Fix Fox Interview: "Games Shape Our thinking"
Jaraslov Meloun is a solo indie developer with a mission: to make video games that teach people empathy and compassion, without resorting to violence or coercion.
“In 2012, I went to Japan with my wife,” Meloun tells me. “One of the places that we wanted to visit was [the] Hiroshima Peace Memorial. It's a place designed as a universal call for peace. We knew that the visit would be emotional, but it was much heavier and much more demanding - emotionally - than we expected. I come from a relatively peaceful country and I grew up in peaceful times, so seeing war described so up close was a shock for me. And also the realisation of what humanity is capable of doing. It's something that I like to not be part of.
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“Since games are my main outlet, my channel of creativity, something that I communicate with the world through - both by consuming and then by making them - I took a personal vow to stop playing games that promote violence and contain it in some way that is not critical. It changed my view on games. I realised that games shape our thinking. For me, it's a medium of learning. Whatever you do in the game trains you in certain skills. Especially in our current situation, it is apparent that what we need is empathy and kindness. I know I won't change the world, but I think I can just work in a small corner and make a few kind things and make a few people nicer to each other.”
Meloun doesn’t make his video games lightly. He thinks all developers and publishers should think carefully about what their creations teach people, and what they offer.
“I think making games is a responsible thing. I'm flawed, as [is] everyone, but I'm doing my best to try to think of what [impact] my games will have on
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