By Kerrigan Dunham & Cate Phillips
In 2017, a team of three indie developers known as Team Cherry developed a game involving a subterranean fallen kingdom of bugs, chock-full of lore that you must explore as an unknown traveling knight who stumbles upon this world of wonder. This game is Hollow Knight, and it is known as a Metroidvania: a genre of game involving free-roam exploration across numerous areas, with lots of backtracking as you unlock powers and abilities that allow you to access new paths and locations. While exploring the world, you discover the various and diverse regions that make up the kingdom of Hallownest, and learn more about its vast and complex past. This game showcases environmental storytelling through its detailed graphics, the atmospheric-enhancing musical score, and the extremely detailed lore of the world that glues it all together.
You can learn so much about an environment simply by living in it. Hollow Knight excels in this by utilizing the foreground, middle-ground, and background to add detail and character to each area you travel through. The glowing bubbles of Fog Canyon and lush verdant plant life of Greenpath perfectly capture their respective vibes and histories. In contrast, the Kingdom's Edge shows a gray, dull, and ashy landscape, where the world has simply started to decay. Ash and dust fill the air, while bodies of dead bugs can be seen falling from the Colosseum above. However, the most intricate area is arguably the City of Tears, the capital of Hallownest; its layout reflects an urban city, with visibly rich and poor areas. The Blue Lake above the city has begun leaking through the earth, putting the city in a perpetual rainy state, which adds to the solemn and decrepit atmosphere (also, raining underground? SO cool). An unmissable portion of the city includes the memorial statue of The Hollow Knight and the three Dreamers at the city’s center. Ignoring the incredible story relevance this image has, the shadowy smooth stone accompanied by the graphics of rain falling all around showcase a powerful display of detail that this game is able to replicate time and time again. Now landscapes alone can be impressive, but they're nothing without the soundscape. The musical score of Hollow Knight is one of the most interesting aspects about the game. Written by Christopher Larkin, the score features a myriad of leitmotifs that follow characters and a large variety of tempos and styles for boss fights and exploratory areas. Without this elaborate score, the atmosphere of the game would be incomplete. There is a stark contrast between most songs in the soundtrack which shows the versatility of the game and what kind of stories it can offer. “Resting Ground,” which plays as you enter an ancient bug graveyard of the same name, brings an ambiance of remembrance and warmth instead of sadness. “Fungal Wastes” is also an area song, but has a more upbeat and whimsical vibe that makes the player intrigued to learn more about the area they are in. In contrast, “Radiance” is a battle anthem that plays during one of the final boss fights of the game; it gives an epic feeling to the player to mirror the action happening on the screen. Larkin’s array of styles within the music serves the lore and course of the story very well and immerses the player into the story on a new level. The lore of this game is the secret sauce that takes it from a cute scenic walking simulator into a full-fledged saga, one that has spawned many YouTube careers. While you uncover lots of story and history through dialogue from other characters throughout the game, most of the lore in the is found either in hidden lore tablets scattered throughout the world, or through purely visual details that populate each area (literal "Environmental Storytelling"). What's beautiful about this is that it puts the onus on the player to seek out and discover more story if they want, which inherently creates a rewarding feeling when they do obtain it. In an effort to avoid spoiling any lore that's too central or impactful to the main story, the example we will use is that of the Mantis Lords, the deadly trio of sister warriors. When you arrive in their village and challenge them to battle, you may notice something interesting in the background, hidden in plain sight.
Do you see it? There's something almost faded, asymmetrical, cast aside.
To the right of the sisters, a crumbling stump of a throne. There was a fourth Lord…but who were they, where did they go? This is a question that lingers for some time and doesn't get answered until you venture deep into the Queen's Gardens in the late game. You stumble upon an observation deck, and suddenly get ambushed by Mantis Traitors, mantises who were driven mad by the Infection. But what are they doing all the way on the left edge of the map? Then, as you defeat the last mantis, the ground begins to shake, and down from the rafters falls a hulking, beastly mantis, overcome with Infection and anger. As he lets out his battle cry and the music kicks in, his boss title is revealed to be "Traitor Lord," and all the dots start to connect.
Once a Lord of the Mantis Village, while his sisters were able to resist the influence of the Infection, he gave into its power, and turned against his sisters, fleeing the village in search of becoming stronger. If it's no surprise already, you end up defeating him in battle, and his story ends in a seemingly sad way, dying as a corrupted version of a former noble warrior.
