Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1974https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6883This game is now beginning to get a bit annoying. Nothing to note on the narrative front, as only one scenario has presented itself. The mechanics, however, made up a frustrating bulk of this log. Up until this point, I have completely avoided the “green” objectives, which order me to help out various citizens throughout the city, as the descriptions listed did not seem even relatively important, except for one in which I had to bounce a club, which resulted in one of my officers quitting. I do one now, and I end up getting paid. How was I supposed to know that payment would be an end result, since the first one resulted in the loss of an officer? This should’ve been detailed within the tutorial. Alongside this, more difficult choices presented themselves, with no context as to what the right choice would be. I ended up failing several crimes as a result. Overall, considering that this is my final log of This Is The Police, this game needs serious improvements in both the narrative and gameplay fronts. Heck, to me, the story is so insignificant that it can be removed entirely, with only the gameplay being in place. A fantastic iteration of the game would be a continuous one, in which days pass by one-by-one, and management of the police is required all the way up until the player fails at a certain point. Before starting a game, the player would be able to choose between various cities to manage forces in, each with their own rating as to how difficult crimes will be on that playthrough, and the game will then start. The player will start off with a relatively small amount of officers, and as the game goes on, officers will increase, but so too will difficulties faced with crime. Each crime presented will have a rating to indicate to the player how hard it will be. This game would be much more enjoyable than the one I’ve played over the last few days. In relation to what we’ve been discussing in-class, the game most definitely relates to our discussion on cheating, not in terms of modifying the game’s files in some manner, but rather, cheating embedded in mechanics, more specifically, the player character’s deal with the mafia. As a result of such the deal, the player is implored to engage in activities that go against the principles of the police department, such as intentionally not getting involved with crimes, as well as assisting the boss as needed. In this case, we are intentionally going against the rules of what it means to be a police officer in the name of acquiring money that will satisfy the $500k requirement at the end of the game.Thu, 08 Nov 2018 17:27:04 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6883&iddiary=12306https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6883Despite the criticisms in my last log, I am beginning to find gameplay much more enjoyable. Managing which police should go take care of a crime and which should stay is now a bit more exciting with more police slots, and the interactive investigations provide a sort of overarching narrative on a day. Alongside this, I’ve encountered some well-written choices that police have requested help on. I would have absolutely no problem if the game was just this, with the story removed. Speaking of the story, things are still slow. I now work for the police and the mafia, as a result of Jack wanting to leave the city and escape from Sand and his organization. Nothing of significant note has happened in the narrative so far. A rather big flaw of the story is the fact that narrative sequences between days tend to last from 5 to 10 minutes. With such an unattractive story, watching these sequences is simply a case of me sitting there, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for the game to start. Of course, these are skippable, but some additional mechanics are introduced with justification from the narrative. In relation to what we’ve been discussing in class, the mechanics relating to controlling the actions of officers relates to our discussion on morality. Let’s say a worker got drunk one night, and requests the day off. What would be the moral decision here, let them go, or make them stay at work? I ended up choosing the latter, resulting in the death of said officer. Alongside this, what strength rating would quantify firing an officer, and what would be the morally right choice to make when an officer asks for help? The game places morality at its forefront, with the player being able to make a variety of decisions that can result in differing consequences.Wed, 07 Nov 2018 18:10:35 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6883&iddiary=12266https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6883This Is The Police is an interesting game. In terms of the writing, the story does not seem entirely intriguing, to me, at least. Characters are introduced in bland, cliché ways, particularly the player character and the mayor, and when the story attempts to exemplify the struggles that Jack goes through, I fail to feel a significant amount of empathy. No heart-pumping variety has been provided in the story