Skazka: Empathy through Cooperation and Discovery

Elevator PitchSkazka is a two-player cooperative and exploration-based game about a girl, Katya, and

a wolf, Volk, who navigate the Siberian landscape to find the girl's brother. Over the course of their journey, they must work together to overcome the beautiful but treacherous terrain and survive encounters with the animal-like lords of the land. The game draws from the mythology and folktales of the Siberian peoples including the Russians, the Buryat, and the Tyuvan clans. The primary goals of Skazka's design are to explore mechanics and narrative that:

1. Encourage cooperative problem-solving skills in players2. Reward group discovery3. Foster empathy between players

The game is intended to be a compelling and emotive game, and it draws on design and scope aspects from games in related genres such as Journey, The Last Guardian, Trine, and Never Alone. Skazka educates by encouraging prosocial behaviors between players and depicting the unique biomes and cultures of the remote Siberian region. To reach a wider audience, Akula Games, LLC presents this experience using familiar and well-loved play mechanics that both young people and adults can enjoy.

Few games explore cooperative mechanics and empathy-building in a commercial setting, but Skazka reaches both “core" and “mid-core" game players by connecting the fundamentally social nature of games with cooperation-based challenges. Core game players are defined as people who play games more than five hours a day, while the mid-core audience plays less but often desires the complexity of play associated with core gaming. Core gamers who want a unique take on game narrative and cooperative-based puzzles will find Skazka appealing, as will mid-core game players who desire a more emotive experience than the casual game market provides while wanting a highly social game experience.

As a exploration-based game, players navigate environments based on the actual flora and geology of Siberia. This large expanse of land contains biological and cultural diversity that is rarely captured in a commercial game setting. Players overcome physical obstacles using critical understanding and technical execution of character skills in the context of cooperative play. In Skazka the precision required for move-execution is de-emphasized in favor of communication and coordinated effort between players. The better players coordinate their efforts, the more hidden sections and new terrain the team can reach. Players who work together are therefore rewarded with more narrative segments and deeper sense of immersion within the world. This partner-based emphasis in games is unique to Skazka giving it clear market differentiation in the greater independent game market, while having appeal for both the parents of gamers and the classroom environment.

Skazka’s narrative reinforces the mechanics-based ideas of mutual interdependence by exploring themes of cooperation and empathy, as well as depictions of loss and grief, courage in the face of adversity, and loyalty to friends. While these themes will resonate with adults, generating discussion about personal responsibility for actions, they are presented in a fanciful, fairytale aesthetic that keeps the game approachable and appealing for younger players.

Cooperation as a MechanicSkazka functions both as a shared screen local experience and a networked experience

with matchmaking. Given the exploratory nature of the game, Akula Games has incorporated certain segments that allow for a single-player experience for someone who wants to enjoy the game's aesthetics without a partner. This path is limited and linear. While it can provide a fun challenge for an individual, it is mostly there to provide further incentive to play as a team, since the majority of levels (as well as many of the optional in-game narrative segments) are not accessible without a secondary player.

In the current game market, equivalent games to Skazka would have players work with an assistant AI and/or switch between both playable characters to accomplish objectives. In Skazka, players can switch between characters, but many of the puzzles require players to rely on each other's problem-solving abilities and insights, then work in a coordinated effort. By coordinating timing and movement within each puzzle scenario, the two players can open new segments within the game. This type of mutual inter-dependence and partner-based problem-solving is intended to foster player empathy and encourage collaborative critical-reasoning.

The sense of inter-player dependency extends to the story, which focuses on the

friendship between the girl, Katya, and the wolf, Volk. Skazka features a female protagonist to provide an empowering role model for female players, while the wolf companion adds an element of fantasy that all players can enjoy.

The friendship between girl and wolf is conveyed first and foremost through character interactions, animations, and interactive mechanics as illustrated in Figure 1. Examples of interactions are "Call," "Affection" and "Grieve." Call and Affection are player-controlled actions, with Call directing the other player's attention to the character's location, and Affection triggering non-critical, but fun, animations of the characters interacting. It creates a sense of mutual reward and shared happiness if the characters are within range of each other. Grieve is triggered upon the other character's death, which then ends the game. This encourages players to sympathize with the character's loss, while motivating them to try harder.

