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Interview and Empathy Maps

Content Expertise Effective Communication Critical Thinking & Problem Solving Self Directed Learning Community Partners Essential Question

Students conduct three short interviews with peers, family members, or community partners to learn what players value in games. They observe how people interact with a rough prototype, and record notes using kid-friendly methods. In small groups, students create empathy maps and journey maps that show players’ feelings, steps, and needs. The outputs to collect include interview notes, observation notes, and the maps, and the class will briefly share insights to guide the next phase.

Plan day
Day 2
Duration
60 min
Grouping
Small Group
Steps
7 steps

Lesson plan

7 steps · 60 min
# What teachers do
1 Introduce the activity and provide an overview of today's objectives. Discuss what empathy maps are and how they help in understanding player experiences. (20 min)
2 Demonstrate how to conduct an interview using a simple, kid-friendly interview protocol. (20 min)
3 Pair up students and let them conduct short interviews with each other about what they like in games. They should take turns being the interviewer and the interviewee. (40 min)
4 Collect observations by having students briefly play a prototype game or watch a gameplay video, noting their reactions and any preferences they express. (40 min)
5 Regroup in small groups to create empathy maps using the interview notes and observations. Encourage students to think about feelings, needs, and pains of different players. (60 min)
6 Have each group present their empathy maps to the class, highlighting key insights and discussing possible game design decisions that could address these insights. (50 min)
7 Conduct a reflection session where students share what they learned about players' preferences and how this will impact the next steps in their game development process. (40 min)
Preparation (4 items)
  • Prepare a simple, kid-friendly interview protocol and print copies for each student.
  • Set up a small prototype game or gameplay video to showcase for the observation step.
  • Create a visual anchor chart or poster showing an example of an empathy map for reference.
  • Organize materials needed for creating empathy maps, such as large paper, markers, sticky notes, etc.
Student-facing instructions
Today, your task is to learn what makes a game fun for other people. You'll start by practicing asking questions to your classmates about their favorite games. Then, you'll watch or play a simple game to see how people respond. After that, you'll draw pictures and write notes on an empathy map to show what players need and feel during a game. Finally, you'll share what you've learned with your friends.