Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=2013https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6900After diving into the game for the third time, something that I had missed jumped right out at me and almost discredited everything I was thinking about the Police Chief. An easily skipped opening scene that plays every time you open the game fell onto my lap when I had booted it up this time around. Instead of sitting with a controller in hand when the game started, I got up and grabbed something, allowing for the opening scene to play out rather than be skipped over by my anxious button jamming to get the game going. This scene depicts a less morally conscious Police Chief who goes to an underground strip club and seemingly pays off people to be there without anyone knowing. If I had seen this scene before the press conference, that I discussed in an earlier entry, took place, I would have been much more suspicious of the man, rather than siding with him as if I was the character since I was the one controlling him. The setting of the strip club and the interactions Jack, the Police Cheif, had set a different tone for the character. There could be several explanations to why he attends the club and acts the way he does there, so I do not want to judge him right off the bat, but is it ethical for him to be there, fueling the very corruption that has taken his job and degraded the city he seems to care so much about?Thu, 08 Nov 2018 21:56:06 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6900&iddiary=12319https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6900After thinking about the beginning of This is the Police further, I began to appreciate the way the designers implemented the tone of the narrative. When the game opens with a monologue from the protagonist, you understand that this world is full of corruption and that he is in a somber state due to the events that have led to his resignation. You don't feel and appreciate the scope of the corruption until you wake up the day after the resignation speech and see the results of the answers you gave to reporters. During the speech, the player is littered with questions from buzzing reporters in which you give an A, B, C, or D response to. The player does this with no prior knowledge of who was involved in the corruption or really any concrete details of what happened. After the speech, you learn a lot more about what took place, including the fact that the Mayor is a corrupt S.O.B, and this leads to the full reveal of the feel and tone of the game I was referring to earlier with the following morning newspapers. The headline of one of the papers was that you, the protagonist, believe the Mayor to be a good and honest man. As soon as I saw this, I felt uncomfortable and regretted ever responding the way I did to those reporters. I felt unethical. This was a terrible man, and I just lied to the public about who he really is.Wed, 07 Nov 2018 23:49:08 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6900&iddiary=12280https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6900Right off the bat "This is the Police" comes off as a gritty dive into corruption within local government and police. After an hour into the game that remains the be about the same premise, but the protagonist, Jack ties it all together with a relatable set of ethics. The ethical dilemma in this game is, as stated earlier, the city government and police have corrupt ties with the mafia. Jack, resigning due to these issues, stands out as a good man, who tried his best to stray away. The people involved seem to know and recognize the kind of man he is, but still allow him to resign. It's interesting how masked everything is to the public. The way the story is told is really engaging even though it is minimalist. I enjoy the comic book layout that they implement, it allows for my imagination to explore these people and gives me a moment to contemplate the ethical issues taking place within a scene. An example of this would be when the Mayor visited Jack in his office to passively threaten him if any trouble brews over the 180 days left he has on the job.Wed, 07 Nov 2018 14:21:00 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6900&iddiary=12261https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6833For my third time picking up the controller and playing "Little Nightmares", I decided to restart the game so I can apply the new perspective I have gained explained in the previous entry. What I found was more examples of this child's real life is one of poverty and ill-guided parenting or caretaking, but also the protagonist's unconscious desires spilling through into the gameplay. There are two figures introduced early on the game, one in the opening scene and the other a few moments after while moving through the environment. The first, I believe, is the child's Mother and she is presented in the game as an eery figure who turns their back on you as their first gesture as well as small statues you can break for an unnamed reward. The parallels are obvious in this one. The mother's unethical behavior in the real world as well as distance from her child shows up blatantly her. The second figure is the child's father, who is found dead hanging from the ceiling. This could be the starting point of how the child's life started to spiral downward. Was it ethical for his father to kill himself and leave his son behind? A very tough question. Now as for the child's unconscious playing into the gameplay, if this is a dream, he/she has given themselves the ability to jump high, climb fast, slide through narrow passages like a secret agent and be brave through all the frightening situations. The child manifests his/herself as a hero, but the world around him as the villain.Fri, 28 Sep 2018 09:39:32 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6833&iddiary=12191https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6833After diving deeper into "Little Nightmares" it became