By Joshua Wick Keeping in theme with our theme of “branching choice” or “branching narrative” gameplay, I wanted to introduce a game that I feel is the ultimate end result of branching choice narrative “gameplay” elements: Sid Meier's Civilization series. Meier must be a genius because he has remade the same game 6+ times (including DLCs). Civilization V, the 2010 installment of the franchise, exemplifies the burdens of multiple choice gameplay and the perils of failing to consider all options. Half-civil-engineering exercise half-historical-military-conquest simulator, Civilization V gives you your choice of 44 world leaders from history to play as, representing their country of origin. You can start the game in the Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Renaissance, Industrial, Atomic, Modern, or Information ages and your goal is to defeat your opponents by one of four methods: capture all original capital cities, be the first player to build the Apollo Program, making your culture the first to be influential over all other players, or being elected the World Leader by the United Nations. Each method has its own unique form of currency and must be carefully balanced in order to craft a winning strategy, as neglecting any category or failing to have timely solutions can leave you defenseless against your opponents. For this blog I played approximately 45 hours of Civilization V at the three hardest difficulties: Emperor, Immortal, and Deity against 7 AI on a Pangea-like landmass with random resources and elements. I did this to demonstrate differences in how you may play in different circumstances and to illustrate the importance of compound choice-making. In Civilization, there are several base ‘currencies’ that you must use. Gold pays for infrastructure, military, and political influence in the UN, Science pays for the unlocking of new technologies to stay era-relevant, Culture and Tourism pays for the unlocking of more progressive ‘social policy’ bonuses, sets your own resistance to other nation’s tourism, and expands the empire borders, Faith can found religions in your cities that generate extra culture, happiness (to continue healthy population expansion), and lastly help purchase “great people” who give amazing bonuses after you have entered the Industrial Era onward. Utilizing all of these currencies is challenging, with most players opting to neglect at least one in favor of having other stronger outputs that contribute to your preferred victory type. My gameplays as the Celts, Venice, and Poland were all military victories, based on various strategies. As the Celts I played with aggressive religious expansion that gave me combat bonuses and overran my opponents with religion and then my army, which provided lots of extra happiness during war efforts and kept my empire growing throughout. As Venice I utilized trade routes on the ocean to purchase enough early influence in the world to embargo my political opponents in the UN and trash their economic output before I invaded by sea. Last, as Poland, I was playing against AI that have between 2x and 3x the resource production speed/lots of other crazy bonuses that forced me to make every decision based on exactly what resources I would be excluding in order to have the most cumulative growth later on. This resulted in a slow sprawling game across the continent where I slowly eliminated my opponents with brute force and superior training (the military units pick up promotions the longer they are around).
To prepare for this gameplay I had to study ideas on resource attrition and prioritizing resource development, calculating whether I needed +2 faith or +4 gold on turns 4 or 5 of a 300-turn game, deliberately having to choose what to leave behind as I move ahead. My primary resource for this was gameplay footage by Filthyrobot on YouTube, whom I highly recommend as a skilled player, and built upon the 500+ hours of experience I already had in the game. By Justin Corp & Sam Moore DISCLAIMER: First, know that the we have gone through a good deal of work to avoid any spoilers for this piece of literature. If this post intrigues you, don’t read reviews, don’t watch gameplay, and don’t spoil the game for yourself. If you’re ready to be subjected to the torture that this narrative presents to you, download the game for free on Steam. How can a seemingly harmless game spawn Steam reviews such as this? Or this? Doki Doki Literature Club! is that kind of scarring experience that everyone should have exactly one of. People that haven’t played the game probably haven’t heard of it. People that have played the game don’t want to replay it ever again. This polarizing game is the pinnacle of the integration between technology and storytelling. Although it looks like a typical anime dating sim, Doki Doki Literature Club! is a free-to-play, psychological horror game, produced by indie studio Team Salvato. Dan Salvato, the head of Team Salvato, was originally notorious in the gaming community for his modding work on Super Smash Brothers Melee. It’s not an exaggeration to say that nobody expected him to make a work quite like this one. The game follows the main character (however you choose to name him) as he joins the school literature club with four single girls. By creating literature of your own, you’re able to gain the attention of certain characters. Members of the literature club include: Sayori, the youthful bundle of sunshine who values happiness the most; Natsuki, the deceivingly cute girl who packs an assertive punch; Yuri, the timid and mysterious one who finds comfort in the world of books; and, of course, Monika, the leader of the club! The game offers you keywords that relate back to your four classmates, and by using words that relate to a specific peer, you’ll get character specific dialogue. Fun, right? Similar to other choice-based narratives, the true power of this game is the illusion of choice. Narratives like Firewatch, Lifeline, and Birdland also touch on this notion. The choices you make mean something, but the story will go on. Unlike the other games we’ve touched on in class, this game draws out the differences between the player and the protagonist. As certain events unfold, it becomes apparent that “you” and “your character” are wildly different people. And that’s only the start of the metafiction that this game holds. As things derail, you learn a lot about your choices and what they can mean in this universe- as well as who controls these choices. Upon downloading the game, developer Team Salvato provides the disclaimer: “This game is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed.” Before playing this game, most people would say that they don’t consider themselves part of that disclaimer. And then the rollercoaster begins. The game spends about two hours as a dating simulator with a few unique factors, when a dark twist comes at about the two hour mark, even the game client itself is out to get you. Imagine all of the metafiction of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch with all of the mechanics of Birdland, and you’re getting close to the basics of the game. After the mark, the game transforms from a seemingly-innocent dating simulator into something much, much darker. Apart from the more obvious themes of the game, Doki Doki Literature Club! approaches classic high school tropes with a fresh twist. The stereotypes start to play out as they usually do: general introductions, romantic tension builds between two people (sometimes more), and it usually leads up to a big profession of love, right? However, as things progress, the game completely flips these on its head (along with the rest of the plot) by...well, it’s best if you play the game to fully experience what we’re talking about.
