KENNESAW, Ga. | Aug 30, 2024

Kennesaw State University published the video game Corporation, Inc. on Friday, marking the university’s first game distributed by the KSU Game Studio.

Assistant Professor of Game Narrative Victoria Lagrange designed the game to foster empathy for marginalized communities by creating a protagonist who recently emigrated from Colombia. Users are tasked with performing the character’s work duties while also having to navigate several forms of discrimination.

“The idea is to experience what it's like to be a recently emigrated woman who finds a job and who has a lot of pressure on them to make the right choices while experiencing discrimination,” Lagrange said. “What we're hoping is that when people play the game, they really experience that firsthand, and then it changes the way they perceive people around them. So, maybe then they will meet someone who immigrated, and they will think about this experience that they had while playing the game.”

Corporation Inc. follows the protagonist, Maria, as she begins a new job as a hiring manager. Through daily tasks such as sorting resumes and interacting with coworkers, users can affect Maria’s story as they choose from different prompts in each situation.

The game’s story was crafted to gauge how video game narratives can affect human behavior and communities.

“The main idea is, can you play a game, experience empathy for the character, and can you change your actions in real life?” Lagrange said. “I played this game called Beyond Two Souls by Quantic Dream, where you play as a homeless person at some point in the game. Then I noticed that my perspective had changed afterwards. So, I want to see if it’s replicable, how long it is replicable for, and if there is a way to make the world better through video games.”

Lagrange operates the Game Narrative Lab within the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, where students played a key part in developing the back end of the game, creating the visuals, and determining the narrative.

Cole Andrews, a senior interactive design major, worked to craft the narrative, writing and editing scripts while also consulting on character development.

Andrews said he drew more on his experience reading books rather than playing video games.

“Reading stuff like Lord of the Rings and The Inheritance Cycle, which is the Eragon books, really inspired me. Harry Potter, of course,” Andrews said. “I just read these books that are 200-300 pages in a day, like, ‘This is incredible.’ Getting immersed into a world is what really interested me and allowing players to experience that same thing, where it’s the interactive experience where you're not just reading a book, you're affecting the story. You're affecting these characters in a way that hopefully matters if the game was designed well.”

Corporation, Inc. recently won the annual Life. Love Game Design Challenge, a contest hosted by Jennifer Ann’s Group that showcases the power of intentional game design to foster critical thinking and nonviolent engagement among young people.

Jennifer Ann’s Group is an Atlanta-based 501(c)3 nonprofit charity founded in 2006 with a primary focus on teen dating violence prevention, created in memory of Jennifer Ann Crecente. Through its innovative Gaming Against Violence program and community outreach interventions, Jennifer Ann’s Group is addressing the root causes of violence, promoting nonviolent solutions, empowering adolescents, and supporting educators and parents. Jennifer Ann’s Group believes their cross-cutting approach to violence prevention will lead to a safer world for young people around the world.

Lagrange’s interest in the topic was spawned by examining how people identify with violent characters, specifically the main character in A Clockwork Orange, Alex, and how those characters affect people’s satisfaction with the story.

“And so that eventually led me to video games,” Lagrange said. “And the one thing that I was super interested in with video games was how you can make choices in the story that would make the story evolve in a different way, and how that would influence your relationship with the player character, the one that you embody to make the choices for.”

The Game Narrative Lab will showcase Corporation Inc. at DreamHack Atlanta in October and is currently developing a new game called AlleyCat that also aims to foster empathy.

– Story by David Roberts

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 45,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.