so far, making me feel a bit bored at segments revolving around Jack. In terms of the mechanics, the game is decently enjoyable. Having to manage officers on a day-by-day basis is intriguing, and weighing decisions based on the officers available, an officer’s skill level, and the complexity of a problem makes the game feel diverse. The extra options to make choices within crimes in action, as well as add officers to optional tasks makes the experience enjoyable. What seems problematic, however, is the fact that the result of all decisions seem random. The ideal strength that an officer should possess to deal with a certain crime context isn’t provided. It would be useful to provide a statistic with each crime to gauge what kind of officers should be sent, but having to infer who to send purely from the crime’s description certainly doesn’t seem ideal. In relation to what’s been discussed in class, we can integrate our discussion of what it means to be an ethical player into this game’s mechanics. As a chief officer of the police force, I’m in charge with ensuring that each officer acts to the best of their ability, as indicated by their strength level, and ensuring that as many crimes are solved as possible. There is some openness, however, in the sense that choices may arise that give me the choice to drive a crime in a certain direction, resulting in a good or bad outcome, whether intentional or unintentional. These would be the right actions as a chief police officer, and as such, an ethical player of the game, but if one were to make all of the bad choices, then they would be a bad chief officer, and as such, wouldn’t be getting too far in the game, remaining an unethical player in the game’s context.Tue, 06 Nov 2018 22:16:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6883&iddiary=12234https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6800After a difficult fight with a naked man possessing no genitals, I ran through the sewers of the abandoned ruins and came upon an “Amusement Park.” All of the robots in this vicinity were enjoying themselves by throwing balloons and confetti all over the place. Despite what the resistance has explained to me, I decided to try and not kill as many as I could, as they didn’t seem to annoy me much. A major criticism I have of this general area is the level design. As a regular player, it’s expected that, as soon as you enter the gates of the park, you are to simply follow the main path and proceed to the next general section, yes? Wrong. The entrance to the other area is hidden in a tiny crevice after a left turn into an alley, something that wouldn’t be expected. In this case, the ideal level design choice would be to implement the area of further progression in a manner that’s not so hidden, like a larger entrance to the side. Another problematic design choice arose in the form of a large carousel. After small dialogue as to how 9S and I were going to get over a large gate, I ran in a circle for about 5 minutes. I couldn’t figure out what would be the right ground path to travel. Then, after jumping for no reason whatsoever, 2B caught onto a section of a carousel. There was absolutely no indication that the player had to jump atop this. An ideal design choice would be to actually give the player an indication that they should jump on the carousel, whether it be by dialogue or some visual aspect. The end of the run came in the form of a boss: a large robot obsessed with their beauty. A new mechanic was introduced with this fight that took the form of hacking. Once the player collides with a circular projectile, the player suddenly turns into a small, black arrow, and must shoot anything that is black in order to successfully hack into the giant robot’s system. This action wasn’t explicitly stated, however, but this isn’t too much of a problem as the black objects are visually accentuated in these scenarios. In relation to moral frameworks being discussed in class, we can frame the inhabitants of the Amusement Park within Kantianism, which aims to determine ethical actions through deciding whether an action should quantify as a universal rule. Within the Park, all robots are very clearly displaying happiness constantly, and as such, they presume that the universal rule (within the Park, at least) is that everyone must have fun. This is exemplified strongly through all robots being dressed up in joyous gear, and screaming in joy. A dilemma presents itself, however, in the player’s decision to eliminate these robots or let them be. 2B and 9S’ “universal rules” are very, very different than the beliefs of these robots. They were given the objective, from YoRHa and the resistance, of clearing the Earth of robots, and as such, they are expected to do so. If the player chooses to let the robots be, they are breaking their universal rule. However, instead, it could be said that they are simply making an exception to their rule, as their new universal rule could be to eliminate all robots on Earth EXCEPT those who appear peaceful.Thu, 27 Sep 2018 20:07:27 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6800&iddiary=12160https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6800Although