Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1945https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6650My final session of 1979 Revolution was good. I was able to finish the game, wasn't too impressed by the ending unfortunately. The relationship between Reza and Hossein was quite interesting. I tried to cooperate with him when Reza gets arrested, but it was difficult. It was nice for him to help though since there was so much tension between the police and revolutionaries. At dinner with the family, I attempted to defend Ali, who is a big trouble maker and may have killed people. My instincts told me to stick up for him since he was family, which didn't seem to matter to the other people. When Ali and Hossein confronted each other, I talked down Ali from shooting and saved Hossein from the army. It was really sad when Babak died, I felt like he was a really close friend to Raza and also shared my views on the non violence approaches to problems. He was also really passionate about the revolution. Overall I really liked the game and thought it did a good job teaching the player about life during the Revolutionary Iran. It brings up the question whether a people should stand up to their ruling government if their being mistreated. This goes into social contract and it would be argued that the protesters were doing the moral thing in actively fighting against the government.Wed, 28 Mar 2018 21:59:09 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6650&iddiary=11784https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6650Second session of 1979 Revolution went well. I picked up right after the clash of protesters and the army. The main protester, Abbas, was badly hurt and the player has to pull out glass and a knife from him. The game does a good job with tension I think, as this moment was quite stressful, as it should be. The big protest brought many philosophical topics to the table. The one that stuck out to me was the free speech (or lack thereof). I've always been in a country that allowed free speech, so it's hard for me to imagine the oppression of not having it. In the game, it's mentioned several times that speaking your mind was not allowed. Vendors had to sell cassette tapes disguised as music that actually had revolutionary speeches on them in order to spread the ideology of the revolution. After helping Abbas escape and picking up his belongings, you are fast forwarded to being captured from the start of the game. The interrogator brings in your brother and threatens to torture him with a cattle prod if you don't answer his questions correctly. I didn't answer truthfully on two of his questions because I wanted to protect the revolution. It was hard seeing my brother in pain, he was begging that I tell the truth. Hearing his shouts affected what I did because I eventually told some truths. This probably wasn't the best choice since there are much bigger issues in play, but having him right there made it seem justified to help him instead of others.Tue, 27 Mar 2018 21:28:30 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6650&iddiary=11753https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6650I started playing 1979 Revolution and knew nothing about it going in. I quickly found out it was about the Iranian Revolution which I know nothing about. I played the first 6 chapters of the game, which go by pretty fast. I learned quite a bit about the troubling climate in 1980 Iran. There seemed to be a lot of oppressed citizens in the country. There was a comment that the poor get poorer and the rich were gaining wealth. This would surely anger me and I'm sure many other people (as it did to the Iranians). The amount of people that were trying to be part of the revolution was really cool, a lot of people wanted change. I wasn't expecting the point and click game play, which isn't my favorite, but the story is captivating which is what matters for this subject. The choices you make during situations are also remembered by people around you, so your decisions are impactful. Citizens were willing to risk their lives in order to progress the revolution. During the ending of the protest, the army came and was going to arrest the main protester. The characters friend comes over and wants to use violence against the armed soldiers. I refused both times since I want to try a peaceful approach. The friend might have a point with having to use violence in order to incite change, but you can protest without it as well. I'm excited to play more and see what happens to the characters and Iran.Mon, 26 Mar 2018 21:42:01 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6650&iddiary=11736https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6600My third session of Prison Architect was good. I decided to just use one of the campaign prisons to mess around with instead of building one from scratch since I feared that would take too long (although I plan to in the near future. I hired lots of guards, made solitary confinement areas and made the prisoners schedules very strict. I did frequent searches and some bangups, but I started feeling bad before any riots happened. I get feeling guilty mistreating people, even in a video game. I'm still trying to figure out some of the more advanced features of the game, such as policy, bureaucracy, grants and finances. These features aren't required to have a basic functioning prison though. It's been cool to see all the detail put into this game. Some features I really liked were the drug and alcohol recovery programs you could have for the prisoners. That was required to do in the campaign to help the addicted inmates. Another program that looked interesting was the spiritual guidance, but I didn't experiment with that one. Like I mentioned before, there are many ethical dilemmas and scenarios in this game that I find fascinating and I'm glad so much thought and functionality went into what I originally thought was a very basic sim game.Thu, 15 Feb 2018 23:17:00 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6600&iddiary=11690https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6600My second session of Prison Architect was entertaining. The missions I played were a little more stressful than the first part of the campaign. I had to put out a fire and rebuild some areas that were destroyed. I had to make sure the water and electric hookups were run to certain objects and that there was the proper staff working. After the fire is dealt with, you are introduced to some members of a gang, and their story ties back into the first missions double murder situation. The mission ends with two inmates being killed and some more drama with the gang. The next mission was exciting, since you are thrown into a prison that has a full scale riot underway. All the cell blocks are uncontained and you get riot guards to go in and cull the uprising. As you get some areas under control, you find there is a hostage situation with the