Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=2001https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6865The first funeral with the new company made me think about how the younger the dead the sadder the funeral was. The death of the elderly was a lot easier for people to accept. The emails feel more business and “big corporation” every time. We just got a contract to do funerals for the homeless. The lone urn sitting in the room felt very eerie and lonely. The next email saying that he convinced a family to go against their wishes and have the funeral their feels very wrong. In the same week your co-worker quits. It makes me wonder what my future holds at this company. The funeral itself carried the same impersonal feel that the emails do. The family seems unsatisfied and questioning themselves, while the others are making small talk about other things. You also get an email where the player learns that your best friend is bisexual. I think the game again does a very good job of not making this her character feature, but just part of who she is. This is the first game I’ve played that I think thoughtfully implements LGBT content in a way that isn’t tokenizing or over focusing on that character trait. The game comes to a happy conclusion. You start your own practice, your friend is well off, and your old co-worker and boss are happy for you. In the end I really like our character despite getting no direct characterization. The feelings of others and the ways that they confide in you say a lot about yourself.Wed, 07 Nov 2018 10:11:58 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6865&iddiary=12252https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6865I just got the news that the funeral home is being bought by a big corporation and will no longer be a family run business. I was bummed about this because I really liked the woman in charge. I’m amazed by the different feel of each funeral, the last one filled with regret and worry. For the first time in the game I’m asked to make a decision: whether or not to do the funeral of the boy who killed himself. The decision is multi-faceted morally, it asks you very directly if suicide is something you’re comfortable dealing with. You also discover that the boy wanted to be cremated but had no signed will and the family wants to embalm. This made the decision far harder for me, but I still decided to go through with the funeral. It was frustrating not being able to respect the dead how they wanted to be, but the choice doesn’t let you choose that. He will be embalmed either way. The funeral service for this one was very sad. Some people commented on social norms, while others said they should have done more. This funeral was certainly the most emotionally impactful for me so far. This is unpleasantly contrasted by the email I receive from Chad Grant. The new company is starkly less friendly than your previous boss. Your co-worker is clearly upset, and I was too as a player.Tue, 06 Nov 2018 11:03:36 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6865&iddiary=12222https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6865I love the design and music for mortician’s tale. It feels very somber but clean and beautiful. I’m deciding to read all the emails because I don’t want to miss anything. I really like all the opening characters. The funeral owner seems very nice and caring. The driver has a sense of humor. And your friend seems to be a hard worker and genuinely care about you. This, and the trust your boss has is in you, reflect that your character is likable and a hard worker. The game-play feels very slow paced so far, with no challenge, just follow the instructions. It feels relaxing and pleasant to play. You have a nice space that you keep clean and well organized. I like all the info I get out of the Funerals Monthly emails. The conversations with your friends are immersive. They almost seem like the game creator expressing some of their feelings or ideas or frustrations. It’s interesting to see the intimate processes surrounding death because it’s not often talked about. I had no idea morticians had to massage the dead bodies to properly distribute the formaldehyde! I also just got an email from funerals monthly about respecting LGBT peoples properly in their funerals. It was something I’d never thought about before, I think the game did a good job of being representative in this aspect. Each funeral so far has felt quite different just from the little comments people make. The game can very subtly say a lot about these individuals, their relationships, and the broader family dynamics.Sun, 04 Nov 2018 14:20:25 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6865&iddiary=12208https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6798I went around and talked to everybody again, trying to do anything bad I could. It doesn’t feel as weird anymore to be seeking trouble. The only thing I felt uncomfortable with was trying to seduce the woman in so many different ways. It does make sense for the era but it feels very sexist and creepy. I eventually was able to get the lust sin by having the poet write a poem about the painting of her for me. I only have one sin to do and it’s pride. I’ve noticed I don’t feel as connected to this character s I typically do. Not that I don’t like the character development, not I just don’t feel him as an extension of myself at all. This made me wonder how the goals of a game influence the players connection with the player-character. How would the players feel they connected with the characters in a game like Super