This is one example out of thousands of complex characters and stories that populate this game. What might seem like a standard adventure platformer is so much more when you look under the surface of this underground game (both in terms of popularity and setting - too many puns to pick from). For a complete package of visual beauty, captivating music, and compelling lore, this game may be the perfect experience for you. By Taylor Davis & Bekah Leipold & Faith Reidinger What Remains of Edith Finch is a first-person walking simulator game developed by Giant Sparrow Games and designed and composed by Ian Dallas and Jeff Russo, respectively. The player has arrived to the Finch household, and is taken through the remnants of the abandoned house through the perspective journal entries of Edith Finch: the returning sole survivor and inheritor of the Finch property, interested in discovering more about her broken family history. Having fled previously with her mother and following her great-grandmother’s passing, Edith recalls her interactions with her previous family members, as well as the stories that had passed through the years of their legacies and passings. Each room tells a different story, through its physical placement in the house mapping, visual elements and interactive items, short “films” of their legacies, as well as the tied artifact in every room: a shrine and photo dedicated to the member it belonged to, as well as their birth and death year. Every story has a mythical or whimsical element to it, whether in its wording (like the poetic retelling of Walter’s time in the bunkers) or visual storytelling (like Barbara’s comic-book telling of her final night alive). They seek to highlight what was special or interesting about their character: celebrating what legacies they have left behind despite their passing. The player must hit all point paths in order to advance the storyline, though the player has reign to discover each room in a unique path as they build the remaining family “tree.” As the curse continues, the player eventually finds out that they have been playing the role of Edith’s son Christopher, who is visiting the house in honor of his mother who died during his birth. What Remains of Edith Finch is considered to be among the list of iconic “walking simulator” games to date, with other titles among it being fan favorites such as Dear Esther and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and even ones we’ve played in class such as Gone Home and Firewatch. While these “walking simulators” are popularly characterized by their immersive environmental storytelling and walking-based gameplay, the genre also has some shared characteristics that are often unlisted: Edith Finch takes place off the coast of Washington State on Orcas Island where the eerie and mysterious home of the Finch family is located. Looking first at location, the game is similar to Firewatch and Gone Home in the way walking simulator projects almost always seem to take place in the Pacific Northwest, with the other two games taking place in Wyoming and Oregon respectively. Not only that, but the specific location of a remote island also matches other famous walking sims (i.e Dear Esther). Next, the bulk of gameplay stems from exploring an expansive empty house filled with the “ghosts” of those who inhabited it, another connection to genre defining walking sim Gone Home. The connection walking simulators create with their common themes of old houses shrouded in secrets located in the Pacific Northwest paints a popular perspective audiences may develop of that side of America: lands and homes surrounded in mystery, with something or someone hiding behind every corner (and the gloomy weather only adds to the eeriness). Walking simulators are often dismissed due to what some might perceive to be simple gameplay; however, it's the genre's ability to masterfully create immersive environments and storytelling filled with such suspense and intrigue that proves its validity as a credible type of video game. What sets What Remains of Edith Finch apart from other walking sims is that the story that unfolds as you explore is left up to your interpretation. Certain stories about the family members are pretty clear, it’s fairly easy to figure out that Gregory died from drowning in the tub when his mom left him unattended. However, there are other family members' stories that are left vaguer. Barbara’s story, for example, is not completely explained, and is not clarified later in the narrative. We discover her story through a comic book that was released about a year after her death, and we can infer that the family had a part in creating that comic. Was she killed by a serial killer that was mentioned during her story? Did her boyfriend do it? Could it be her little brother? Were parts of the comic book made up to make the family more interesting? We never find out. There are many theories on YouTube about the game, including from channels The Game Theorists, and Roobla, and an in-depth explanation by the channel GamerSault. Where most walking simulators just slowly reveal the story, Edith Finch gives us the option as players to discuss and debate on our own and create our own theories based on the details given. Yes, it’s a simple walking sim, but it’s also an interactive story that leaves open gaps for you to fill. By Brianna Brunk & Eva Taub & Sam Stokes The Sims is a social simulation game that was first released in February of 2000, but has since been remade and revamped several times. The most recent rendition of the game is The Sims 4, which was released in 2014. Since its initial release, the game has become widely popular amongst teens and young adults. One reason people speculate the game has become such an integral branch of mainstream gaming culture is because the game allows people to choose, customize, and craft their own character’s and lives. Players have the ability to customize the appearance of their character, the design of their home, their occupation, friends, ambitions, romantic partners, and so much more. Games that are inherently based on choice, such as The Sims, have become very popular because creating a life that is carefully crafted and customized to one’s own preference allows for players to develop a connection and, sometimes, an emotional attachment to their Sims. This type of game structure is known as choice-based narrative, or could be better described as emergent narrative. Emergent narrative games allow the player to choose their own path and customize their experience, but the choices they make are largely informed by interactions with the subsystems already in place within the world of the game. For instance, there are set characters that each Sim will encounter, but it is up to the player to decide what to do when given the opportunity to interact. Although The Sims allows you to choose almost everything for your character there are still some things that are out of your control. For example, sometimes there are random events (fire, floods, etc.) that you have no control over. Another thing in the Sims that you can’t control is things like food and going to the bathroom. Your Sim will tell you when they have to go to the bathroom, you have no control over it. You also have no control over when your Sim is hungry, when your Sim is hungry, they are hungry, and you need to feed them. A third thing that you have no control over when playing The Sims is moodlets. Moodlets are reflections of mood-altering events or situations that a Sim has done or experienced. Moodlets can be positive, negative, or neutral; they will increase or decrease a Sim’s moods and emotions. You have no control over what moodlet occurs or if they will be positive, negative, or neutral. Having no control over these events in your Sims day represents how life really is. You can’t stop the events from happening, but you can control how your Sim responds to the event. Including these things that you can’t control keeps the game realistic. In real life you can’t control when there is going to be a fire or when you will have to go to the bathroom. Sims keeps true to that, which makes the game more realistic and relatable.
