Reflecting on facilitated workshop in Finland “In Our Shoes”: Games, Empathy, and Embodied Decision-Making

Earlier I was busy with three work trips in a raw, one of which was a research trip to Finland. Apart from giving a talk on Game as a Form of Art (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LC0bLvWCha8), I was working on the research project.

In partnership with Games as Art Center we are facilitating the “In Our Shoes” workshop 3 April 2025 at Tampere University. It was a deeply emotional and academically enriching experience. Watching participants embody characters based on composite refugee narratives — some drawn from my own lived experiences and testimonies — was both cathartic and unsettling. It felt like standing at the boundary of memory and simulation, watching empathy unfold in real-time. One participant confessed, “I’ve never had anything as challenging to decide in my life” — a reminder that role-play can evoke visceral emotional engagement (Bowman, 2010).

The most challenging aspect was observing moments where players trivialised or misunderstood the gravity of certain decisions. This reflects the tension between immersion and detachment in live-action role-play (LARP), especially when the subject matter is ethically loaded (Harviainen, 2012). Yet even in these moments, the workshop served its purpose: to provoke dialogue, reflection, and emotional resonance through play (Frasca, 2007).

What surprised and relieved me was the depth of care and attentiveness participants brought to the scenarios. Despite the mixed media format (with online facilitation and asynchronous elements), the workshop fostered a strong sense of unity and co-presence. The structure — alternating between scenario play, script writing, and playtesting — created a rhythm of reflection and creative agency.

One design insight that emerged was the limited utility of secret cards in the Zero Days Living as Me scenario. Players either ignored them or revealed them too early. In future iterations, I would incorporate clearer dramaturgical cues to manage disclosure pacing and encourage narrative tension (Montola, 2012).

Ultimately, “In Our Shoes” reaffirmed my belief that games — especially when co-created and embodied — can be powerful vehicles for social imagination and affective learning. As educators and designers, we hold the tools to make the unspeakable playable — responsibly.

References:

• Bowman, S.L. (2010). The Functions of Role-Playing Games.
• Frasca, G. (2007). Play the Message: Play, Game and Videogame Rhetoric.
• Harviainen, J.T. (2012). “Systemic LARP Design”.
• Montola, M. (2012). On the Edge of the Magic Circle.