Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1830https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6361Finally encountered the pixel cloud today -- it swiped up all my characters save for John, who I am currently trying to beat a level with. I'm pretty interested the developments that result from this whole ordeal, and how it interacts and affects each individual characters. I already know from the game that John would've rather been taken by the pixel cloud than be the last one standing, which ended up unfortunately being the case. I'm beginning to wonder if there is a 'correct' way to play this game, and if the game tracks the different ways and methods you use to solve each level. After all, the character's actions on any given level is the only thing the player has control over anyway; there's no way to mess with any of the narration or actual character personalities and interactions. Again, I think the increasingly personal information that is given to each of the characters makes the game that much more involving and interesting as a whole. I'm wondering how the narration of the characters relationship will affect any of the gameplay, if at all.Fri, 07 Apr 2017 10:51:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6361&iddiary=11144https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6361Continuing on with Thomas Was Alone -- today I encountered the mysterious moving shadow. I haven't interacted with it yet but it's been mentioned in the character's dialog. I'm up to about 5 characters at the moment, each with their own individualistic qualities that all symbiotically work together until they reach their respective goals. The individual qualities of each of the characters makes it increasingly easy to empathize with them. Many of the characters have qualities that I could associate or identify with people I know. While the game may be about AI's trapped in a computer simulation, the overall gameplay and narration make their journey relatable and even understandable. In example, Laura, the pink horizontal rectangle who serves as a sort of trampoline for the others, worries that they are using her. Chris, the small orange square, a grumpy pessimistic character, immediately takes a liking to Laura as they work together exceedingly well. I've noticed over the course over many worlds and levels that each level seems to get progressively darker -- both in coloring and content. The shadow character I have yet to directly interact with serving as one example. I'm interested to keep playing and see how the narration develops the story, as well as see what other characters they'll introduce as it progressesWed, 05 Apr 2017 20:31:21 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6361&iddiary=11113https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6361Today I played through the first two worlds of Thomas Was Alone (with each world having about 10 levels each) and it wasn't exactly what I expected. What I got was a very puzzle-like game, with the hero, Thomas, and a very clear goal that needs to be achieved for that level. Even more unexpected, the narration throughout each level as new characters were introduced added a very humane aspect to the game I wasn't prepared for since they were simple animated shape AI's. Each shape has a name, and a skill unique that allows only them to reach certain parts of the level. I've found that combining and utilizing each of the shape's unique abilities is usually what's required in order to pass a level. Instead of being a traditional cause-and-effect game, Thomas Was Alone presents itself more as a character vs the environment type game, with the biggest adversary being the increasingly difficult terrain to cover in order to reach each of the shape's respective portals. I really like the gameplay so far -- the movement is super fluid and you're able to refine the shape's positions seemingly down to the last pixel. It has definitely got an addictive candy-crush like quality about it that allows you to play level after level without realizing how long you've been playing.Tue, 04 Apr 2017 22:14:22 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6361&iddiary=11096https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6321The detail to the storyline remains my favorite part about this game. I really enjoy all the hidden opportunities for advancement that may or may not impact the overall story; the mystery about it is probably the most intriguing part to me. I find that if the decisions to be made in a game are too obvious, it can lead to predictable outcomes that I generally get bored by pretty quickly. It's getting harder and harder to see the potential consequences of the actions I choose -- making it harder to choose all "good" or all "bad" decisions. Playing this game usually requires me to rewind quite a bit in order to achieve the desired outcome. Even then, I find that many of the circumstances Max gets into have predefined outcomes that only change marginally based on my decisions. The whole situation with Chloe's stepdad is a good example -- I don't imagine that particular scene altering much (sequence of events wise) besides a different relationship between Max and Chloe. The photo-ops throughout the game and their eventual roll in the storyline are still an enigma to me; I know that Max has to submit a photo to that photo contest or whatnot but I'm not getting the overall importance to the main story. Probably going to be one of those things that adds up or proves itself in the end. We'll see.Fri, 24 Feb 2017 00:06:25 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6321&iddiary=11038https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6321Today's playing offered some interesting, more complex ethical issues. I found that a lot of the situations I was put in were more "morally grey", and the decisions that had to be made weren't as straightforward as they used to be. A couple examples of this was the situation with Dana and Victoria, Max and Warren's interactions, Max and Chloe's interactions, and etc., it was generally harder to discern a "good" decision from a "bad" one. I love the amount of detail put into the gameplay -- the sheer amount of items you can interact with and explore (and how they all seem to contribute in some way to the overall storyline) definitely keeps me invested. I'm excited to play more. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Fri, 24 Feb 2017 00:07:29.)Wed, 22 Feb 2017 23:58:27 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6321&iddiary=11018https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6321Played an hour or so of Episode 1 of Life is Strange, a game revolving around a high-school photography student and her ability to reverse time. I thoroughly enjoy the premise of the game -- I think the concept is interesting and so far the gameplay has played off of it really well. I also love the animation aesthetic that seemingly reflects off of the main character Max's vintage, retro style (which is frequently commented on in the game.) A lot of the decisions Max has been faced with so far were pretty evident moral dilemmas -- from ratting out the dude with the gun in the bathroom, to forgiving or fighting with Victoria, intervening with the girl and the security guard, and etc., most of them were fairly straightforward good-or-bad situations. I've also run into a lot of decisions that I didn't particularly want to make, but had to, which usually required me having to reverse time multiple times to get it right, lol. I haven't played long enough to see anything but the direct consequences of my actions but I'm curious to see how greatly they will impact the story later on. Looking forward to the rest of Episode 1. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Tue, 21 Feb 2017 20:47:45.)Tue, 21 Feb 2017 20:44:17 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6321&iddiary=10994https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6228I continued my efforts to be the most amicable and friendly in all my replies with Bigby as a test to see if these replies prevent violence occurring in the game. When presented with the option to visit Faith's husband Prince Lawrence or help Toad out, I opted to choose Toad since I figured it was more friendly and personable. Of course, when there and dealing with Toad and his multiple obvious lies, I continued to reply as understanding as I possibly could, only to find that it took a RIDICULOUSLY long time for Toad to finally admit what had happened. I have of course, not experienced what the game is like when the violent replies are selected in this scene, but I can imagine it would be quicker and more straight-to-the-point. I think it's impossible to go through the game remaining perfectly "moral" in all of the decisions because of how normalized violence is in the fable society. As I mentioned in a previous log, the graphics of this game give it a very fascinating correlation to the subject matter in that it has a somewhat story-book illustration feel.Fri, 20 Jan 2017 02:37:21 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6228&iddiary=10880https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6228Continuing with The Wolf Among Us, I decided that today I would do my best to choose the most unassuming, 'high road' type replies. Any reply that I felt followed Wheaton's law best I selected -- primarily in regards to the conversation with Snow during the investigation (RE: the working girl's head) as well as in conversation with Ichabod Crane. I found that many replies (primarily with Crane) did not give the option for what I would consider a morally high ground. I guessed this was primarily due to Bigby's character and how he was written (I mean, he is the Big Bad Wolf after all), paired with the way the Crane was written. Gameplay wise I really love the depiction of fairytale mixed with mundane, the use of Glamour, the cohabitation of human/fable type lifestyle, etc. The animation and color scheme of the game I feel compliments the story and thematic elements well. I feel interested in the characters due to the depth they've managed to give already -- mingled with my curiosity on how exactly they'll portray the different fables throughout.Thu, 19 Jan 2017 22:48:17 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6228&iddiary=10868https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6228The beginning of 'The Wolf Among Us' presented me with multiple choices regarding the Woodsman, the working girl, and the toad -- all of which garnered different replies by the main character, Bigby. I found that there were generally 3 ranges of replies; an evasive reply, an aggressive reply, and a generally non-confrontational and/or appeasing reply. Of course, each of these different replies were met with different reactions from the characters involved depending on the situation. There was a lot of violence so far in the game; a lot of the choices that had to be made were in response to a conflict. I found that I tended towards the more evasive replies, only choosing the more aggressive one (to push the woodsmen out of the window) once, as to see what would occur. The ethical and moral values of the game are a bit shifted than that of the real world -- since most characters are fables, I have found that they are harder to kill and thus violence is almost encouraged in this game by means to control (see: the ax in the head of the woodsmen.) This idea draws stark contrast between the moral guidelines of the fables and that of the 'mundys' -- matters of life and death are far more fragile with the mundane characters, which again highlights the contrast and variability of what's an "ethical" action in the game.Wed, 18 Jan 2017 18:49:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6228&iddiary=10844