One of the more interesting parts of The Sims are the characters that inhabit the town. Sims players call these characters ‘townies.’ Many of the houses in the game are inhabited by Sims created by the game. These households all have their own lore as well as personalities. One of the best ways to see this is by talking with the other Sims. If you flirt with an NPC before having a close enough friendship, they will respond negatively to your interaction, or if you enthuse about the outdoors to someone who hates the outdoors, the relationship meter will go down. There are tons of families that have histories through the game. One major point of lore in The Sims 4 is about the Landgrab family and Johnny Zest. The Landgrab family is the richest family in The Sims and they own things from schools to parks and stores. Johnny is a poor comedian who lives in a trailer. Johnny was disowned by his family when he said he wanted to be a comedian. This is something that you can not change. Even if you, as the player, go in and play as the Landgrabs you will not be able to reintroduce Johnny back into the family even if you befriend him. This inability to control everything in the game allows for you to affect the narrative but the game to also affect your narrative. By Lily Bryson & Bryn Sentnor The world is not unused to blatant cash grabs to keep profiting off of a successful cultural phenomenon, and the ever-expanding Harry Potter universe is no exception. The seven-book series was adapted into eight movies, and the franchise has only grown since with the release of the play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child – which is currently running on Broadway and in London, Melbourne, Hamburg, and Toronto – and the hotly-contested Fantastic Beasts films. There have been many video game adaptations for various platforms made from the franchise, but the most recent is Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, a mobile game that lets the player attend Hogwarts just before Harry himself becomes a student. The basic premise of the game is that the player is a new student at Hogwarts; gameplay progresses through the player’s seventh and final year as a student, following their quest to find out what happened to their older brother Jacob, who was expelled after trying to open the “Cursed Vaults,” ran away from home, and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. Amongst the other characters in the game, the player character’s brother is notorious for his disregard for authority. The player can choose whether they follow in his footsteps and assume the mantle of outspoken troublemaker or play nice and fly under the radar to avoid suspicion, even as they work to uncover secrets that the wizarding establishment clearly does not want to see the light. Much of the plot revolves around the building resentment of Muggleborn witches and wizards – magical children born to non-magical parents – that directly leads to Voldemort’s return during the canon of the books. Because of the direct link to the existing Harry Potter canon, in order for the game to be successful, particular attention to detail was necessary when realizing the game’s characters and environment. Like Gone Home and Firewatch, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is an animated game that strives to achieve the highest degree of realism possible. While by no means perfect, and often appearing low-poly as compared to games like The Sims, the graphics are excellent for a mobile game and move and interact smoothly and relatively seamlessly. The creators do a good enough job resembling the Hogwarts environment and pre-existing characters from the movies for players to engage in willful suspension of disbelief. The player character is the same age as Charlie Weasley, one of Ron Weasley’s older siblings, and interacts with many familiar faces: Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Hagrid, Nymphadora Tonks, and a host of other existing characters that are directly modeled off of the cast of the films. In addition to existing characters, there is also the introduction of several new characters who are more traditional NPCs, providing tutorials and teaching the player about the Wizarding World. The narrative is driven by those new characters – friends, enemies, potential love interests – as they work to uncover the secrets of the Cursed Vaults and form a resistance group, the Circle of Khanna, to directly fight a criminal organization and break curses put onto the student body by the aforementioned Vaults. The additions to canon do not directly contradict any of the source material, instead filling in gaps about what the Hogwarts experience was like post-First Wizarding War and pre-Harry Potter, when children were being educated in relative peace but still existing under the looming memory of wartime and Voldemort’s influence. While not a significant addition to canon, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery provides fans of the series an opportunity to explore Hogwarts on their own outside of the familiar characters they know and love. Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery also bears some resemblance to other mobile games like Episode. Both games have fun aspects like character customization, as well as some that are particularly less fun, such as the “freemium” design of both games. The primary objective of Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is to complete quests that will inevitably help players solve the mystery of the Cursed Vaults and their missing older brother. In order to complete those quests, players need energy, which is half currency, half ‘lives.’ Most quests will consist of a series of smaller actions to execute, and each action requires a different amount of energy. Upon using up all their energy, players have to wait for their energy to refill, similar to the premise of lives in many other mobile games. In keeping with the ‘lives’ structure of those games, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery offers players the opportunity to purchase more energy if they don’t feel like waiting to continue. That said, due to the game’s structure and design, the player’s lack of energy is typically justified within the story, making such interruptions less irritating than in similar games like Episode. The wait times to recover energy mimic real needs for rest on the part of the player’s character, and allow the person playing time to digest the story. For example, in Year 1, the player’s character gets locked in a room with Devil’s Snare by a bully in Slytherin, which motivates them to learn how to duel. When searching for a book on how to duel, the player character has an intense series of visions and has to rest for an hour and a half in real time before continuing on. However, not all wait times are entirely justified, which can be frustrating to some players. Occasionally, the game will make players wait to complete a subsequent quest regardless of how much energy they have, and unless the player has timer toffees, the only way to bypass this waiting period is to use gems, which are hard to earn within the game, thereby enacting the familiar yet frustrating pay-to-play structure of many mobile games. Gems and energy are only two of the many in-game currencies that Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery employs, thus separating it from other mobile games that only have one in-game currency. Other currencies, such as coins and notebooks, can be used to obtain clothes, furniture, pets, and more, and all currencies can be purchased using real-world money if players aren’t satisfied with the rate at which they’re earning currencies via gameplay. In our playing, we found that while ill-timed waits could be irritating as a result of interrupting action sequences or delaying the long-awaited conclusion to a suspenseful build-up, they did not diminish our interest in the story enough to make us stop playing.
While the pay-to-play aspect of the game rubbed many players and critics the wrong way on the game’s initial release, overall it does not unduly impact the narrative of the story. Even though Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery doesn’t directly appeal to people who aren’t already fans of the series, it offers an interactive dive into the Wizarding World and a chance to explore a new era of Hogwarts for a new generation of fans. If you’re willing to be patient, it offers a rich storyline with all the conveniences of mobile games. By Grant Unruh & Adam Walker Portal 2 is a 2011 first-person puzzle-platform game created by Valve as a sequel to their 2007 surprise hit, Portal. Portal 2 expands on the lore of the Portal franchise, which is a part of the larger Half-Life franchise, by delving into the past of the Aperture Science facility. Early in the game you are placed into the facility and forced to do puzzles to get the Wheatley personality core to the control room to overthrow GLaDOS (a rogue artificial intelligence and antagonist from the first game) and stop the life-threatening tests from continuing. Eventually, you succeed, but Wheatley betrays you and sends you away to the original Aperture Science lab below the complex. Here you find the truth about Aperture and are introduced to the game's main theme, human hubris. Aperture Science was a company that sought to test its inventions at any cost. Founded in the early 1940s by Cave Johnson, the company got its start making shower curtains. From 1950 til the early 1980s, the company made a multitude of products that were entirely toxic to human life and performed multiple tests that were incredibly immoral. Some of their various tests included turning human blood into gasoline, fluorescent calcium coffee to monitor the brain, and using experimental RNA to treat tumors they caused. The number of traumatic tests done to trick volunteers was done solely to further their company and for beating their rival companies. Eventually, Aperture switched to automation-based tests using androids to fill their workload. When their leader fell ill he demanded his mind be transferred into a machine to live on. Unfortunately, he was not well enough for the procedure, thus he made his assistant Caroline be the transferred consciousness instead, this was the creation of GLaDOS. The GLaDOS AI was created and shut down not to be disturbed until around 1998, on Aperture Science’s Bring-Your-Daughter-to-Work day. Upon being reactivated, GLaDOS gained self-awareness, took over the facility, and used a deadly neurotoxin on all the workers marking, the end of Aperture Science. The thematic usage of human flaws elevated the Portal series to a new level. Before, in the origianl Portal, the game focused more heavily on the puzzles and gradually unraveled the plot with hidden side rooms and the eventual pushback against GLaDOS. Questions of ethics are brought up in Portal 2 as the player sees all of the choices and experimentation that led to the above Aperture Science and their eventual downfall. By walking through the original Aperture facilities and the literal skeletons left behind in the closet, the player experiences first-hand the cost of unimpeded science. Out of all the sacrifices that were made in the name of scientific progress, there was nothing left to show for it other than bones and rust. Portal 2 deeply expands and grows the world of Portal by telling a story more rather than simply justifying gameplay. Improving upon the original by adding characters and lore with additional symbolism and an additional message that warns of human hubris and how our endless curiosity must be checked or else the problems it causes could be catastrophic. In the Half-Life series, the player has to deal with the consequences of various experiments gone wrong and assume the role of a hero aiding the resistance in taking down an alien empire. In sharp contrast to this, many of the themes in the Portal games deal with the direct consequences and effects of blind ambition and devoting one’s self wholly to the pursuit of science and “progress”. This is further emphasized by the role of Aperture’s