As countless Steam reviews describe, Doki Doki Literature Club! isn’t just a game, it’s an experience. This rollercoaster of a ride toys with themes of meta-fiction and the illusion of choice by combining them with horror tropes, and what you get is one of the most exhilarating, thrilling, terrifying rides of your life. After reading this, we highly recommend that you go and try out the game for yourself. Don’t read any other material, don’t watch any playthroughs, don’t spoil any plot points. It’s a game best experienced blind. Relax, sit back, and write some poetry — while you still can. By Nathan Dahill & Gwen Klinkey In 1992, Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski published his first book in The Witcher series, featuring main character Geralt of Rivia. With iconic flowing white hair and glowing cat eyes, and staple quotes including the wise and cleverly worded “hmm,” Geralt would continue on to become one of the most recognizable faces in the video game industry. Although this game started as a lengthy book series, gamer developers saw potential in this narrative and took the opportunity to transform this into a game saga that would not only bring to life beloved characters such as Geralt, but bring a fantastical story across two different forms of media. Although some games such as these have flopped, such as the Playstation versions of various Harry Potter books, The Witcher has found success in this new form of media and has been able to not only produce one adaptation, but use the format of video games to push the narrative and further develop the story. Despite the novels developing well-loved characters, the end of the series leaves readers knowing that there is further life to live in the established world, and the games continue the story that was left open ended to the reader. The most recent game Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt picks up at an undetermined time in the future, and while it is playable and enjoyable on its own, having backstory provided by the novels can create a more enjoyable experience as there are many small Easter eggs that you can pick up throughout the world ranging from specific books written by long dead mentors to botched attempts at fixing infertility to a taxidermied unicorn. Many players, however, are unfortunately not willing to read a seven-book-long series in order to get that backstory, but lucky for them, Netflix recently released its series The Witcher as a prequel for the games allowing players and fans of the game to witness character history in a supposedly “easier” way. Through both the release of the books and TV show, characters of the The Witcher, and subsequently Witcher 3 have been constructed in very specific ways. For example, in the world of The Witcher, Witchers (a magical human mutant species) are treated very poorly, and as such Geralt, a Witcher, has gained a sour disposition and works under the guise of solely financial gain when in actuality he has a soft spot for an underdog. While these diverse traits are set in stone in both the TV show and books, the game introduces the opportunity to further flesh out these traits in any way the player desires. Many dialogue choices that are presented in the game provide different options, often targeting different aspects of Geralt’s personality. Offering these options to the player increases player agency and provides an opportunity to create a version of Geralt that they can identify more with, whether that is a caring and sympathetic Geralt, or a heartless playboy, this system allows for a greater chance of empathy from the player. One of these recurring choices deals with the strong theme of romance that runs throughout all the different forms of media. In the beginning of Witcher 3, Geralt reunites with a long lost love of his, Yennefer who has been bound to him previously through a wish to a genie, after breaking the spell later in the game, you can choose to stay with her, or abandon her and break her heart to pursue another woman Triss. Some players have attempted to have the best of both worlds which ends in Geralt being dumped by both women in a very tumultuous scene. Whatever choices a player decides to make, they not only allow for a customization of Geralt, but can change the path and various outcomes of the game. Some choices made in previous main and side quests can cause a ripple effect throughout other quests and just the world in general. One prime example of this is the optional witcher contract, “Skellige’s Most Wanted,” during which Geralt comes across a gang of monsters: a werewolf, a troll, a doppler, and a godling. The werewolf is strongly set on seeing Geralt as a threat, but how the other three monsters view Geralt depends on how Geralt has treated some other non-humans and monsters in previous side-quests. If Geralt has been empathetic and compassionate towards other non-humans and sentient monsters in the past, then the other three monsters will choose to support Geralt and let him kill the werewolf with impunity and leave the area. Another example is how the social and political situations in the city of Novigrad can be altered depending on if the player decides to take on or ignore some specific side quests. When Geralt first arrives in Novigrad, Witch Hunters and the Order of the Eternal Fire are on the hunt for mages scattered across the city, and Triss asks for you to help her escort the surviving mages out of the city. If Geralt chooses to help Triss and the mages, then it will be revealed at the end of the game that once the mages escaped Novigrad, the Witch Hunters and the Order of the Eternal Fire turn their extreme prejudice towards all non-humans. It must be noted that this is only one of the several major and minor effects players can have on Novigrad at the end, not to mention the rest of the game world. Novigrad is just one of the many locations