The emotional impact of interactive cutscene animation on players' empathy - centered on 『The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt』

This study explores the effects of interactive cut-scene animation on emotions by stimulating player empathy as an example in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The interactive element in the game provides a unique experience in which the story changes depending on the player's decision, which maximizes the player's emotional immersion. This study analyzed the different effects of interactive and non-interactive cut-scene animations on players' empathy and emotional response through randomized controlled experiments. The subjects were randomly assigned to a control group watching non-interactive cut-scene animations and an experimental group participating in interactive cut-scene animations. The emotional state and level of empathy before and after the experiment were evaluated with a questionnaire using the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (TEQ) and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) scales. The results showed that the interactive cut-scene animation significantly increased the player's level of empathy and positive emotional experience compared to the non-interactive cut-scene animation. These results suggest that the interactive elements in game design play an important role in promoting empathy and immersion. The experiment also confirmed that increased empathy was associated with higher positive emotions, proving that interactivity was effective in strengthening the game emotional experience. This study provides game developers and designers with the basis for designing a more immersive game experience by carefully considering the emotional reactions of players.