former CEO, Cave Johnson. The player experiences Johnson’s steady descent into madness through many audio logs and eventually learns about how his former assistant, Caroline, had her consciousness uploaded into the GLaDOS program. (Johnson was far too sick and unhealthy to do so.) Tying all of this back together, Wheatley is a personality core whose role in the story shifts and is eventually undone by his hubris. After waking the player up from cryostasis and attempting to escape the facility following the first game, Wheatley and the player accidentally revive GLaDOS. After managing to plug Wheatley into GLaDOS’ system in an attempt to get rid of GLaDOS, Wheatley takes over and is driven mad with power, forcing GLaDOS (plugged into a potato battery) and the player to join forces and stop the rogue core. During these sequences, the player not only learns about Johnson’s assistant and the previous versions of Aperture, but also about Caroline’s place in GLaDOS, and that Wheatley is an intelligence-dampening-sphere, created to previously inhibit GLaDOS’ intelligence. After working their way through Wheatley’s distorted and mangled “test chambers” and experiments, the player and GLaDOS confront him and manage to defeat him, ejecting him into space. Wheatley is undone by his hubris, perpetuating the cycle of unchecked progress. Built-in the shape of the scientists before him, and sentenced to an eternity of drifting among the stars, the player finally succeeds and GLaDOS regains control of the facility. She then immediately deletes the Caroline part of her system, and ejects the player from the facility, rolling the credits to the song “Want You Gone,” written for the game and sung by GLaDOS.
Overall, Portal 2 includes tons of themes, commentary, and so much more we could delve into, but its sharpest moments come when making remarks on science as a concept, and how much strife could’ve been prevented if questioned along the way. Even after all the trials, tribulations, tests, and triumphs, one question remains... Was it all worth it? By Ian Berndsen & Jake Shumaker In MLB: The Show 22’s version of “Road to the Show,” the gamer constructs a player who they hope will one day make it to the Major League Baseball organization. The user chooses all the vitals and the focused skill set(s) of their player. In this most recent version of the narrative, the user can select their player to be a pitcher, position player, or a newly-added two-way player. The two-way player, implemented in respect to their two-way star Shohei Ohtani, is a baseball player who can play both as a pitcher and as a position player. This new addition to the game has helped draw a much bigger audience than ever before. When you first start creating your ballplayer, you are faced with some decisions. If you choose to be a pitcher, you have to decide what your pitching arsenal, or types of pitches you will have. If you choose to be a position player, you then would have to pick which position, whether it be an outfield, infield, or catching position. The position player route would then have specification options for batting stance, walk-up music, home run celebrations, and more detailed specs like these. Once this is complete, you are assigned to a minor league affiliate of a Major League Baseball team. This is where you can increase your player attributes and make your way through the different levels of minor league baseball, in the hope of eventually getting the call up to the MLB. Every “Road to the Show” player spends multiple seasons in the minor leagues, no matter how well you perform. You can occasionally, however, receive texts or calls from your agent and be able to say you wish you weren’t in the minors, but it hasn’t been proven that this plays a difference in a player’s time in the development leagues. The users make choices during their entire road to the show, which adds to the narrative of this game. Ultimately, player’s should continue to play, increase their ratings, perform well in games, and they’ll eventually get the call up to the majors. We chose MLB: The Show 22’s "Road to the Show" because of how realistic yet how choice-based it can be. The storyline of the game directly correlates to how the MLB and their minor league affiliates work. It is extremely rare to have a baseball prospect jump straight into the majors, so having a game like this really puts it into society’s minds that it truly is a long road to the show becoming a Major League Baseball player. Every year, the developer San Diego Studio re-vamps this game, ensuring that it is up-to-date and that it adds in any new rules or regulations to the minor league systems. The storyline of "Road to the Show" relates to in-class discussions based on its central themes: identity and realism. Similar to other sport-based video games, the "Road to the Show" allows the player to express themselves via the MyPlayer they create. The player has the opportunity to choose from what type of player they want to be, what legend they want to base their game off of, and more on their way to fame. The MyPlayer plays through the Minor Leagues until having a call-up to the Major League. Although the "Road to the Show" story may seem the same as any other sport video game experience, it is different due to the realism that the storyline incorporates. Unlike other sport-based video games, the MyPlayer has a mental performance coach, which is a new feature within the "Road to the Show" experience. The athlete and coach relationship formed throughout the story makes MLB: The Show 22 more than a sport-based video game. The MyPlayer faces mental health issues based on their performance and interaction with the media. The mental performance coach encourages the MyPlayer and helps them along the way throughout the storyline. The realism and identity throughout the experience make MLB: The Show more than a sports game. While other games only show the highlights of being a professional athlete, "Road to the Show" exemplifies to the player how it truly is to be a professional baseball player.