Columbine Massacre RPG. It’s interesting to think about usefulness in this type of more distant player connection. I was able to complete my final sin by carving a statue of myself. It was funny that the priests were once again so excited that I had committed all the sins. As I entered the church I approached a begger and was able to give her all of my things. I thought it was interesting that at the end of the game you could finally do something good by choice. The only thing you weren’t really forced to do in the whole game was good. In the finale John says that the church isn’t real and that there is only one last thing. I feel like this is the creator speaking his beliefs through the game. It seems like a rationalization and satire of bad things in the world. Afterwards you are forced to jump to hell and eternally hit a rock. Maybe suggesting an unimportance and monotony in our actions.Mon, 24 Sep 2018 10:41:26 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6798&iddiary=12056https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6798I spent the next while exploring and talking to more people. I was able to easily get the envy sin by telling a man I wished I was as a happy and content as the marries couples. My character said “that was depressingly easy.” He seems to not care about the world and treats everything like a game. Maybe the creator is reflecting his views in some way here. I’m on a quest to find some illegal scrolls to help steal money. I’m certain this will get me another sin. The comedy of the game seems to trivialize sinning. The other characters often seem bad in themselves. The pie kind is gluttonous and the art connoisseurs are snobs. I got stuck for. A while so I found a walk-through and solved the riddle to get the scrolls. I got the sin greed for it. It felt fitting to get the reward after looking up a walk-though. This didn’t really progress my so I watched a little further and found I had to drink the beer outside. The game-play here I think was a little too un-intuitive. The puzzles were fun but maybe a bit too hard to keep the game-play fluid. Alongside this I gave the old man a drink and got his urine. When I wen into the doctor he let me take what ever I wanted. After this I figured I could use the poison pills to kill the pie king so I challenge him to a pie off and won. For me receiving as point/check mark for murdering the man felt more violent than a first person shooter killing enemies. The game seems darker for killing a civilian because your sins aren’t just hurting you, they’re hurting others. The game quickly lightened the mood somewhat by letting me get gluttony for gorging on his pies afterwards.Sun, 23 Sep 2018 13:40:20 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6798&iddiary=12050https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6798The game opens by forcing the player to eat the forbidden fruit in the garden of eden. I found myself trying every other thing in the garden before realizing the futility of my efforts. We find that this scene is a dream of our main character as he awakes in a tavern. Shortly afterwards I arrived at a church and tell the priests I’ve committed all seven deadly sins. This makes me think the initial dream is a reflection of ourself. Maybe the main character feels as though he has no choice but to commit sin. This is reinforced by the priests telling you that you must redo every sin within their county so they can abolish you of all sins. The Irony is very visible here and suggests possible criticism of religion. I talked to all the people at the church and found out about their sins. I’m interested to see what I’ll be able to do to sin. I was able to commit my first sin very quickly by just laying down with the men outside of town. I was surprised by how easy it was, maybe it’s to make a difficulty curve or to prove a point of how easy it is to sin. The “Kickstarter Backers” were a funny touch. It’s an interesing goal to be sinning because I’m constantly looking for any bad thing to do. I stole from the old food lady and called her a wench hoping I would complete the challenge.Sat, 22 Sep 2018 18:33:41 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6798&iddiary=12046https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6744I forgot to mention it, but yesterdays gameplay ended with me being captured. Today was much more intense as the gameplay became more centered around encounters with the other character. He is so creepy! The character design is very well done, he’s disturbing but not overly gruesome. He’s clearly messed up but there are several details that force you to keep looking at him. His animations are equally chilling. The slow jerky movements and cold pops of his joints add suspense and reinforce the fear the game creates. Once again, the gameplay and narrative progress side by side. We finally learn more about the situation as we see other children trapped in cages around us. As we move to the next room we see the monster packaging the bodies and dumping them off for later. We sneak further and further into his maze of a house as he follows us, getting deeper and deeper into trouble, with no option to turn back. As the narrative becomes more focused on character interaction, so does the gameplay. There are more sneaking and chase levels, less focused on movement and exploration. The gameplay between these two situations is vastly different. I have time to think and enjoy the art and movement during the puzzles. On the other hand, my heart is pounding and my palms sweating as I hide behind a box in the elevator with the