the introduction to Nier: Automata had its flaws, the game really begins to pick up during thereafter. The last run ended on a strange introduction to the options menu, in which 9S calibrated my systems and I adjusted settings as indicated. Why this wasn’t at the beginning of the game is beyond me. At the beginning of this run, new interactions were introduced that had incredibly vague tutorials, and required me to figure my way out through them. An example includes shops being located at distinct terminals, as well as how to access the map itself. Thereafter, 9S and I entered the hangar, and soared down to Earth. It was here that the game became open-world, with mission markers, explorable buildings, and all that jazz. Where to go in the beginning was obvious, but it seemed as if there wasn’t enough substance to locations traveled. Besides resistance bases that contain NPCs, there were enemies, and access points to save, but nothing else. There were no NPCs to talk to in the explorable world, just the Earth and its violent inhabitants. Alongside this, the world was separated into “districts”, each with their own introduction, including a dramatic camera pan. What I found to be extremely enjoyable regarding the game was its combat. I am a large fan of “Ocarina of Time-ish” close-combat systems that involve locking on to an enemy and attacking by utilizing simple button combinations. This game fulfills that taste amazingly. There are three types of attacks: light attacks have a higher rate of fire, but deal less damage. Heavy attacks have a slower rate of fire, but deal more damage. Shooting attacks have an extremely high rate of fire , but deal an extremely low amount of damage. The player can evade attacks by pressing the right trigger, and pressing it rapidly will lead to quick evades in succession, allowing the player to avoid attacks with a large duration. The story has certainly improved quite a bit from the last session. I now understand that I am part of a group of androids, who are responsible for intermittently heading to Earth and clearing it of a multitude of enemies, which, in this run, include cylindrical robots and humanoid beings with no genitals. After meeting a group of “resistance” androids, I am commanded to head out to a Desert and eliminate a group of machines, with each exemplifying what seems to be human emotions, resulting in 9S denying their ability to do so throughout. Things only get stranger when we follow a lone survivor of an assault to a hidden enclave full of dressed-up robots, each displaying detailed human emotions. Thereafter, the robots suddenly group together in a giant ball, and spit out a human with no genitals, possessing supernatural powers, for us to fight. At this point, I just forget that this game is investing in extensive lore and just go with what it’s presenting me. So, that last part regarding robots and human emotions certainly had a moral interpretation to it. Robots displaying human emotions caused some reasonable doubt in 2B, as it seemed as if their happiness was being interrupted, which ties back into the concept of Utilitarianism. We could analyze the incidents in which 2B and 9S attack these robots: The stakeholders are 2B, 9S, and the robots that displayed sadness and anger. To rate happiness on a scale of 1-10, 9S and 2B are achieving, overall 7/10 happiness. Although 9S is enjoying the mission, 2B has already experienced this many, many times over, so her happiness is not at maximum capacity. The rating of happiness for the robots, however, is 1/10, as they are literally being massacred. Since there are a greater amount of robots than androids, it would seem that the overall incidents result in overall unhappiness, meaning that they are unethical for the most part. Yet, YoRHA still labels these actions as the complete opposite.Tue, 25 Sep 2018 21:36:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6800&iddiary=12077https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6800I’ve heard nothing but good things about Nier: Automata from several friends over the past year, so I decided to choose it for my next GameLog. My praise is directed towards the game’s mechanics. Although they were a bit difficult to get use to within the introduction, I grasped the essentials quickly. Combat effectively combines a third-person shooter with a hack-and-slash, something that I never thought was possible. The controls are intuitive and incredibly fun to play with. An extremely satisfying aspect of this game is that of a constantly shifting camera perspective. I started out controlling a flying ship from a top-down view, avoiding fast-moving projectiles as they destroyed my allies. Thereafter, the scenario was predominantly played from an over-the-shoulder perspective, in which the camera followed me directly behind my player model, in a manner that also permitted me to see enemies ahead of me for me to shoot at them. The camera would then shift between these top-down and over-the-shoulder views, within certain locations, allowing the game to keep the player engaged. What I don’t find particularly appealing, however, is the game’s story. I’m only an hour into it, however, so I shouldn’t start being incredibly critical yet, but I’ve found many things to be critical of. I am not a fan of the writing so far. The lines used throughout the prologue came off as very cheesy, with such instances including: The “attempted-but-not-too-tragic” death of 2B’s allies at the hands, or in this case, beams of cylindrical flying robots. The initial conversations between 2B and 9S. The whole bit on the word “ma’am” was not necessary whatsoever. 