Player 21: Promoting Empathy Through Play
Player 21 is an interactive online game designed to simulate everyday challenges faced by individuals with Down syndrome. Built with p5.js, the game immerses players in the role of Willow, a young person navigating daily tasks while managing sensory, emotional, and physical challenges. This project explored how interactive media can foster empathy and social awareness.
Yet empathy is best built through experience, not explanation. We asked:
How might we use interactivity to help neurotypical players understand the sensory and motor challenges for someone with Down syndrome without reducing their identity to a condition?
Our solution was a first-person, narrative-based game that transforms routine activities into emotionally resonant challenges. Each level focuses on a different aspect of lived experience—motor control, sensory overload, and emotional regulation.
Our brainstorming began with the insight that experiencing emotions first-hand can communicate more effectively than overt storytelling.
To ensure authenticity, we reviewed literature and advocacy sources describing common experiences for people with Down syndrome, which were translated into three key themes:
- Motor coordination (brushing teeth, zipping a jacket)
- Sensory overload (navigating noisy environments)
- Emotional regulation (handling stress under pressure)
The story follows Willow, a young barista with Down Syndrome. Players guide her through three stages of her day:
- Morning Routine – Fine motor challenges like brushing teeth or fastening clothes
- Commute – Sensory and memory overload while catching and riding the bus
- Work at Café – Memory, focus, and coordination under social pressure
Mechanics:
- Each task is timed using a stress meter, which acts as both a timer and emotional feedback system
- Players use assistive tools from a “toolkit”, each with different affordances
- Layered ambient sounds (traffic, chatter, espresso machines) to mimic sensory overload
- If stress maxes out, the player restarts the level
Initial playtests with university students revealed key issues:
- Many players didn’t understand the purpose of assistive tools without explicit hints
- Some found levels 2-3 to be too difficult for the average non-gamer
Refinements:
- Improved tool icons to be more visible, and implemented a bounce animation when tool is in use
- Tuned stress increments and task difficulty for a smoother learning curve
Focus: Fine motor skills
Challenge Type: Brushing teeth, getting dressed, meal preparation
Assistive Tools: Adaptive toothbrush, magnetic shirts, meal kits
Focus: Sensory & cognitive load
Challenge Type: Bus schedule confusion, physical stability
Assistive Tools: Noise-cancelling headphones, smartphone, vibration alert wristband
Focus: Precision & patience
Challenge Type: Stocking pastries, making lattes
Assistive Tools: Pre-labeled trays, magnifying glass, auto-frothing steam wand
Each successful task reduces stress and reinforces confidence; each failure teaches resilience.
The day ends with a “Performance Summary” screen, where players see how efficiently they managed stress and adapted to challenges in the game.
Disclaimer: Gen-AI tools were used for some background images.
Due to the short playtime and limited project timeline, future iterations could include:
- Narrative branching to show how emotional support changes outcomes
- Adaptive difficulty to match player empathy progression
- Voice narration or dialogue for deeper storytelling
Player 21 taught me that empathy in design doesn’t come from explicitly describing a situation to players, but from letting them perceive it through experience. By merging mechanics, sensory design, and emotion, we built a game that sparks understanding rather than pity.
From a UX perspective, I learned the importance of balancing difficulty and compassion in interactive experiences.