By Emily Markus & Emily White The character of Strawberry Shortcake was first introduced in the 1970s as a greeting card. Shortly after, the animated show The World of Strawberry Shortcake aired on television in the 1980s and has had several reboots over the years. With this, Strawberry Shortcake has expanded outside of just greeting cards and television and has become available in many different forms. She has been created in dolls, websites, and interactive video games. To add, she has also gained some friends throughout productions in the years. Thirty-two new characters with their own personalities and pets have been created with names cleverly as Lemon Meringue, Blueberry Muffin, Orange Blossom, and Limon Chiffon. Of course with Strawberry Shortcake having the target audience of children, there are life lessons embedded within every show. The show teaches children about socialization, emotional intelligence, and the importance of eating a balanced diet with fruits and vegetables. Her character really emphasizes to children that leadership, believing in themselves, celebrating differences, and the freedom to experiment are such key factors in life. She also makes a point to share that failure is not something that one should run away from but rather learn and use it to grow as an overall person. With updated technology, Strawberry Shortcake has had her own personal makeovers and “glow-ups” over the years. With her slight changes in looks, the overall idea that remains consistent is the variety of media in which the character is available. The television shows, dolls, and online games all encourage a child’s imaginative side which is a very important part of growing up. The television show contains important lessons about friendship, teamwork, and emotional development. The doll allows for imaginative play which harbors a child to develop social, cognitive, emotional, and linguistic skills. Relating to our class discussions, Strawberry Shortcake is a perfect example of a form of media evolving through the times from first being only being on a physical greeting card to now being created into an interactive video game. It is really interesting to see how each child’s form of media has evolved in hopes of becoming better role models for the newest generation of children. Of course with her name also being a delicious dessert, many video games are related to baking or cooking food. “Berrylicious Bake-Off” and “Let’s Make Lemonade” are both popular games to choose to create some sweet treats for fun. With this being said, Strawberry Shortcake does not just limit herself to baking! Children are able to play in a fashion show, participate in tea parties, plant gardens, choose Strawberry Shortcake’s outfit for the day, dance parties, jigsaw puzzles, and more. There is everything from beach party games to western country themed games! The large variety and options in both games and themes throughout the franchise of Strawberry Shortcake can grasp the attention of so many different children with various interests. The Strawberry Shortcake website also does a great job in including both educational and “just for fun” activities. The balance of both types of games can give parents a sense of peace that they are still learning valued objectives while playing the games. Running with the children’s theme once again, Strawberry Shortcake has shown to be another safe and approved website for children to use. As we all know, the internet can sometimes be a questionable place, especially for children. Strawberry Shortcake provides both educational and fun games to interact and play with. With the dependence on technology growing and growing with each generation, it is imperative to keep establishing what games are useful and safe for children to use. In the end, Strawberry Shortcake’s ultimate goal is to inspire children to make the world a better, sweet-smelling place, where “every little berry's” effort can make a difference.
