Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1935https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6676For my final playthrough, I was able to finish Firewatch. I played far longer than I intended, but I really wanted to get to the ending of the game. The ending proved interesting, but also seemed to squander a lot of the setup that led to it. I definitely think things could have been more satisfying, and things tied together in a neater way. I also felt like more resolution to Henry's and Delilah's past would have been very satisfying, especially if it included a strong conclusion to their relationship. Overall, I really related strongly to both characters, even with them making some poor decisions. I played Henry as a little more levelheaded, balancing out some of Delilah's more impulsive tendencies. For example, when Delilah suggested starting a fire to cover up for something, I suggested that was probably a rash decision. I am curious that if I had said otherwise, if we would have actually set the fire. Either way the fire is set, so it would have been interesting. Like I mentioned in my last Gamelog, the game really dives into the choices we make, especially under pressure. There's the hint of them being in a social experiment which ends up not being the case, however the narrative still focuses heavily on the choices the main characters made in the present and the past. This particularly focuses on the choices we make when under duress, when it is the most difficult to make the "right" choice. I think a lot of it involves our natural tendency to seek out happiness for ourselves, and sometimes the choices we make to maximize our happiness do not do so for everyone involved. It will be interesting to dive into this more, perhaps from the Utilitarian approach, where maybe one person's happiness outweighs the misery of someone else. There's definitely many interesting lenses for this, and I think the game gives a lot of good material for exploring this. I look forward to writing up something over the next week that explores these ideas.Thu, 29 Mar 2018 18:12:46 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6676&iddiary=11810https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6676For my second playthrough in Firewatch, I got the majority of the way through the game. Things escalated quite a bit with Delilah, with a strong relationship developing between her and Henry. This relationship developed very fluidly, through the well-written dialogue. I like the system the game uses for dialogue, and it all flows very well. A lot of seeds were laid in the portions I played for the game, I learned about a boy named Brian and his dad Ned who used to have the same job Henry does now. We learn that they abruptly left, and Delilah had not heard from them since. You get the feeling that there is definitely more to this and that it will pop up later, particularly as Delilah seems to have a good relationship with the boy and did not care for his father. Not only that, but a conspiratorial thread started with a potential research site that is potentially monitoring Henry and Delilah. Overall, I have really enjoyed my time so far with the game. The game seems to take a deep look at people, and the choices they make, and how sometimes the best choice for one person has a lot of consequences for other people. There's this heart-wrenching notion that even good people can do the wrong thing, and that this can cause a lot of pain. You see this in the backstories of both of the main characters, with Henry's wife, and Delilah's ex-boyfriend. Delilah's ex had a family member pass away, and Delilah did not want to deal with the aftermath and be there for him, and selfishly chose to focus on her own life-goals. This left him to deal with it on his own. The ethics of these kind of situations is super murky, particularly since you feel for the characters and see them as good people, despite the poor decisions they have made. I believe my paper will try to wrap up some of this into an interesting ethical dilemma.Thu, 29 Mar 2018 18:07:28 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6676&iddiary=11809https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6676For my first gamelog I played approximately the first hour of Firewatch. Overall the game really impressed me with the quality of storytelling, as well as just a general level of polish I was not expecting. The game is super fun too, and has a nice explorative aspect to the gameplay. There is a map and compass which enable you to navigate through the environment. I did find the coloring and terrain to be somewhat confusing to navigate. It would have been nice if this was more naturally easy to navigate through rather than constantly checking my map and compass. This was exacerbated by the portions at night where visibility was reduced. The game constantly gives you little choices along the way, both in dialogue and action. For example, in the first day you go to tell some campers not to set off fireworks. Along the way you find a mess of beer cans they left behind, optionally you can clean these up. Who knows if this has consequences, but it's a cool mechanic to make the world feel more livable and interesting. The general premise of the story was also interesting, with the primary character's girlfriends struggles with early onset Alzheimers. Alzheimers runs in my family so it is definitely something I relate to, and early onset of the disease can be extremely heartbreaking. I'm interested to see where they go with this, particularly after the main character's choice to run away from his problems in the beginning.Wed, 28 Mar 2018 23:04:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6676&iddiary=11788https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6619In my last play through, I got introduced to Ali who exemplifies the violent aspirations of the revolution. He rejects the fact that violence should be avoided, and shows a lot of hate for the people who work for the current regime. While Babak, on the other hand, shows sympathy for the works of the regime calling them oppressed as well. He notes that they have to do whatever they can to support their families. It will be interesting to see how their rivalry and differing viewpoints advance in the story. As I said in a previous log, the game leans on the same mechanics as Telltale’s adventure games. This includes the moral side of things, where you are given choices and told that other characters will remember it. One thing I noticed is that a lot of the time these choices have very little short-term effect. For example, dialogue often results in the same response line or action no matter what, giving you the illusion of choice. I’m sure these will cascade in the end though as you get different endings depending on the results of previous chapters. That said, this does kind of feel weird as a player. This play through had a lot of focus on violence and its place in revolution. Personally, I think it is good to minimize this as much as possible. Revolutions often criticize those in charge for their cruelty and insensitivity to other’s lives. However, if the revolution