Susannah Emery, a game designer, uses her unique perspective as a neurodivergent individual to create video games that shed light on social issues. In her game, Life (Re)Sounding, players embark on a journey through everyday tasks, experiencing the world through the lens of neurodivergence. This game is a powerful tool to raise awareness and foster understanding of neurodivergent experiences.
Emery's work is deeply personal, drawing from her own neurodivergent experiences. She aims to demonstrate that the challenges faced by neurodivergent individuals are often a result of the world's design, rather than an inherent flaw. For instance, in one level of the game, players must clean up trash, and the brightness of the environment increases with each correct action, reflecting Emery's own struggle with light sensitivity.
Her journey into game design began with a career guidance counselor's advice to pursue other fields, suggesting that multimedia studies might not be suitable for a woman. However, a chance encounter with a female multimedia program head at a university open day sparked her passion. This led her to pursue an undergraduate degree in multimedia, followed by a teaching role in a remote community. There, she combined her love for video games with education, using the Nintendo Wii to engage students who were otherwise disinterested in school.
Inspired by the impact of video games on student engagement, Emery delved into an honors degree exploring the intersection of education and games. She co-designed a game that integrated First Nations knowledge and the Australian curriculum, which she found so fulfilling that she embarked on a Ph.D. focusing on how games can raise awareness of domestic violence. Emery's work highlights the importance of representation in the gaming industry, noting that only 22% of game developers in Australia identify as female.
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI), Emery sees it as a powerful tool to bring ideas to life, but emphasizes the importance of human stories in gaming. She believes that AI can enhance creative work by helping to bring out personal experiences and dreams, but it should not replace human creativity. Emery encourages aspiring game designers to start making their own games, using free resources like Scratch and Twine, and to embrace the iterative process of play testing, where repetition and experimentation lead to improvement.
