Ruaridh Dall

Equal parts excited and terrified to have started laying out the potential structure of my thesis.
#gbl #seriousgames #empathy #universityofaberdeen #phd

Scoping Literature Review of Digital Empathy Games in Healthcare Education and Training Introduction The study of serious games and their ability to develop empathy in users is a developing area of research. Empathy is recognised as being important to the practice of patient-centered h.....

First publication from my PhD project up for early viewing online in the European Journal of Dental Education. Very thankful for the supervision and collaboration from Jaya Jayasinghe, @daisyabbott.bsky.social, George Cherukara, & Paul Bond.

doi.org/10.1111/eje....

Breathing a huge sigh of relief this morning as my #twine upload to #itch seems to work fine in browsers on PC, android and iOS. One week until I sit down some participants to test my #seriousgame

Harold Halibut on Steam Harold Halibut is a handmade narrative game about friendship and life on a city-sized spaceship submerged in an alien ocean. Join Harold as he explores a vibrant retro-future world in his quest to fin...

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, & writing for games:
17) Harold Halibut by @slowbros.bsky.social
store.steampowered.com/app/924750/H...
Visually impressive stopmotion-like characters in a slow-paced tale about finding your place amongst the stars.

That conference poster feeling! My poster on a narrative review of empathy games that may be of use in healthcare education clinical empathy training. Up on the wall at the Global Symposium on Empathy in Healthcare at the The University of Leicester. @empathy-centre.bsky.social

Arrived in Dublin for #adee 2025. Looking forward to the dental education talks today and tomorrow. My turn to present some of my research into dental student attitudes to communication skills, empathy, and digital games on Friday. #empathy #healthcare #dentistry #gbl

Thanks to you for telling the story! Games are a great medium for showing the perspectives of people and other lived experiences. Hopefully my research eventually convinces others that indie games are a great resource!

Save 20% on Without a Dawn on Steam Without a Dawn is a dark, psychological, and philosophical visual horror novel featuring hauntingly beautiful pseudo-ASCII art.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, & writing for games:
16) Without a Dawn store.steampowered.com/app/3145620/... by @jessemakkonen.com
A tale of anxiety, depression, and a tortured soul. Wonderful ASCII-style graphics and great sound design.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, & writing for games:
15) passage.toolness.org by @jason-rohrer.bsky.social
A game about attachment, aging, and bereavement said wordlessly.‬ Easily worth 5 mins of your time!

Easy to forget sometimes just how spectacular the views from random housing estates in Inverness can be.

Save 51% on A Butterfly on Steam The abyss called your name. You followed it here. Now you are its prisoner. A Butterfly is part horror, part interactive poem about overcoming and bittersweet surrender

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, & writing for games:
14) A Butterfly by @alienmelon.bsky.social
store.steampowered.com/app/3439300/...
Very interesting approach to telling a poem about rebirth by embedding verses in a 3D world.

Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! on Steam Welcome to the club! Write poems for your crush and experience the terror of school romance in this critically-acclaimed psychological horror story.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, & writing for games:
13) Doki Doki Literature Club by @dansalva.to
store.steampowered.com/app/1388880/...
A subversive take on the visual novel romance game. Without spoiling, does present mental health issues.

Save 60% on Venba on Steam Venba is a short narrative cooking game, where you play as an Indian mom who immigrates to Canada with her family in the 1980s. Cook various dishes and restore lost recipes, hold branching conversatio...

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
12) Venba by @visaigames.bsky.social
store.steampowered.com/app/1491670/...
Uses cooking games to tell a story of the complexity of cultural identity in a new place.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
11) www.quandarygame.org by learninggamesnetwork.org
A serious game for teaching school children critical thinking and perspective-taking, ethics, and practicing empathy

Thanks for making the game! It's important to memorialise events to inform others!

Massive congratulations!

Chestnut Grove by Philip Drobar A short walking simulator set in in the COVID-19 pandemic, made by Philip Drobar.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
10) Chestnut Grove by @philipdrobar.bsky.social
philip-drobar.itch.io/chestnut-grove
Pandemic media walking sim. Useful for preserving & sharing what the experience of 2020 was like for many.