you go to, and yet players’ choices can change which kingdom takes control of it, who runs the city’s criminal underworld, the fate of non-humans and mages in the city, etc., sometimes without knowing the influence they had on the outcome. Again, those are just a couple alterations Geralt can cause on his journey across the Northern Kingdoms. CD Projekt Red has made a testament to how the maturing games industry can be a perfect medium for interactive adaptations of existing published narratives and still stand out on its own. This game, or rather the whole game series, could’ve suffered from either trying to stay to close to the original source material or going too far from the books, but it manages to be a perfect balance while also going above and beyond with the size and scope of the story world. Both people who were already fans of the books prior to the games and newcomers to the Witcher franchise are able to find equal enjoyment in being the Geralt of Rivia they seek out to be in a vast, rich, living, breathing world.
By Michael Foreman God of War (2018), also referred to as God of War 4, is the most recent installment of Santa Monica Studios’ God of War franchise, serving as the direct sequel to God of War III. God of War 4 serves as a continuation of Kratos’s story, but rather than serving as a story of vengeance, it sees Kratos a very changed man, and is suffused with more intricate and meaningful thematic elements centered around growth, redemption, and fatherhood. God of War 4 is a fundamentally very different game than any of the prior installments of the series down to its core gameplay tenets and setting, which in and of themselves are reflective of Kratos’s vastly different purpose and journey. Instead of Greece, this game takes place in a Norse mythological setting, exploring a number of realms beyond the mortal realm of Midgard, such as Niflheim, the land of the dead. In addition, Kratos has a vastly different purpose and motive here than in the prior games of the franchise - instead of being driven by vengeance and exacting revenge upon his godly father Zeus and the rest of the Greek pantheon by extension, his purpose here is to fulfill a final service to his deceased wife Faye, to spread her ashes over the highest peak in the Nine Realms. Kratos changes fundamentally as a man even before the events of the game, converting from a bloodthirsty warrior to a loving husband and father; additionally, his journey is no longer solely his - he is accompanied throughout the entirety of the game by his son Atreus, whom he both affectionately and harshly refers to simply as “Boy.” In terms of gameplay, God of War 4 adapts the traditional hack-n-slash gameplay for which God of War is known into something that is actually more akin to a Soulsborne-style game. While in the prior games Kratos flits about fixed-camera arenas in unbridled rage unleashing long combos against hordes of enemies, here the game is oriented around weighty and calculated over-the-shoulder combat centered around evasion and blocking, making use of Kratos’s newer weapon of preference: the Leviathan Axe, a magical axe that can be used for slow but powerful melee swings or thrown at an enemy to freeze them, and can be recalled to the player’s hand at will. Atreus also serves as a crucial gameplay component as well, rather than simply being a story piece; Atreus can passively distract enemies if Kratos becomes overwhelmed and can fire arrows at enemies on Kratos’s command (at the push of a button, for the player) to stun enemies more quickly, and he can also carry resurrection stones that can be purchased from shops to revive the player if they die. God of War 4’s story places a very heavy emphasis on the relationship between Kratos and Atreus, and it’s seen through their numerous interactions and dialogues the strengths of Santa Monica Studios’ character writing. Atreus is completely oblivious to Kratos’s, and by extension his own, godhood, and Kratos goes to lengths to ensure that Atreus stays oblivious. As a father, one of his most imperative desires throughout the course of the story in addition to fulfilling Faye’s final wish is to ensure that Atreus is a better person than he was; he shields his past from Atreus, hiding his old weapons - the Blades of Chaos - and binding his forearms that possessed scars from the Blades’ chains, and from the outset of the story he is cold and quiet towards his son’s questions about his past or his greater-than-human capabilities, such as his immense strength. Kratos constantly flees from his past and attempts to harbor Atreus from their “true natures,” and it isn’t until a large portion into the story’s development, when Atreus’s lack of control over his powers nearly kills him, that Kratos accepts his past and uses it as a teaching tool - both for himself and for Atreus. The two grow and bond throughout the course of the game, and though the both of them can infuriate each other to the point that at a certain segment of the story Atreus even ignores the player’s commands and acts out, they are still very much father and son. God of War 4 is, fundamentally, a game about growth -- partially in the growth and adaptation of a franchise and gameplay elements, but primarily in self-growth. Kratos, while changed, is still fearful of his son’s discoveries of his past, but learns to embrace his action and his mistakes to teach Atreus of them instead of sheltering him from them. Atreus learns and discovers much of the world around him and of his and his father’s true nature, and while initially the revelation of his godhood makes him arrogant, he learns to temper his emotions and comes to appreciate his father’s discipline. One of the most succinct and powerful lines of dialogue in the game comes from one of Atreus’s mistakes while practicing hunting with his father, in which Kratos states simply: “Do not be sorry. Be better.”
