathy journey. I don't have a VR set, so will have to make some considerations there too, your assistance with reviews in such cases would be appreciated. Games that consider people with disabilities, blindness etc, or use unique mindfulness training mechanics also will be getting a place in the rankings. Finally I hope to create a safe place for people to learn to be more chill. Lord knows, I need to learn to chill out more, jump in and join us.

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RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS

AI slop - and a scathing Review

3 May - zaphodikus | 5 Comments

https://v1.steam.hlxgame.cc/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3719117439
I feel I need to weigh in on the "influencer" side to being a curator which was not something I considered when I created this page back in 2022. You could say I have had 4 years already to think on this topic now, so overdue. And I have to agree with Tim Cain , Fallout designer, that influencers have changed how designers or devs design games, significantly. You can read the full article here if you like pc gamer .

I've gradually enjoyed being given a few free games as a curator, but it has not influenced my reviews, well perhaps slightly. Getting given games also just motivated me to write even more reviews. That is the point of free curator copies, but for me it helps me to get started at choosing which game to review next. I can afford to buy my own games just fine, but a free copy that is asking to be reviewed motivates me just a tiny bit more. Curating and influencing has however not influenced my binary vote on each game. It has influenced how I worded many reviews, but not where the thumb or Caesar points toward. Maybe I've just produced a nothing-burger here. I hope not, because although my goal was to get into a discipline of writing, something I'm fulfilling right now, it never should be to promote only games that I happen to like. And that is where I believe that idiots who follow influencers fall down. They just follow the hype without realising that as gamers we are all very complex in what we love and hate. Every serious gamer does not love just one genre alone, most of us love 2 or three even. Humans are complex, and so I don't follow influencers myself. I'm perhaps undermining the value of curators by saying this. I far prefer to read a random stumbled upon persons profile and read all of their reviews as a bulk work. Judge it all at once, the person, their likes and their reviews. And then find myself some fresh games, often hidden gems, in amongst what they liked or even disliked, but which I happen to like instead. You rarely get that from the way influencers often enough twist words for gain.

AI slop

And so this is why I'm coming out against AI slop today. The Mrs (yes there is a Mrs Z) was reading me a comment by an influencer yesterday, some bloke who is more salesperson than digital priest recently pronounced that AI would take over 80% of bookkeeping jobs in 2 years. I do not recall the name, he is in the distillery business if I recall. But it just struck me that when we let loud sales people or influencers spread unsubstantiated opinions, the discourse that we should be having here, gets silenced by a few vocal people. Introverts like myself (I'm very vocal but still an introvert) who are much more in tune with the subjects, are the real experts and are too happy to stay silent. Silent on things they are passionate and knowledgeable about, almost like little digital apostles who love to spread the news about the good games they really loved. So as a digital priest, I'm just laying it down once more. AI is not that smart and it's the wrong tool for games.

Scathing reviews

So I have now written up probably my second or third ever scathing review. For over-use of AI, to the point it was, well, obscene. It took me two weeks to pluck up the courage to bang out a few short paragraphs. I really feel as a Digital Priest who loves the art of games, that I had to speak out for love of the thing that, arguably, defines me. I am a gamer first.

Please tell me to my face dear readers, if you do see me as an influencer. For I shall endeavour more to change that if so.

200 reviews

14 March - zaphodikus | 3 Comments

Today I noted, that I have hit 200 reviews, since January of 2022.
Which gets me to a run-rate of around 1.2 reviews per week. Which vastly outstrips my goal of 2 reviews per month.

Now that does not mean I will slow down. Because to be fair a few of those reviews were written before I started this group, and a fair few are for Freebie games which are often quite short and thus get a very brief review too. Check some of them out here https://store.steampowered.com/curator/41773079-EmpathyGames/list/93017.

My Journey

My personal journey continues, I might share a bit more of that soon enough. Right now I have so many projects to try and start on. I have to finish a new power cable installation to the garage for the leased EV. I gotta fix the smashed cabinet door on something I built 20 years ago. I want to re-launch my blog posts, I want to start a brand new more focused blog as well. I'm pretty sure there will be an amount of copy-paste there once I get that far. Work is busy, which is good, I have 2 adults living at home with me, they are not in work yet, so that is a problem and a huge load on my mind. The war in Ukraine continues, and to be honest I do not trust any politician even remotely anymore. It is all a bit Nuts. The governments of this world appear to no longer be the smart people we thought they were. Even America looks dumb for a change, the govt have this cool space program and fund loads of research, which they cut back on when the Orange Man took charge. And all I can say is, why is there not a NASA equivalent to Anthropic?

So yeah, the economy might be in a bad way, the climate may be getting much warmer than anticipated, jobs scarce and crime rising while healthcare falls. But mostly, wars continue to pollute and waste. And the Bette Midler song comes to mind, From a Distance. All you can do is step back, and look after you and those nearest and dearest to you. So do that, go into this world each day with bravery and love. God bless.

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STEAM CURATOR

EmpathyGames reviews

"Change your emotional perspective in games that are really digital experiences. Story driven, Choices matter, Introspections and the Human condition. Death, Life, the Meaning of the Universe, and sometimes 42."

Here are a few recent reviews by EmpathyGames

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4 Comments

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TTiaguX84

6 Feb, 2025 @ 8:03am

A SIMPLE COUNTRY LAWYER

21 Jan, 2024 @ 7:15pm

Srak Frun Pindle-Frober.

zaphodikus

18 Dec, 2022 @ 5:23am

Always good @fiestyFox, I started this group almost a year ago, partly to get myself on a level keel. "Don't start fights anymore" I said, "be less grumpy" I said, well that last one is not working out yet.
But yes TSORF discussions was a good exercise in defusing internet arguments that stem more from disinhibitions that come from the anonymity of the web. Arguments that really made me think hard about other topics too.

Ghost_in_training

4 Dec, 2022 @ 11:19am

Hey, noticed a few of your comments on the discussion section for 'The Suicide of Rachel Foster', agreed with a lot of your views and found myself here - hope that's okay. LOVE the theme of empathy games because that's right up my alley! I'm looking forward to checking out some new ones, they can be a bit niche.

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