[This article originally appeared on Game Design Aspect of the Month under the topics of Agency and Social Impact Games.]
Last year, an article in Psychology Today made the rounds, declaring that social impact games may have a less than desired effect. Based on her study of adult players of SPENT, a text-based poverty simulator made by ad agency McKinney with input from the Urban Ministries of Durham, Yale researcher Gina Roussos found that some participants ended up with increased negative feelings towards poor people instead of empathetic concern.
On the surface, this would seem to contradict an earlier study on SPENT that did show that SPENT increased affective learning in students. Affective learning involves feelings, motivations, attitudes, and values. However, that study was not about measuring negative or positive attitudes, but rather about active engagement. The game encouraged these students to think about issues, which in turn had the possibility to engender attitude adjustment or a change in behavior.
"Why do I have a student loan? Was I unaware of the Pell Grant? Was I not good enough for scholarships? Did I refuse to live with my parents until graduation?
Where did this child come from? I’m not married, and I don’t seem to be getting child support. I can’t fathom why I apparently have this kid.
Why do I HAVE to have a car? Why is my cell phone so expensive? Why is my landlord above the law? Why am I not just living in Section 8 housing?
This game is absolutely ridiculous, and all it showed me was that the average person is trying to live beyond their actual means."
Rather than too much personal agency, SPENT doesn't have enough agency. It doesn't have enough choices. It doesn't have enough depth.
Sande Chen is a writer and game designer whose work has spanned 10 years in the industry. Her credits include 1999 IGF winner Terminus, 2007 PC RPG of the Year The Witcher, and Wizard 101. She is one of the founding members of the IGDA Game Design SIG.