By Charlize Pate [Warning: this post contains spoilers for (My) Immortal: The Web Series, My Immortal, and Harry Potter] (My) Immortal: The Web Series is a series of videos posted to YouTube based on the infamous Harry Potter fanfiction My Immortal by Tara Gilesbie. It was created by Mediajunkie Studios and ran from 2013 to 2014. It features some main characters from Harry Potter, Tara Gilesbie’s original characters, Mary Sues, a confusing plot, and epic double-handed wand-wielding battles. In order to understand the web series, it is important to have a bit of background on the original written fanfiction. My Immortal was published serially between 2006 and 2007 on FanFiction.net by “XXXbloodyrists666XXX,” or Tara Gilesbie (a pseudonym). It is unknown whether the story is meant to be a serious attempt at fanfiction, or complete satire, but it features out-of-character characters, bad writing, furious authors notes, terrible grammar and spelling, and an incomprehensible plot. Originally, she worked with an editor “bloodytearz666,” or “Raven,” but partway through the story they had a falling out, and it only got worse from there. The main characters from Harry Potter have been renamed from Harry to “Vampire” Potter, Ron Weasley has now become “Diablo,” and Hermione is called “B’loody Mary Smith.” Then there is the main character: Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way—more commonly called “Enoby” throughout the story. The iconic name that has spawned many a meme along with the opening paragraph. She is also a Mary Sue self-insert character. Despite the author’s attempts at disputing this, there was one time in the story where she actually referred to Enoby as “Tara,” her own penname. Another thing to note is that the author admitted to not having read all of the Harry Potter books and was going off the movies. In 2006, the last book still had not been published and the fourth movie was the last to come out. Other than the character names (barely), there is very little that connects it to the Harry Potter universe. The fanfic was removed from FanFiction.net by administrators in 2008 for unknown reasons, though people like to speculate it was because it was so bad. It has since been reposted by fans via copy and paste to other platforms. The bottom line is: My Immortal is bad. But if you can manage to get past how awful it is, it’s so bad it’s good. And incredibly funny. It is hard to imagine how such an unfortunately composed, plot hole-filled, terrible digital narrative was transformed into a web series. But it happened surprisingly successfully. At first the lack of consistency with an already inconsistent narrative can be a bit jarring, but after sitting with the original fanfiction for a while, coming back to it in video format can be refreshingly nostalgic. (My) Immortal: The Web Series does not follow the plot of the fanfiction (tenuous as it is), though it is clearly based in the story. And the creators of the series have likely read all of the Harry Potter books. It is obvious the show is based both on the fanfic and the original Harry Potter books, acting as a sort of commentary on the fanfiction while also existing as a different version of the narrative. And they balance this in a clever way; they use Enoby as what she is—a self-insert Mary Sue character. The show even breaks the fourth wall and has some characters refer to themselves as a Mary Sue, using the idea that they are capable of anything as an occasional plot point. And the characters borrowed from J. K. Rowling are more similar to their book-selves than they were in the fanfiction, and a lot of what is perceived by readers is now presented as being in Enoby’s head, which is basically what self-insert fanfiction is. That is not to say the characters truly act like their original versions—there is no way to market any version of My Immortal as being part of the Harry Potter universe. Instead, the web series takes it in a different direction. The series’ base storyline barely exists—and wholly differs from the original—but it tries hard to include representation of people and relationships that felt shoehorned in and glazed over in the fanfiction. The web series no longer has to revolve around the perspective of a Mary Sue and is able to focus on multiple characters and storylines while also maintaining its wholly ridiculous plot. The main one included in the first season is the budding romance between Draco Malfoy and Harry “Vampire” Potter, both of whom had previously dated Enoby. This fades into the background when they are already together in the second season to make way for more of the relationship between Hermione and Enoby as well as Enoby’s gothic romance with Tom Riddle after he appears out of a diary, having previously been dead.