2B’s sexualized maid outfit. The outfit she wears greatly contrasts her tough, persistent personality. I was greatly intrigued towards the end of this run, however, when YoRHa, was introduced. It is revealed that the game is set incredibly far into the future, where all humans have fled Earth because of an alien invasion, and robots are left to clean up all the mess on the planet for them. In relation to what we are discussing in class, we could employ a view of cultural relativism. Although seen in a brief moment, we can easily understand that YoRHa’s culture is dedicated to protecting mankind from alien forces, no matter the cost. Although YoRHa believes this, perhaps other cultures believe the complete opposite, such as the aliens that invaded Earth, including the cylindrical robots. These forces are incredibly dedicated to eliminating the forces that protect mankind, as well as mankind itself, no matter the cost. Both of these cultures, with their own societies, have their own beliefs, and although it seems that they establish their beliefs to be higher among the other culture, they have no way of improving upon theirs in comparison to the other, as both of these cultures are in active opposition of each other. Perhaps some exceptions may come up in future logs. There could be instances where individuals within the two cultures come together in harmony, and become aware of how they could improve their own based on the other. Who knows?Sun, 23 Sep 2018 02:05:58 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6800&iddiary=12049https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6716For this log on Hitman, I decided to move onto the second mission, Sapienza. Compared to Paris, this mission seemed more explorative, as the level itself was interwoven with an actual city, comprised of many civilians. Given its more open-ended nature, I decided to try it out. The backstory for this mission seems a bit more intriguing compared to that from Paris. Silvio Caruso and Francesca DeSantis are working on a virus that, when spread through some strange means, will attach to the DNA sequences of individuals, no matter where they are located. A disease can then be remotely initiated to infect and/or kill individuals. I have no idea how this works, nor what the targets’ motives are, but this is extremely devious, and as such, 47 is given the task of eliminating them. The mission’s default starting position is directly outside of the mansion in which operations for the virus are taking place. Although two guards stood in front of the entrance to the mansion, I was able to slip in by disguising as a flower delivery man, conveniently located to the left of the entrance. From there, I began a long process of following Silvio Caruso throughout his endeavors. Utilizing multiple save files on the patio of the building, I was able to take out Caruso’s two main bodyguards, as well as disguise myself as one, but unfortunately, I was not quick enough, and thereafter, he remained in a room filled to the brim with guards who could see through my disguise. Luckily, after this, Francesca moved from a supposed underground lair to the upper floors, and so, I targeted her next. On the upper floors, I used coins extensively to take out several bodyguards, and in the end, was able to eliminate Francesca and almost every security guard located in the upper floor. In relation to what was discussed in our last class session, this play session can be related to cultural pollution through its disguising mechanic. In the game, 47 can disguise himself to take on the role of a different persona, whether it be that of a fashion model, security guard, or housekeeper. Something interesting to note is that, upon disguising, 47 is perceived as an entirely different person to other individuals, despite retaining the same face structure and iconic “barcode” throughout. NPCs seem to only pay attention to the style of his clothes, rather than his actual face. As a housekeeper, he blends in because people focus on his maid outfit, not his face. This disguise triggers particular lines of dialogue that reinforce his looks, in the sense that NPCs treat him as a servant. From this, it can be inferred that cultural pollution is in effect when individuals have particular reactions to 47 in particular disguises, as he is immediately taken to be from another culture upon disguising.Thu, 30 Aug 2018 14:11:54 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6716&iddiary=11979https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6716I finished my first run of Paris in a rather exposing manner. Although eliminating Dalia was done with the simple stab of a scissor in a hidden room, the challenge of eliminating Victor was a whole other