Cooperative Player MechanicsBoth Katya and Volk have a standard set of actions typical to puzzle and exploration

genres, including run, jump, and environmental interactions. To ensure mutual dependence, Katya and Volk have their own unique abilities, which must be used in conjunction if players are to solve the puzzles and make progress through the game.

Volk's unique abilities allow him to double-jump and long jump, as well as push objects. Katya's abilities focus on the environmental manipulation required for puzzle-solving such as growing plants, breaking objects, and swinging on vines. Since there is a breakdown in player functionality, the game requires cooperative actions, while allowing players to select their character based on personal play preference. Action-oriented players can take on the dynamic role of Volk, while more tactical players will strategize use of Katya's abilities.

The characters' special abilities are accompanied by "team up" abilities, which require the players to interact and coordinate directly. These "team up" abilities are the market differentiator of the Skazka IP and are based on cooperative abilities from other game genres as well as psychological research into prosocial gaming. These abilities are copyrighted to protect the franchise's unique spin on puzzle-solving and exploration within a video game.

"Mount" is an ability where Katya rides on Volk to combine his speed and maneuverability with her magical powers. "Launch" allows either Katya to push a log swing, or Volk to jump on a teeter-totter to give the other character a boost toward inaccessible areas. "Assist" occurs when Katya is dangling from a ledge, and Volk pulls her to safety. These "team ups" are illustrated in Figure 2.

Cooperative Mechanics in Puzzle-solvingSkazka uses the flow found in exploratory games, such as Shadow of the Colossus and

Journey. Both Katya and Volk are on the screen at all times, and this is the first step to intrinsically linking players. At the beginning of each puzzle, players start at the same location, and though they often separate to accomplish their individual tasks, they must both reach the end of the puzzle before the next segment opens, as shown in Figure 3. Alternate routes and hidden areas require both players to access. This example puzzle shows the four basic actions each player must take with her character to open up new segments of the environment.

By design, it is impossible to leave behind the other player's character, or to actively harm the other player's character. While it is possible to passively harm the other player's character (e.g. not providing assistance at a critical moment or refusing to cooperate with that player), if either character dies, it results in a “game over" for both players. Such “trolling" tactics are less likely to occur within a local, shared screen experience, and strategies for matchmaking in a networked scenario can help players swap out uncooperative partners.

Player actions are not always simultaneous, but in such circumstances, the “passive" player has secondary objects to collect, hostile dangers (environmental or enemy) to engage, or can explore their section of the screen to look for additional paths and goals. This prevents a sense of boredom or dissatisfaction with either of the character roles while providing constant immersion within the Skazka world.

Cooperative Mechanics in ExplorationNot all sections of the game are readily visible from the main path, which encourages

players to explore all areas of the screen. In some cases, one character might quickly discover a potential “entrance" to a hidden section of the game's world, but that section might require the

other character to access it. In this case, the first player must signal to his partner that she should join him in this region.

In local co-op, where both players are in close proximity to each other and sharing the same screen, this is as simple as vocalizing the request. This type of communication becomes more challenging in the networked play of the game, since players can only communicate with the other player using standard in-game actions. This includes the “Call" ability, which provides an immediate signal to focus the other player's attention, but the exact steps necessary for accessing the new region cannot be conveyed directly. It therefore becomes a challenge in both communication and cooperation in order to discover new areas and be rewarded with additional world sections and narrative interludes.

While local and networked play differ in this respect, both forms of play offer players a chance to collaborate in terms of problem-solving and coordinating efforts. These types of collaborations result in a tangible reward for both players, and this again incentivizes cooperation in all aspects of play.