As hilarious as this series is, a lot of the humor in it might not come through if viewers are not familiar with the source material it borrows from. There are many inside jokes and jabs at the fanfic, such as irregular mispronunciation of character names, or text included in the previews for the next episode that otherwise make no sense. If viewers get hung up on the fact they cannot follow the plot, then this is not the story for them. In the original fanfic, characters could die on one page and be completely fine several paragraphs later, seemingly because the author just forgot she killed them off. At least in the web series they offer some explanation and have them come back as zombies. The videos take semi-consistent aspects from the fanfiction and stabilize them. One of the main plots from season two is having the gothic people ruling over the preps and calling people “preps” is basically the highest insult the fanfic has, as being “goffik” is the epitome of being. (My) Immortal: The Web Series is an interesting example of what a digital narrative is, and what it can be, because Mediajunkie Studios took what was already an unorthodox digital narrative and used the bad bits as plot points as well as making the inconsistencies more digestible. It is a meta concept with excellent execution and took a messy story and made it into something almost comprehensible while still retaining the freedom to tell the stories they wanted to tell. By Spencer Avery Near the beginning of our arduous quarantine, I hadn’t gotten quite as used to the constant state of boredom that we all know far too well these days. In a mad effort to cope with my spiralling mental state, I decided to pick up a new game. One of Playstation Plus’s free games of the month was the remastered edition of the PC classic Shadow of the Colossus. I had played the game for a few short hours several years back (maybe at a friend’s house?) but I decided that I wanted to blaze through this game from start to finish, knocking another title off of my videogame bucket-list. When I started up the game, I was immediately struck by the gorgeous visuals in the opening sequence of the game. A solitary hero, scaling a steep mountain on horseback while the stark silhouette of a hawk cast its moonlit shadow on the rocks below. This game was beautiful back on the Playstation 2. But in all of its 4K HDR glory? Boy was I in for a visual treat. I was immersed in the environment and the short exposition being laid down before me, all told with little to no words. A young man, a horse, the body of the girl that he carries. They ride across a massive stone bridge to an ancient temple. Upon reaching the temple, the young man lays the corpse on an altar and a booming voice in a cryptic ancient language fills the hall. It promises the man that it can bring the girl back to life if he slays the sixteen Colossi that roam the land near the temple. The sword he carries will allow him to do this. All that is known is that the sacrifice will be great and that the young man is willing. With that, he sets off, and no more words are spoken. The beauty of this sequence is the sheer vagueness of it. The player is only told the information that is absolutely necessary to understanding their objective: slay the Colossi; save the girl. That’s it. No instructions. I soon figured out that holding my sword up to the sky created light beams that would focus in the direction of the next Colossus. Aside from a crude and mostly barren map that can be brought up, this is the player’s only form of navigation. There is no inventory, no enemies (aside from the Colossi), and no NPC’s. Just you, your horse, your sword, and your bow. The only elements of what could be considered a HUD are a red health bar, and a yellow circle that shows your remaining stamina (both of these are unlabeled). The controls are very simple, and only allow for basic movement and the firing of arrows.
Every time that I found a new Colossus, I was met with more of a puzzle than an actual boss fight. Shadow of the Colossus doesn’t really have a combat system, per se. Each colossal encounter involves figuring out how to climb onto the Colossus to reach (and stab) its glowing blue weak points. Dormin (the booming bodiless voice from the intro) occasionally chimes in with a hint if you’re stuck. This can involve difficult climbing challenges, creative uses of the bow and arrow, interaction with the natural environment, and a number of other factors that are all up to the player to discover. Once a Colossus is defeated, the player is overtaken by ghostly black tendrils that shoot from the dead Colossi, and they are teleported back to the temple for another cryptic hint about the nature of the next Colossus. The brilliance of Shadow of the Colossus is in its development theory. Team Ico (the devs of SOTC) used the principle of “design by subtraction” in which they stripped down every non-essential element of the game that didn’t contribute to the emotional journey of the player. What’s left is beautiful. At its heart, SOTC is a game about being alone. Wander (the hero you play as) is seeking to bring back a loved one. He tries to complete this task in complete solitude. Dormin is a spirit trapped within the temple, waiting for an adventurer that he can trick into setting him free by slaying the Colossi. Even the Colossi themselves are lone wanderers, peacefully inhabiting their desolate dwellings. SOTC makes the player feel this. It makes the player know what it is like to feel alone. In the end (spoiler alert) Wander kills all of the Colossi, but he fails his quest. He abandons his people, seeking a miracle, and in doing so is tricked by Dormin who possesses his body and kills him. Dormin succeeds in being freed by Wander, but also shortly dies. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure what SOTC is trying to say. It certainly made me feel things. And when I look back on those feelings, and the feelings that I’m feeling now, all cooped up in my house, they aren’t all that different. I feel alone. I feel restless. I want the lonesomeness to end, but I know that that isn’t an option right now. And that’s okay. I think SOTC is trying to tell its players that sometimes being alone is okay. It can be sad. It can be scary. It can feel like it will go on forever. But in the end, if we stay ardent and use the time that is given us, everything will be okay. By Jacqueline Freed It can be hard to make a decision. I myself can be very indecisive about the smallest of decisions; however, when it comes to the bigger ones, I tend to work off of my gut feelings. Sometimes that is exactly what you have to do. If you are running from a crazy maniac with a flamethrower or a wendigo, then you don’t really have the time to sit and ponder what to do. You have to act NOW. The game Until Dawn relies on player choice to move the narrative along and decide who survives at the end (or who survives UNTIL DAWN dun dun dun!) If you haven’t played or heard of this game, here is the general plot (NOTE: if you’re really looking forward to playing this game blind, you probably shouldn’t read the rest of this post): A bunch of teenagers go to this lodge (owned by the parents of Josh, Hannah, and Beth Washington). Here the “friends” decide to play a cruel prank on Hannah. They make her think her crush Mike wants to hook up with her while they all hide in the room and video tape her while she starts taking off her clothes. Like I said, cruel prank. She ends up running out of the lodge and into the woods. Her sister Beth runs after her and they both end up running from this guy with a flamethrower. There they end up falling off a cliff and dying. Anyway, a year later Josh invites all of the friends back to the lodge to “remember” the death of his sisters. Until Dawn lays out its digital narrative in a very strategic way. Some things you could easily not think about or even realize while you are playing the game. However, those very things add so much to the story. One of the biggest things is who you play as. Throughout the game you have a chance to play as Beth, Sam, Chris, Jess, Mike, Emily, Ashley, and Matt. You never play as Hannah, but she is gone like ten seconds in, and you don’t play as Josh until the very end. In the game you also being chased by this maniac with a mask that is seemingly trying to kill off every character. You talk to a therapist in between the chapters and it is later revealed that you are sitting there as the creepy masked person. As you play, you are constantly trying to figure out who this person is. When you play as Sam as you are running away from the masked guy through the basement in only a towel, you find a file containing a mental health record with Josh’s name on it. Not long after this it is also revealed that Josh is behind the mask and he was playing all of these intense tricks on everyone to make them feel humiliated and terrified just like Hannah. It isn’t until a little later after this moment that you are able to play as Josh. When you do play as Josh, you never get a choice. You can move him around, but there is never a point where you get to make a decision. When you are playing as him, Josh is deep in a mental breakdown. He is hallucinating his dead sisters and is being consumed by guilt of their death even though he was passed out at the time and had nothing to do with it. Josh never did have a choice. He was consumed by his mental illness that was never correctly diagnosed and was given medications that wouldn’t work for him. This is similar to Netflix's Black Mirror: Bandersnatch where no matter what you decided, to get an actual ending of the game you had to kill the dad. Stefan also clearly had a mental illness and thus Bandersnatch ended up making it so you really didn’t have a choice at the end of the day. With Josh’s lack of choice in the game, that brings us to another aspect of the digital narrative. The game likes to whack you over the head with the idea of the butterfly effect. You couldn’t go two seconds without it suddenly being like, “Hey, have I mentioned the butterfly effect yet?” The choices you make throughout the game, whether it be giving someone a high five or deciding if you should shoot the squirrel affect different parts of the game later on. Some of these choices can determine if you live or die. Some allow you to take as much time as you wish. You can really take the time to decide how you want to greet Matt as Chris. However, for other choices you are not that lucky. There are moments when your choices are timed. You have to decide in a matter of seconds if you are going to shoot yourself or Ashley. The use of choice is so powerful in this game because you literally get to decide who lives and dies based on some of your choices. You may accidentally kill someone, or it may be a clear and blatant decision. Also, in the therapist scenes you make decisions and the therapist will say at one point that your decisions are not reflecting the way that you are “playing the game”. For example, at one point you can choose if you prefer loyalty or honesty in a friend. You can choose loyalty but then afterwards as Chris you can decide if you want to kill Josh or Ashley. The guy you have been best friends with since elementary school or the new member of the group.