By Amelia Tam & Francesca Zaccor Introduction According to Google, WiiFit “is an exergaming video game designed by Nintendo's Hiroshi Matsunaga for the Wii home video game console, featuring a variety of yoga, strength training, aerobics, and balance mini-games for use with the Wii Balance Board peripheral.” The WiiFit game along with the WiiFit balance board was released in December of 2007. The balance board was an essential aspect of the WiiFit game. The game practically requires the board in order to complete most exercises. The more time you spent on the game completing exercises, the more credits you earned which unlocked new exercises. Furthermore, the more you exercised, the more you were rewarded. The creator, Miyamoto, explained that the inspiration behind the game came from his family trying to be more “health-conscious, tracking their weight, and going to the gym more.” Thus, making it known that this game could practically be for anyone. The Balance Board The WiiFit balance board was an essential accessory to the WiiFit game. The board, in essence, is a flat board about the length of an average person’s feet, hip width apart. The board was meant for players to stand on in order to track their progress, weight, and effort. The board connected to the game and kept track of a player’s activity and progress. Essentially, it was a less convenient fit bit or apple watch. One of its standout characteristics however was the fact that it doubled as a scale. As Wii is known for its Miis, you had your own personal Mii on WiiFit that had all the ‘fitness’ information such as BMI, weight, age, and WiiFit Credits. The board uses 4 sensors located in each corner of the board to measure the player’s center of gravity; thus, allowing the board to track weight, BMI, etc. Controversy/Reviews The game is basically a ‘fun’ way to get people to exercise. Of course, with this goal, the game came with more than a few of its own controversial qualities. In order to track the player’s fitness progress, the board strictly sticks to the BMI scale. The use of the Body Mass Index scale has since been proven to be an inaccurate method of measuring body fat, as the measurement fails to take into account muscle mass, bone density, and overall body composition. So, once the Wii Fit player has stepped onto the board, it calculates the players’ weight and the player is asked to input their height measurements in order to receive their BMI. The game then uses BMI to harmfully sort players into extreme weighing categories such as ‘underweight’, “overweight”, and ‘obese.’ To the majority, these words are both offensive and traumatizing. When kids are playing the game and are referred to as “overweight” the second they place a foot on the board, their perception of themselves could be horribly altered at a very young age. The farther we have come as a society, the more we’ve gained a greater understanding of certain weight based words being completely unnecessary and inappropriate. This is especially true when they’re being used by a video game console that is highly popular among children and young adults who are still developing their own sense of self image. A person’s Body Mass Index should not, by any means, determine if they are healthy or unhealthy. It’s important for children to be taught that all bodies are beautiful and different. If my child were to stumble upon a device that upon weighing them would call them “overweight” in large, red, demeaning text, I might have a heart attack. The weight categories, their color palettes, as well as their sound effects fall further into the realm of body shaming rather than the promotion of healthy living. Also, once a player receives their Body Mass Index information, any weight other than average results in a negative sound and animation. If one were to be categorized as “underweight” upon entering their information and weighing themself, an animation would appear of their character looking exaggeratedly depressed. A player’s Mii also changed shape and size based on the category a player fell in, which is just horribly traumatizing and highly inaccurate. Upon furthering our research on this topic, there were many articles discussing the trauma and embarrassment the WiiFit categories caused for many. Why?
The Wii Fit board was initially released fifteen years ago, and it’s important to see how far we’ve come as a society since then. Since the board’s release, there hasn’t managed to be a controversial successor to follow in its footsteps. Fifteen years later, we can all come to the conclusion that the game’s inaccurate methods of weighing the player caused nothing but damage to an individual’s self confidence. To this day, adults are able to recall the negative effects that the Wii Fitness board had on them while growing up. It eventually became a trend on the popular media app Tik Tok to share your haunting experience with the game’s BMI chart. Overall, it’s good to know that a game such as this one wouldn’t fly in 2022. By Ian Berndsen and Jake Shumaker If you would like to know more about the story of MyCareer in NBA 2k22, click here for a complete guide to the storyline from TheGamer.com. In NBA 2k22’s MyCareer mode, the user can progress through the storyline however they choose. First off, the user chooses the “build” for their player. Your build consists of body type, facial features, and hair designs. After this initial step, you then choose which position you want your player to be, and complete the measurements of height and weight. After completing the general information, you begin your path toward the NBA. Your first major decision is choosing whether to go to college or go to the G-League, which is the NBA’s minor league basketball organization. A short while after this decision is made and you feel your player is ready for the NBA, you attend the NBA Combine. This is a multi-day showcase where the best college or G-League players show off their talents in front of NBA representatives for each team. After the Combine, you will then be sent to the NBA Draft where one of the 32 teams will take a chance and draft your player. Once you have been drafted by a team, you will start out as a bench player. This isn’t ideal for anyone, as you have to work your way up over time in order to become the starter. To get into the starting lineup, you must achieve a teammates grade of “B” or higher in numerous games. A teammate grade is based on overall statistical performance, as well as your player’s defense and ability to share the ball. The next order of business is to select an agent among the choices given. Once you select an agent you are fully equipped to embark on your NBA journey. Your best friend in your whole basketball