resorts to murder and heavy violence, in many ways we just replace one tyrant with another. One who just emphasizes different qualities in his government, but with the same authoritarian flair. I think if a revolution instead relies on changing people’s minds and hearts, it will do better. This can be seen in the game where some of the military refuse to use lethal force or exert much force at all due to them disagreeing with the government. The government can be overthrown for this, as it only has power in so much as it has support. That said, violence in response to violence from the government’s military could be required or important as a government lashes out before dying. I’m excited to see how these issues evolve in the story going forward. Another portion of the game returns you to the interrogation. Here you are asked what you know about Bibi. She is a character that is part of the revolution working with Raza, who was betrayed in the last section. While interrogated, you watch your brother be tortured in order to force answers out of you. This represents another interesting moral dilemma, as potentially the information could be damning to the revolution if shared, and that could have far-reaching consequences. But in order to not share it you have to watch your brother be tortured, causing him immense pain. This pits the wellbeing of everyone against the wellbeing of those close to you. This is an interesting situation, and would definitely be a difficult choice for many people to make. In my play through I avoided giving as much info as I could, but as a player I’m far removed from having that character actually be my brother. This brings my game logs to an end. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with this game. I do plan on putting a lot more time into the game in the next week to prepare for my OPA. I don’t feel that I have played enough yet for that, but I do have a good feel for the game and the themes it will explore. I really liked this game so far.Fri, 16 Feb 2018 19:41:04 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6619&iddiary=11705https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6619One thing that stood out in my second play session is how the game integrates real history with in the game with little journal entries. Certain events or historical facts are highlighted, such as in the photography session of the gathered crowd, and then you can optionally choose to read more which I did. This gives a lot of good background info for those ignorant of the story like me. The game seems to explore a lot of the ideas about deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong rather than having the government tell us what is right and wrong which was at the heart of the revolution. Even if a government “means” well, it should not necessarily enforce its views on the people. I found the protest fascinating, it’s crazy to see such a massive gathering of people all united under the same cause. It’s amazing to examine the movements and see what elements led to them and how they are politicized by both sides. Even within the protestors there seems to be a big rift in what people want out of the revolution. Some want more secularism and freedom along the lines of western capitalism, while others want something less drastic that retains the Muslim religion at the heart of government but with more democracy to guide it. One other aspect that is interesting is the reflection of media and journalism in the game. There’s definitely an emphasis on what sharing the truth with the wider world can do for a movement, as well as how the media influences people. In this second play through you run into a guy covered in photographs. The man is called “The Walking Dead” as he is covered in the photographs of murdered revolutionaries. This helped evoke the cruelty of the current government towards those who would question it. This also gets into the violence aspect. Some members of the revolution stress that violence will be required for them to get any traction. Others, like those who put together the demonstration and mass prayers, emphasize peaceful protest. An event where a theater was lit on fire is brought up as being something necessary for the resistance, even though over 350 people died. I’m interested to see where the story goes, and what kind of stances and viewpoints are represented on all these divisive topics. Also, due to my ignorance on the topic, I’m excited to see how it all plays out.Thu, 15 Feb 2018 20:42:23 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6619&iddiary=11685https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6619The intro for this game is interesting, in that you are largely dropped into a scenario with little background. For me, I was unfamiliar with the history behind the event which made it even more confusing. However, it is still clear that this is a story that takes place in Iran, and that involves revolution against the current regime. In the opening moments your character is captured by the regime and treated like a terrible criminal. Hints at horrible acts are mentioned multiple times by your interrogator, and then you are questioned about bombings that your organization supposedly planned. From here the game jumps into a flashback, seemingly to fill in the missing details. It jumps back to when you first meet someone named Babak, who is named as the leader of the resistance. Overall I really enjoyed the intro as it gave a good flavor to the experience. It seems very similar to a Telltale adventure game in its style and delivery. I like that it keeps it a little vague over whether the resistance or the regime is being honest, however there is definitely an emphasis on the regime being cruel and potentially torturing their captors. The interrogator also mentions that he executed the others captured with the main character, while it’s not clear if this is a bluff it does not reflect well on the characterization of the regime. From a moral standpoint it seems like the game will play with various ideas about when is revolution okay, is violent or peaceful protest more effective, and explore the pains that an out of control government can cause. All of these themes seem super interesting, and I look forward to analyzing them deeper in future weeks.Thu, 15 Feb 2018 20:37:46 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6619&iddiary=11684https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6522For my final gamelog of Prison Architect, I simply played through most of the third campaign mission. This mission focused on the topic of prison rioting, tasking the player with cleaning up the riot, and handling the immediate aftermath. This mission played the most on the game side of things and a little less on the story. You are tasked with rebuilding the prison after, as well as directing riot crews and paramedics through the prison to bring it back to order. This is my favorite mission thus far due to this freedom. From an ethical standpoint, there was not too much of a statement about rioting itself, but there was an interesting statement made about prisons in general. A hostage situation takes place, and