Many of the games that we have played in class deal with this idea of choice too. Many of them, despite your choices, had a pretty set ending. There may have been some differences on your way to get there or small details of the endings, but the majority of them were similar. If you are looking at the mechanics and the use of timed versus untimed choices and then also the plot of Joshua’s mental illness, this game reminds me of Bandersnatch as I stated previously. However, Until Dawn reminds me a bit of Lifeline where the choices you make can determine if Taylor will survive, similar to you making decisions as these characters to ultimately lead them to their survival or demise. The difference with this game is that you play as the characters going through everything, whereas in Lifeline you played as an outsider to Taylor’s experience. There were stories, like 80 Days, that weren’t as compelling to some as a digital narrative. Until Dawn thrives off of it. The idea that this is all about survival makes you feel more responsible at the end of the day for who lives and dies. Even if you started off hating some of the characters, you become attached at some point because you “put yourself in their shoes.” The mechanics of choice and even just the rotation of the characters you play as also help tell the story because you are constantly shifting your mindset based on how they personally would respond in the situation. From this game you get a little taste of a horror experience and what it would be like to survive…until dawn. By Max Phillips If you enjoy spending your time on the blacktop, the hardwood, or shopping in the Neighborhood, then NBA 2k20 is the game for you. But this is not just a game, it is a lifestyle. Ballers are known as much for their individual fashion style as they are for their moves on the court. Creators claim that its “next level features are the closest thing to actually playing in the league.” The game begins in the My Career mode where an athlete is created, and a legend is born. Throughout this process, there is a wide range of physical attributes that are able to be changed, ranging from hair style and eye width to customizable style preferences such as tattoos and accessories. Once Che, the game’s star player, is created, the audience is transported into the stands of the Bay City championship game, where the skills and empathy of Che are first tested. Shortly after coming out of the game, Che watches as his teammate and best friend suffers a knee injury as a result of a cheap shot by the other team. Che is devastated when his friend returns to the locker room after undergoing surgery and informs the team that the coach has revoked his scholarship. This is the first time that the created player’s character is demonstrated. He takes a stand for his friend by not dressing for the big game. This choice leads to a lot of scrutiny and problems for the star athlete. Che eventually decides to drop out of college and return home when hearing word about his mother’s health complications. I believe that this can create a feeling empathy in those who have witnessed a teammate being injured or had to go through other hardships similar to the poor health of a loved one or dropping out of college. By creating this emotional connection, it reaches out into the player; therefore, investing them deeper into the game. Leading the controller through a whirlwind of scenarios, the storyline continues with Che finishing college and leading up to his NBA debut. The game reinforces the adage that hard work and determination are the only ways to rise up through the ranks to become a basketball superstar. One of the most enthralling features of the game is the Neighborhood. Within this hub, players customize fashionable kicks and outfits to fit individual style. In addition, this is where attribute and skill upgrades are made. Finally, the option to step onto the blacktop and engage players around the world through an online gameplay exists in the Neighborhood. To be frank, I did not think of relating NBA 2k20 to real life, but this course has made me look intently into new aspects of digital literature. A difference between this game and Gone Home and Firewatch is the level of direction. The My Career story is heavily creator driven. Aspects that can be controlled by the player are the clothing, sponsors, team, and dialogue in interviews. Otherwise everything is predetermined. Conversely, in Gone Home and Firewatch, the developers give the player free rein of the world within the game. Personally, I enjoy the mechanics of games with more direction. Moreover, within our country, waves of changes are prevalent. One of those changes is women being in positions of power. The recent games we have played for class demonstrate this. The prominent similarity/theme in 80 Days, Gone Home, and Firewatch is one of women of power or main characters being women. Specifically, in 80 Days, some of the generals and rulers met on the journey are women. Being that this game was set long ago, having women of power adds a modern twist. Gone Home is set in the 90s, and even then, it was not as common for women to hold many offices or top positions. NBA 2k20 finally joins the trend by adding WNBA players and teams into the game. This addition is quite significant because it is the first year of the game that the WNBA is added in. While it is not possible to select to be a female player in the My Career mode, signature moves from WNBA stars are available. One can expect future versions of this game to further acknowledge women in athletics. In conclusion, NBA 2k20 is a well-developed game that strives to connect with players on a deeper level. The premise of the game is deepened by the personal connectivity and individuality allowed. Modern culture is acknowledged in the respect given to women. NBA 2k20 successfully envelopes the competitor in the lifestyle of a baller. Go find a controller and let’s start ballin’
By John Collins The Martian: Official Game is an interactive digital narrative that is based primarily on the 2015 movie. The movie and game, The Martian, are about Mark Watney who gets stranded on Mars when his team left him to go back to earth. Mark’s team left him because there was a dangerous storm and they believed Mark was dead. The Martian: Official Game was made available on the app store back in 2015, the same year that the movie came out. However, the game is now unavailable on the app store (archived site). This is a game in which the player choices impact the main character directly. The Martian: Official Game received immediate criticism for being almost identical to Lifeline. The Martian follows the story of Mark Watney, NASA Astronaut, who was stranded on Mars when his team left him thinking he was dead. Lifeline follows Taylor, a science student from Earth, on an adventure on a foreign planet as she attempts to make it back to Earth. Throughout The Martian, scientists and yourself work around the clock finding ways to get Mark back home. The game asks you a series of questions, some of which you may even have to do some research on, that are life or death for Mark. These scientists and yourself can potentially figure out a way to get Mark back home safely using just the things that were left on Mars from previous missions. Similarly, in Lifeline, the player makes choices that can ultimately save or even end Taylor’s life. Both narratives have the potential for a happy ending where both main characters return home safely after being stranded for a long amount of time in space. However, due to forever evolving technology and a decreasing demand for the game, The Martian is no longer available to new players. Moreover, The Martian: Official Game adds to what we have done in class because it is just another example of an immersive interactive digital narrative. Just like every game we have played this year, the player is presented with several different opportunities to make choices that affect the character in one way or another. This form of digital narrative gives the player the element of choice and gives them the option to determine how the game goes. The option of choosing what is going happen next is what makes digital narratives so fascinating because the player is the one who dictates the ending, not the makers of the game. With a book or movie, the viewer can only sit there and imagine what is going to happen next. Their input has no meaningful purpose. But, with interactive digital narratives such as The Martian: Official Game, your choice truly matters and the story goes how you want it to go.