journey, Ricky, will be there by your side helping you make tough decisions along the way. There is an abundance of things to do in your respective city, so it is important to explore your city and find out which kind of player and person you want your MyCareer player to be in NBA 2k22. The MyCareer story in NBA 2k22 is worth analyzing because it is unique from different forms we have analyzed in class. The sports game caught our attention due to its central theme of perseverance which differs from what we have discussed. Perseverance incorporates hard work, competition, and more that allow the user to shape their MyPlayer to be one of the all time greats. The game is re-developed yearly allowing for development and different scenes to be included in the story for a unique experience each year. The MyCareer story in NBA 2k22 relates to our in-class discussions as it is an interactive form of media. The story revolves around two central themes: perseverance and identity. Throughout the story, your MyPlayer (MP) strives for an end goal of being an NBA legend, while expressing himself through music and fashion. The MP has to hustle through the NCAA or the G-League to have a chance at the combine to earn being drafted in the NBA. One key pivotal decision that the user gets to decide for the MP is which agency to sign with: Palmer Athletic Agency or Berry and Associates. Palmer Athletic Agency is the more traditional route to earning stardom, while Berry and Associates is a smaller agency allowing the MP to find their identity through different social opportunities. The unique aspect of the MyCareer in NBA 2k22 compared to other interactive stories we have had in class is that there is the same ending regardless: becoming a NBA legend. The decisions the user gets to make throughout the story affect scenes, but not the overall story. For instance, in the image above the user gets to decide for their MP how they will answer a post-game interview question. Each answer affects the overall approval of your fans, teammates, and coaches. The groupings higher approval can lead to more unique interactions and decisions, such as the coaches' approval can lead to increased playing time, the fans' approval can improve jersey sales and sponsorships, and the teammates' approval can boost team chemistry and social interaction. Although the story may be a bit longer than the traditional forms we analyze from class, the story offers many different layers and opportunities for character development.
By Brianna Trunk and Eva Taub
When it comes to digital narratives, one genre that generates a large amount of conversation is analog horror. The analog horror genre has grown a budding community on YouTube in recent years with series such as Gemini Home Entertainment, The Mandela Catalog, The Backrooms and the main subject of today, The Monument Mythos. The Monument Mythos is a series uploaded on the Mister Manticore YouTube channel and currently consists of three seasons. The Monument Mythos encourages ideas about how our government hides conspiracy theories from the people. The series also takes place in an alternate reality but it still takes place using monuments that we have in our real lives. The first episode of the series is called “Liberty Lurker,” in which it is eventually revealed that, as the title suggests, there is something lurking in the Statue of Liberty. Most episodes of the series are about 3-5 minutes with two episodes breaking the 10 minute mark. The second season consists of longer episodes, as it starts to piece the story together more. The series is not just about the monuments and their alternate realities but consists of characters and lore that is slowly being uncovered as the story goes on. The full story of the series has yet to be revealed but many have speculated about the exact time line and relationships that are in the story. That is one part of The Monument Mythos that keeps viewers engaged -- the lore is still being discovered.
WARNING: The following section contains spoilers of the episode "Liberty Lurker.”
The episode begins with an interview done with the designer of the Statue of Liberty. The interview is about how the design for the base was constantly being revised by the Americans and eventually came to the base being taller than the actual statue. We then see the blueprint for the statue after it has been classified for 36 years. We see an engine, axel and wheels before we see an entrance or stairs. This is followed by further off-putting features like a drain and waste storage. The video changes to interviews with immigrants who went through Ellis Island and reported a foul smell. The video cuts to the first sighting of the Liberty Lurker and an explanation to the foul smell and waste storage area.
The most intriguing thing about this series is how real it feels. The creators do an amazing job of captivating the viewers and transporting them into a new reality. The monuments that the series covers are all monuments that exist to us in our current reality. This allows for the viewer to feel like the conspiracy theories that the channel covers could actually be real and encapsulates the viewer deeper and deeper into this new reality with every episode they watch. The channel doesn’t say these outlandish things about the monuments that viewers would have a very hard time believing, and they use interviews from people to ‘prove’ that the conspiracy theories are not just theories but the truth. The way that the channel presents the information is also in a very documentary style, which makes it even more believable. The fact that they have interviews from people, use real monuments that we can see today, and present the information the way they do is what creates this new reality where what they are saying could possibly be very true. This kind of digital literature is very important. A lot of tv shows, movies, and books transport their viewers/readers into a new reality, but most of them are so fabricated that the viewer/reader knows that the reality is not real, which takes away a little bit from the story. This analog horror genre that The Monument Mythos falls into creates stories that are so believable that it transports the viewer into a deeper, more meaningful new reality. This form of encapsulating the viewer into the new reality is what intrigues so many people and keeps them watching episode after episode.
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AuthorWe are the students of "Digital Literatures" at Millikin University. These are some of the digital narratives that entice, inspire, and challenge us. Categories
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April 2024
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