CEO. Towards the end of the riot, you are allowed to use armed police officers, with the disclaimer that they might kill inmates, or that the rioters will surrender when they see the weapons. I tried to use this force as a backup measure, letting the riot officers go in first to avoid casualties. I didn't want to risk getting people killed, even if they were prisoners who rioted. The final part of the riot got a little out of hand and the inmates actually killed 2 riot guards, maybe I should have sent in the armed police guards into that section. After the riot is over with, you are tasked with rebuilding the destroyed areas and make some adjustments. You can make an armory so your staff is better equipped for future riots and solitary confinement areas to quell unruly prisoners. I can see how this game relates to ethics since it touches on so many real world scenarios and you are able to choose how to handle them in different ways. There may not be the perfect way to solve a certain situation and deciding which option is "better" can be difficult. I think I have all the knowledge I need to try and build my own prison, which I will try tomorrow for the next session. I would like to try and take the forceful approach for managing the prison, but I seem to go the passive routes a lot so we shall see how committed I'll be. Still enjoying the game overall!Wed, 14 Feb 2018 22:52:23 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6600&iddiary=11657https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6600I played the first two hours of Prison Architect on PC. I started out on the campaign and liked the easy progression of it. The first task you are required to perform is to build an execution center for a prisoner that needs to be put to death. The game teaches you how to build structures, segment rooms and provide the necessary utilities to certain objects. After you finish building the execution chamber, you see a cutscene of the death row inmate killing his two victims. He seems very remorse about his actions, seeks a priest for forgiveness and turns himself in. On the way from his cell to his impending doom, the prison chief and priest have a conversation about the inmates fate. The guard thinks that the execution is the just consequence for the inmate, and the priest argues that he has taken all the right steps to not face death. He mentions that if he would have committed the crime a little further away, he would only be facing life in prison instead of the execution. That was interesting to think about since we know some states have the death penalty and others don't. There are some complex mechanics to the game that I hope won't be overwhelming in the future. You can monitor your prisoners happiness and check which things you can improve to avoid riots. Making sure you have the correct number of staff is crucial to maintaining a good prison. I like the detail put into the game and I'm excited to finish the campaign and make my own prison from scratch.Tue, 13 Feb 2018 21:45:14 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6600&iddiary=11623https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6544My third session of Shadow of Mordor was a good time. I'm glad the game isn't linear, like other Lord of the Rings games I've played. Being able to explore and do side missions makes for a nice break from the main story. I like doing the captain missions, which offer a variety of different scenarios to do. The combat has gotten a little easy over time, especially with the different abilities I've unlocked. The introduction of new enemy types makes things interesting though, and keeps you on your toes. I've used the environment more to kill Uruks, which is a fun aspect. Before defeating a captain, I'll look into some intel and try to kill them with their weaknesses. This sometimes makes it a little easy, so it can be fun to go in knowing nothing as well. I plan on finishing the game and am still having lots of fun!Thu, 18 Jan 2018 21:57:28 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6544&iddiary=11557https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6544My second session of Shadow of Mordor was still very enjoyable. I've explored more of the map and and have found a number of collectibles. As you explore and find items, you can read up on lore which is very detailed. I've been focusing more on the story and captain missions and haven't read much of the information, but the detail that went into it is impressive. The game seems to have a nice difficulty curve to it so far, and some captains can be difficult to defeat (which I like). The intel system is very helpful, it's fun to keep the uruk with information alive until the end of a fight in order to find the strengths and weaknesses of captains. It's been cool to see and interact with Gollum, makes sense that he would be lurking around that area. The other side characters have been good as well, and add depth to the world of the game. The leveling and ability points add cool moves and skills that make Talion stronger. I've been using wraith mode more and find it useful, but sometimes hard to see the terrain (which is fair since you can see enemies through walls). I really like the unique nemesis system and the depth it adds to the game. It's satisfying to get revenge on a recently promoted captain that killed you. Some of the bonus objectives can be a little tricky, but I enjoy the challenge of it. Celebrimbor (the elf ghost) is cool and adds a lot to the story. It's interesting that your playing as two characters essentially. I'm impressed with the quality of this game and am excited to play more and see what happens with Talion!Wed, 17 Jan 2018 19:14:34 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6544&iddiary=11502https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6544I enjoyed my first session with Shadow of Mordor. The stealth mechanics are smooth, and I like the sneak attacks you are able toperform. The combat is fluid and easy to get the hang of. This design also makes it possible to fight a decent-sized group of enemies, which makes you feel awesome when you can take them all out. You are able to climb most surfaces on the map, which is helpful to scout out areas and get the drop on someone. The look and feel impressed me and captured the atmosphere of a desolate land (as Mordor should rightly feel). I wish it was easier to gain health (especially in combat). I'm sure I'll unlock things as the game progresses to help with that. The herb healing isn't bad, but I'm just used to self healing to max in games. It's nice there is no penalty for death, besides the captain gaining strength. Actually, the game makes dying a cool aspect with the nemesis feature, which is a system of Uruks that have strengths, weaknesses and ties with each other. I'm looking forward to playing more! Oh and Talion's dagger is sweet!Tue, 16 Jan 2018 23:24:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6544&iddiary=11475