An initial level layout map in Figure 4 shows the different paths and puzzles available based on player decisions and interactions within the first forest biome that acts as a vertical slice. This layout and interconnectivity illustrates how players are given the opportunity to explore different sections of the game to uncover optional narrative segments and unique visual (and collection-based) rewards.

Compassionate Empathy through Narrative

The goal of Skazka is connection rather than division, but games are often competitive and winning-focused. Such goals are a natural fit for a “good/evil" dichotomy, and in such a narrative, the player and her character are depicted as a “hero" with all adversaries and opponents taking on the role of “villain." Such a “good versus evil" narrative resolves when the player completes the game, giving her satisfaction at both winning the game and defeating her opponent.

This mentality can work against empathy-building as it encourages aggression rather than cooperation in players (shown by Tobias Greitemeyer and Silvia Osswald in the 2009 Journal of Experimental Social Psychology paper, Prosocial video games reduce aggressive cognitions). Skazka avoids aggressive cognitions in terms of narrative design. The game's cooperation-based play exists within a less divisive narrative — a design choice to discourage aggressive play mentality while maintaining a compelling story-telling component.

Skazka's adversaries are “boss" characters that players must defeat to progress, but these bosses are not depicted as evil. Instead they are sentient creatures and spirits. As in the highly regarded Shadow of the Colossus, these “enemies" have sympathetic qualities and unique personalities. As Katya and Volk defeat the land's inhabitants, the victory is bittersweet — Katya gets closer to rescuing her brother, but the world itself pays a heavy price. This challenges player notions of “hero" and “villain" archetypes, and also raises questions of human impact on the natural world.

While such themes may seem secondary to the questions of cooperation and empathy between players, a thoughtful, subtle narrative in games can spark discussion between players about ethics, personal loss and duty, and how to act in uncertain moral situations, as with Spec Ops: The Line. Yet rather than provide answers to these questions, Skazka is intended to promote internal self-evaluation and critical discussion.

Diversity in DesignSince Skazka's focus is on a cooperative and empathetic experience, the world and

characters within it are designed to be relatable, while also celebrating diversity. A number of games assume a Western audience and thus focus on depictions of European characters and setting, but Skazka is designed to foster an appreciation of cultures and experiences that might differ from the player's own. The setting is the Siberian countryside, which historically is a mix of Western and Eastern cultures and architecture. This setting will provide an atmosphere familiar to Western players, while exposing them to something outside their area of comfort and experience. As Siberia is a vast geologic area, with a diverse range of ethnic groups and ecosystems, Katya's journey encourages interest in, and sensitivity toward, a unique part of the world.

Katya herself is a girl of mixed Buryat, Turkic and Russian descent. She is designed as a role model for younger female players, as well as biracial players, and therefore possesses the “heroic" qualities of bravery, determination, and loyalty. Volk, her wolf companion, possesses similar qualities, but his design incorporates the fierce power of a wild animal. Initial designs of the characters are shown in Figure 5. The choice in character allows players who might be unwilling to play a female protagonist have an opportunity to enjoy Skazka's gameplay and narrative. Since one of Akula Games' goals is to contribute to the normalization of non-male, non-white protagonists in video games, the company must overcome potential biases of a “mainstream" audience by presenting something accessible and familiar, yet still compelling enough to raise awareness.

Skazka's main aesthetic inspiration comes from the fairytale illustrative art of Ivan Bilibin, which features heavy outlines, watercolor shading, and a bold, illustrative style. The fairytale

aesthetic provides a visual appeal accessible to a younger audience, and can garner a sense of nostalgia in older players — rekindling a sense of childlike wonder in players and making them more open to the experiences and events of Skazka. Other games that reimagine fairytales as games are Child of Light, Unfinished Swan,and Odin Sphere. These games span a number of genres, but in all three cases, the strong visual style separates them from the competition. For an indie game's marketability, such differentiation is critical, and Skazka's emphasis on Russian fairytales provides a fresh, less explored, consideration of the fairytale aesthetic. A rough concept sketch by one of the Akula Games artists can be seen in Figure 6, which begins the process of building out art assets to both convey and evolve the art of Bilibin.