In conclusion, The Martian: Official Game, is an interactive digital narrative very similar to the game we played in class, Lifeline. The player makes choices that will either benefit the character or negatively impact them, even killing the main character. Furthermore, the main objective is to navigate Mark off of Mars safely. This form of interactive storytelling adds to the experience because it gives the player the option to decide the character’s fate. The character’s life is in the player’s hand, so it gives the player a sense of control. I chose The Martian: Official Game because I believe that this game gives the player a more immersive experience into the storyline than the book or movie ever could because of the element of choice. By Nick Black Luigi’s Mansion was the first Mario game in their franchise that was released on Gamecube. This game was published by Nintendo in 2001 and was the second ever video game in which Luigi was the main character. Luigi’s Mansion is the fifth best-selling Gamecube game of all time. Overall, the game had very good reviews from critics; however, some say it is “short in length” which is understandable as it was made for a younger set of fans. In this game, Luigi, the main character, has won a new mansion in a contest. With that being said, he asks Mario to come along with him to check out the place together. When Luigi arrives, there is no sign of Mario, but there is a sign of unease at the large and creepy mansion. Luigi decides to check inside to see if Mario went in before him. When Luigi enters, he is attacked by a ghost, but is eventually saved by a scientist named Professor Elvin Gadd. Professor Gadd later explains that he saw Mario earlier entering the house but has not seen him since. E. Gadd decides to hand over his ghost hunting equipment, the Poltergust 3000 vacuum cleaner and the Game Boy Horror Communication device, to Luigi in order for him to go and save his brother. Luigi is guided throughout the house by E. Gadd over the communication device and he must travel and search through the haunted mansion fighting ghosts, finding hidden keys, and defeating boss ghosts to discover where his stolen brother is. Along the way, he finds out secrets about the mansion and who is really behind this evil scheme. Luigi’s Mansion allows for the player to decide where to search, what rooms to go in, and especially the tactics used to fight the ghosts. Although this game is not a total “free-world”, the mansion can be roamed about, and hidden parts of the game can be found, like the “Hidden Room”. Here, Luigi can find chests containing different colored stones. Eventually, Luigi finds out that King Boo has built this mansion to house his ghosts, and more importantly capture the Mario Bros. King Boo held a fake contest to lure both of them into this dangerous situation. At the end of the game, Luigi finds King Boo and his brother Mario, who is stuck in a painting, and they have a battle inside a painting. King Boo is inside a Bowser suit where Luigi knocks the head off and sucks up King Boo. Mario is able to be saved by Professor Elvin Gadd reversing the effects of the painting. The mansion then disappears and E. Gadd uses the coins, gems, and pearls collected by Luigi throughout the game to build his own. The game does a very interesting thing where the size of his new mansion depends on how much treasure the player found throughout the game, and the ranking they receive. Comparing Luigi’s Mansion to Fullbright's Gone Home, there were many similarities to be found. Although Gone Home was more realistic with a bit of more freedom to roam around, they both had very similar gameplay ideas. In both games, the main theme was that both characters move around the house controlled by the players which gave a sense of control in the game. The pace and how complete you want to play is all up to the user. Some will try to just finish as fast as possible while others will try to find every hidden message or collect the most possible treasures to get the best ranking. The characters, Katie Greenbriar and Luigi, both can interact with items in their new homes in order to discover information on what happened. Katie is getting back from overseas to see her family, and the new house they moved into. Much like Luigi, when she gets there, she is expecting to see her family, but all she notices is the house evacuated with all of their stuff still in boxes and a note from her sister Samantha. Both of these games had a horror vibe to them, where some parts could be scary.
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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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