What's the most effective way for a game developer to create something that elicits empathy from players?

In a quirky session at GDC 2015, game designer Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro spoke earnestly about the development of his latest game, D4, and his attempts to empathetically connect to players using a game design philosophy he calls "sensory replication."

According to Swery, one of the core design goals in D4 was to engage players at an emotional level; another was to find a way to allow players who hate motion controls to enjoy the game using a Kinect.

The designers of D4 tried to connect the player to the moment-to-moment events on the screen at a visceral level using a variety of "sensory replication" design techniques, and in his talk Swery discussed the theory behind sensory replication and how building D4 forced him to reevaluate many of his preconceived notions about game design.

If you missed his talk in person, it's absolutely worth watching for free over on the GDC Vault.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its new YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC, GDC Europe, and GDC Next already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.

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