monster, or duck into an air vent barely out of his reach. Both are rewarding in their own way and combine to create an exciting gameplay. The most disturbing and controversial part of the gameplay for me was when you drop into the massive room of children’s shoes beneath the monster’s workshop. This immediately made me think of the holocaust and all the images of rooms of shoes. I felt like the connection was so immediate and distinct that it had to be intentional. What does this say about the larger themes of the game? Is the monster symbolic of something more like Nazi’s, and that connects into the running and hiding in fear as gameplay? How is this commentary reflected in our modern world, and how does it apply to issues’ we’re facing today? I think it’s important to look at the level of abstraction in the game to look at these issues on different planes. How does the deconstruction of a theme allow it to be reconstructed in different ways?Thu, 30 Aug 2018 11:49:14 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6744&iddiary=11977https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6744 Today’s gameplay and narrative elaborated on some of the ethical problems and reinforced mood and theme. I forgot to mention it in my first GameLog, but the environment and its execution plays a big role in this as well. I also picked up on more of the subtle clues within the game that are masterfully executed. I got stuck for the first time in a room where I eventually realized I had to climb a chain to escape. The repetition of dying and restarting over again to me felt like part of the message of the game. You are never able to escape the problem ahead of you. The feeling of danger and fear is reflected in even the simplest gameplay. When you are running up the long staircases above an abyss, the camera zooms out, giving you less finite control. The player must be extra careful on these rickety old stairs. Further, the environment itself is constantly evolving and driving the narrative. After long times of sneaking through different areas and rooms, I finally entered one of the giant’s bathrooms. As you pull a lever a bed with straps falls from the wall. The game doesn’t tell you what this is directly; it makes the player curious to find out more and keep exploring. There are little things like this in almost every room: notes, blood marks, cages. All these elements help to piece together and drive the narrative forward. The game is a mix of mystery and horror. There were several more ethical issues raised in my playthrough today, the cages, blood and nooses all suggest terrible and disturbing things are happening here. There are several children’s toy’s which increase the horror of the situation. Is it okay to show these types of disturbing images in games? And what is the effect on those who play them? For me the most troubling ethical issue in the gameplay happens you press a button that opens an eye and reveals two children curled up shaking in bed. At this point you are clearly in someone’s secret room behind their office. This raises lots of questions about what the motives of these monsters are, as well as foreshadows future ethical dilemma. I’m guessing at some point we might have to confront these giants. Is it okay to harm the giants because they were harming others? How would the different if they captured adults instead of children? After playing yesterday with PC controls and not loving it, I plugged in my Xbox controller and the gameplay feels a lot smoother. I would recommend using a controller for this game. Wed, 29 Aug 2018 12:06:55 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6744&iddiary=11937https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6744So far, I very much enjoy the character design. Their yellow jacket has interesting contours with the color providing a shark contrast to the bleak, de-saturated environment. The character remains largely mysterious, their face shrouded in darkness. This is creating interest, I want to know more about the character and why they are in their situation. Although I naturally seemed to like and root for the character, all I really know so far is that they are sneaking around. Does this maybe reflect on me? Or am I simply rooting for them because as a video game that character is an extension of my persona. I think the gameplay and narrative are well linked and very neatly done. There is an element of mystery that surrounds the situation. Additionally, there is a general feeling of struggle and melancholy. The gameplay provides several obstacles that seem difficult to overcome until you look at it in a different way. I.e. going up the wall to a new floor instead of continuing forwards. There are others you can’t overcome, but they seem so close. You can grab many boxes and knobs that seem important and dangle there helplessly struggling. Not having a demo throws the player in to reinforce the feeling of mystery. I really enjoyed that you could walk back into the mist at several locations. The ethical dilema’s so far have seemed minor but are possibly more impactful than they appear. Fairly early on you walk through a room where a man has hung himself, his body dangles lifelessly. Suicide is a very difficult and sometimes controversial topic, and to include it in the game raises lots of ethical questions on both ends. What is the effect of the player. The game certainly seems to be a commentary on society and I’m excited to play and find out what they’re trying to say. Tue, 28 Aug 2018 20:05:01 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6744&iddiary=11915