Amazingly, had a second abstract accepted for a conference presentation in the space of a week! I'm off to ADEE '25 to talk student attitudes on communication skills training, empathy in practice, and games for education & leisure. #gbl #empathy #dentaleducation #adee2025 #universityofaberdeen #phd

IMMORTALITY on Steam Marissa Marcel was a film star. She made three movies. But none of the movies were ever released. And Marissa Marcel disappeared. An interactive trilogy from Sam Barlow, creator of Her Story.

Games I have played this year* as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
9) store.steampowered.com/app/1350200/... by @halfmermaid.co
Rebuild the narrative of what happened to Marissa Marcel by diving into footage from 3 lost films and question what identity is.

Had an abstract accepted for a poster presentation at the Global Empathy in Healthcare Network Symposium! I'll be sharing findings from a review that compares commercially available & serious games and their potential for developing empathy in healthcare students. @empathy-centre.bsky.social #gbl

Fractured Minds on Steam Fractured Minds is an immersive artistic short game, exploring anxiety and mental health issues. Embark on a journey through the human psyche to experience the everyday challenges associated with thes...

Games I have played this year* as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
8) Fractured Minds by Emily Mitchell store.steampowered.com/app/688740/F...
A game about the haunting effects of anxiety that sufferers cannot seem to escape. @wiredproductions.com
*Replayed

Happy CITIZEN SLEEPER DAY! 🥳

The series is 3 years old today! To celebrate I just released SPINDLEJACK a free, print and play solo TTRPG about zero-g bike couriers!

🚴‍♀️Grab it here: jump-over-the-age.itch.io/citizen-slee...

We also have new series art, and some fun stats below too 👇

New @who.int global report shows within-country health inequities are widening and the health gap targets will be missed, largely due to a lack of political will to tackle the structural drivers of poor health @michaelmarmot.bsky.social @sudhvir.bsky.social #AllforEquity bit.ly/3SdE4lo

Blackhaven on Steam Blackhaven is a first-person narrative game that follows Kendra Turner, a college intern at Blackhaven Hall, a historic mansion burned during the American Revolution. Working alone on a holiday, Kendr...

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
7) Blackhaven by @historiated.bsky.social
store.steampowered.com/app/1668610/...
Walking sim which shows how racism distorts the presentation of history. It's free, play it!

Runo on Steam A walking simulator about dear memories, overcoming obstacles, and finding your path. Experience a story inspired by finno-karelian folklore.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
6) Runo by runogame
store.steampowered.com/app/1642130/...
Walking sim about finno-karelian folkore hiding beneath the joy of taking a traditional Finnish summer retreat.

A Highland Song on Steam Moira McKinnon is running away. A wild adventure through the Scottish Highlands, with open platforming and dynamic storytelling, maps and music. From the creators of Heaven's Vault and 80 Days.

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
5) A Highland Song by @inkle.co
store.steampowered.com/app/1240060/...
Journey through the hills and glens learning Scottish folklore along the way. Trad music score is a bonus.

*Actually last year but it is constantly on my mind. Just a superb game. It's on sale for a couple more hours today too.

Save 25% on 1000xRESIST on Steam 1000xRESIST is a thrilling sci-fi adventure. The year is unknown, and a disease spread by an alien invasion keeps you underground. You are Watcher. You dutifully fulfil your purpose in serving the ALL...

Games I have played this year* as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
4: 1000x Resist by @sunsetvisitor.studio
store.steampowered.com/app/1675830/...
A narrative sci-fi game that considers the effects of trauma on familial relationships in a search for truth.

Meet The Viruses by School of Innovation & Technology @ GSA Explore the Virus Gallery

Meet the Viruses - explore the 3D gallery of viruses, free in your browser: sit-gsa.itch.io/meet-the-virus - work with @uofglasgow.bsky.social @cvrinfo.bsky.social #virology #virus

Year Unknown on Steam A story-based exploration game about the very far future. With the help of two Artificial Intelligences, explore a universe conquered by humanity, uncover your purpose in it, and try to stop it from f...

Games I have played this year as research into serious games, empathy development, and writing for games:
3) Year Unknown by @julianh.dev
store.steampowered.com/app/2565520/...
Walking Sim about the world millennia after the last human has left. What is knowledge without the life that created it?