SoKids

SoKids is a research-driven game project developed by a student team at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center in collaboration with the Center for Transformational Play. Working closely with early childhood researchers and educators at the CMU Children’s School, under the guidance of Dr. Catarina Vales, the project explores how digital games can function as playful research tools to study how preschool-aged children perceive and make sense of social categories.

Rather than relying on direct questioning or interview-based assessments, SoKids embeds measurement tools within age-appropriate, play-based interactions that feel like everyday imaginative play for kids aged three to six. The project is intentionally designed to reduce cost and logistical overhead compared to traditional in-person research methods, enabling a more scalable and accessible approach to early childhood research.

Through iterative prototyping and playtesting with young children, SoKids aims to generate ethically grounded insights into early social cognition, while advancing game-based methods for research at the intersection of play, learning, and development.