beast. The game strongly incentivizes taking a target out without civilians knowing, but Viktor Novikov just wanted to wander throughout the areas with the most people. It was quite frustrating, as I spent 10 minutes following him back and forth. It seemed like I was making no progress. In the end, I gave up on the silent act, threw a scissor at his head, and dashed to the exit. Mission complete. Thereafter, I decided to replay the first mission to complete the “Silent Assassin- Suit Only” challenge. In this challenge, I had to eliminate ONLY the targets provided, as well as not get spotted nor wear a single disguise. For this endeavor, I decided to use a guide. I intentionally did this to see what the most difficult challenge in the game entailed, and if it was even possible to complete without looking up a guide. This is the one I used: https://www.usgamer.net/articles/hitman-paris-showstopper-silent-assassin-suit-only-walkthrough I was required to enter a bathroom at the far end of a hallway, take an invitation, then head outside to a patio to get into an event held by IAGO. These actions bring up a few questions regarding unaware players: how is it that the challenges do not have a navigation system similar to that within opportunities? Whereas opportunities provide points on the map for the player to reach, challenges must be accessed from an alternate screen to guide the player, which seems a bit unintuitive. Anyways, from here, I am directed by the guide to head in various directions until I reach a diorama, and when the target comes by, I can insert a coin to “play” the diorama, initiating an extravagant presentation that will distract them, and cause them to alternate their normal path to walk through a door for me to garrote them. In relation to what is being discussed in class, we could say that 47 follows a certain amount of rules to ensure that an assassination does not result in chaos. The game hints at said rules by gifting the player with points when they ONLY kill the targets provided, and not start a ruckus among others within a mission. Based on these, we can infer that Agent 47 has a utilitarian outlook on his mission: he wants to complete his objective in a manner that maximizes the enjoyment of individuals that aren’t his target(s), and along this line, we could say that he wants to maximize the life outlook of individuals around the world by eliminating the leaders of the corrupt organization IAGO. From this description, we can state that 47 has a deductive moral principle: he should kill those who threaten the well-being of people around the world, without intruding the lives of said people. Sat, 25 Aug 2018 16:01:21 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6716&iddiary=11886https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6716First off, I am an absolute stickler for stealth games. There were three key aspects that made up the almighty nerdy trifecta of my adolescence: Star Wars, Naruto, and Assassin’s Creed, the latter being one that I spent an incredible amount of time in. The stealth elements of hiding in haystacks, distracting guards, and silently taking them out with a hidden blade greatly fascinated me. This guided my choosing of Hitman as my first game. The prologue takes place before the first mainline entry in the series, Hitman: Codename 47, and the setup is incredibly simple: A man named “47” shows up to a remote island with a form of amnesia, prepared to take a series of tests to become an official assassin for an organization known as the ICA. It is from this point that I have several questions: What does the ICA do? Why are they hiring assassins? Are they serving the greater good, or are they following a particular agenda? What is their ruleset? What is this man’s past? Why does he have a barcode on the back of his head? How did he become so damn good at assassination from the get-go? Now, considering the fact that all other main missions take place after the last entry in the franchise, Hitman: Absolution, perhaps all these questions have been answered throughout. I don’t know. The gameplay itself is incredibly entertaining. The very first mission provides a space for the player to get their feet wet with the basic controls, and the one thereafter allows the player to execute a mission in any manner that they please. Each mission provides an open-ended environment for the player to experiment with interactions regarding items and NPCs. In relation to recent topics in class, it is pertinent to be stated that Agent 47 does not take morals into mind whatsoever. He will follow through whatever missions he is given with absolutely no emotion shown, all at the behest of the player. He shows no mercy, and seemingly cares for no one. He doesn’t care how something should be done, as long as it gets done, then he is satisfied. A truly ruthless character. It could be said that his goals are defined by valid arguments. Putting a bit of a spin on the example provided in the slides: 1. All promises ought to be kept 2. 47’s promise to the ICA is a promise. 3. He ought to keep his promise to the ICA. Thu, 23 Aug 2018 23:53:29 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6716&iddiary=11883