reveals details about the prison in doing so. The original riot started due to a set of judges being caught extending harsher sentences for bribery. It turns out this goes all the way up to the Mayor and Warden of the prison. They want longer sentences since they make more money for each prisoner kept in prison, through keeping costs low and pocketing the remainder. This is an interesting implication that plays well into the idea of for profit prisons. From my perspective, a for profit prison seems like a poor idea. It incentivizes poor treatment of prisoners to maximize profits for a private company. This is a good example of something that a more impartial government might do best to manage. Although the gameplay suggests this might result in similar flaws via corruption, at least the incentive to mistreat prisoners is not necessarily baked into the business model. Back to the overall gameplay involved, I enjoyed moving the riot crews through and cleaning up the prison. I liked that another gameplay oriented moral choice appeared in the form of firing crews which would shoot on sight, and were a more aggressive alternative to the riot crews. However, this seemed half-baked as you only received one and were unable to call more making it less of a moral choice and more of just a showcase of other paths riots may take. That said, it was still a fun idea, and could be seen as necessary if the prison riot is getting out of hand and already costing many lives. Overall, I really enjoyed my time with Prison Architect, and plan to continue playing in my own time. I look forward to playing it more to fill out my future analysis as well. I do feel like maybe it could have been handled with a little more tact, but for just some random game about prisons it does a great job of handling it with care and interest, while also keeping the gamer engaged.Thu, 18 Jan 2018 22:45:11 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6522&iddiary=11559https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6522My second playing experience revolved around the second campaign mission. This mission tasks you with fixing up a prison that is experiencing a massive fire in its kitchen and canteen. First you have to put out the fires, rebuild, deal with consequences of the fire, and see to your prisoner’s needs. Compared to the first mission, this one seemed to have less of a moral slant to it, and instead tried to tell a story about a mob crime family. This approach seemed a bit weaker from a thematic viewpoint for me, especially since there was a forced callback to the story in the first mission. There did not seem to be anything particularly compelling about the story told, nor was it a particularly well told story. It did end with a twist, as the daughter carries on the family’s legacy without her husband. I would not be surprised if this is followed up on in future missions. For the most part though, the story felt less substantial than mission one. Optional objectives with a moral slant return from the first mission. This time you can choose to better serve your prisoner’s needs by giving them better food, recreation, and clean up the prison. If you accomplish all of these you are then prompted to set up a laundry service. The alternative is that you can ignore your prisoner’s needs, and ensure their behavior with more force. The game does not particularly emphasize one as better over the other, but the fact that it is more work to treat your prisoner’s well definitely incentivizes other options to a degree. However, it’s hard to tell without more time building my own prison if this really works out to be an easier pathway. Overall, the game still has a compelling tone to it. I could see an argument being made that the developers should not allow the player to run an unethical prison or treat their prisoner’s poorly. However, I think that without the option to go both ways the choice is hollow and less meaningful. It is more rewarding if you are given an option to make these decisions as a player. Also, in the context of a video game, particularly a simulation, it can be valuable to try out less ethical choices to see what outcomes result. This can be helpful when it is not clear what an ethical choice might be, providing a chance to experiment with the tools given. This does rely on the simulation being an adequate expression of real life, but regardless valuable lessons like that can only be learned if multiple viewpoints are represented.Tue, 16 Jan 2018 19:13:15 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6522&iddiary=11456https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6522For my first gamelog for Prison Architect, I played through the first and part of the second campaign mission. In the first mission you are tasked with preparing an execution facility for a prisoner who received the death penalty. While in the guise of a simulation game, different moral questions and ideas are brought up throughout this level. You are repeatedly told that this is just something we have to do and to let the law of the land handle the rest. However, you are given optional objectives to make the situation better for the prisoner. This includes making the waiting room cell more comfortable for the prisoner, as well as adding a path with lighting outside the facility. These little touches seem to be optional solely to force a moral choice from the player. Does this prisoner, guilty of a double murder, deserve better treatment in their last days? Ironically, after I did implement all these extra things for the sake of the prisoner, you are greeted with a detailed description of his crime. This slaughtering of two people puts a new light on whether this mercy is deserved. The entire concept of the death penalty in general is also questioned by a priest’s character, where he notes that if the crime had occurred in a different location he would have simply received life in prison. This brings up the moral quandary of whether there is anything to be gained by utilizing the death penalty to punish someone for a crime. Does this eye for an eye approach adequately reduce the overall pain and hurt in the situation? This could be argued from a perspective of justice, for the living loved ones of the victims. However, on the flip side of this, it could be argued that killing another person just makes the situation more tragic and does nothing to rectify the crime involved. Overall, this was a great introduction to this game and the ideas it will present. I like this style of game in general, and I enjoy the way the developers of the game attempted to tackle the subject matter with more tact than might have been expected from a prison simulator. There is definitely a lot of room for this type of game to get a lot of things wrong, in matters of simply seeming like an exploitation or utilize stereotypes when it comes to prisoners. From this brief introduction, the game appears to tackle things from a more human perspective. I look forward to experimenting more with the campaign, and attempting to build up my own prison.Mon, 15 Jan 2018 22:02:47 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6522&iddiary=11441