obvious to me that the game is about exploring the nightmares of a child who is being raised by unstable parents or a similiar situation. I came to this conclusion because the age of the main character does not match up with the themes and images, as well as items he is allowed to use, in the game. For example, the protagonist uses a lighter as a light source. This raises several questions; Why is a lighter the first thing to come to his/her(the main character gender is ambiguous) mind? Why not a flashlight? Also, where are his/her shoes? The child protagonist is walking around barefoot, leading me to believe that in the real world his family may not be able to afford shoes. The most glaring example are the creatures that inhabit his/her nightmares. They are beyond creepy and carry mature themes, leading me to believe that there is a lack of supervision in this child's life, allowing him to watch and see things above his age. Not only are the creatures and their design too mature for the protagonist, but the actions they commit are as well. Mummifying children and keeping them in cages is just one case. these monsters are too human-like to not represent people for this child's life who threaten or scare him. It could be his parents or bullies who make fun of him and beat him up because of his poverty. The last thing I want to point out is the difficulty of the game compares to a lack of guidance in the child's life. The player struggles through the same scenario several times before getting help or finally figuring it out on your own, maybe a reflection of the protagonists home-life.Thu, 27 Sep 2018 19:14:07 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6833&iddiary=12157https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6833Although the title, "Little Nightmares", suggests this game is in the protagonists head as if we are just experiencing the child's nightmares, there are still some ethical issues raised despite the "this isn't real" vibe the game initially gives you; Although, I have only played for a couple hours, so I may be wrong about this. The idea that this child was abandoned and left to fend for itself, or has been kidnapped by someone and trapped in a maze of horrors is frightening within itself, even without the game's aesthetics. The entire situation reeks of unethical behavior, and in a sense is the actual "villain" of this story. It is unethical to kidnap a child as well as abandon one and is interesting how those notions supply the challenges for the main character within this game. I am excited to move forward and see how the story unfolds.Wed, 26 Sep 2018 12:21:16 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6833&iddiary=12102https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6749Game Log 1: Entry 3 Nier: Automata Main Character: 2B Supporting Characters: 9S, Weapons Trader With my third time diving into the game, I am starting to notice some of the ethical issues that are not part of the story and do not/will not affect the outcome of the game. One instance of this would be the sexualization of the main character, 2B. She is an android who looks identical to a human and has the figure of an anime character. While you are running around the different environments her skirt will fly up and you are able to see underneath it. I see no necessary use for this character design and don’t see why she isn’t wearing full pants. On another note, back to the androids being sentient issue, does the way they are dressed even matter because they are not human? 2B directly says that “feeling nice has no bearing on missions”, so why would dress matter to their makers if that thought is embedded in their systems? The theme of the game seems to dispute the developers own character designs. Another interesting moment occurred when the Weapons Trader says, “What if my weapons make my friends die faster?” I can’t remember a time where an NPC, this early in the game, reflects on his/her own actions and how they affect the people around them. Is he right for making the weapons that his friends are holding when they die? If he doesn’t would they die faster? All interesting questions that can be applied to instance beyond just this game. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 06 Sep 2018 17:19:05.)Thu, 30 Aug 2018 18:11:27 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6749&iddiary=11987https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6749Game Log 1: Entry 2 Nier: Automata Main Character: 2B Supporting Character: 9S As I opened Nier: Automata for the second time, I came to realize that I did not save my previous play and had to restart. At first, I was bummed but then saw it as an opportunity to scan past the first layer of details of the opening sequence for more ethics driven ideas and issues. I was surprised I missed this, but the fact that the androids wear masks to cover their faces, to me, stood out as symbolism for the human race recognizing the humanity within these robots and choosing to cover it up and continue to use them as fodder to save themselves rather than allow them to fully become what they truly are, human. I also found it interesting that although the androids are programmed to suppress emotion they have an almost impossible time, doing so. This stands out the most when 9S says "There's no actual meaning behind anything machines do." This statement is referring to the mindless machines that are the humans and android’s enemy's “army” in the war for the Earth. This is important because it demonstrates how the androids do not see themselves as anything less than being human on an unconscious level, thus it is imbedded in them to feel emotion, the same way we do, without full control.Thu, 30 Aug 2018 00:19:33 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6749&iddiary=11968https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6749Game Log 1: Entry 1 August 28, 2018 Nier: Automata Main Character: 2B Supporting Character (Partner): 9S When first playing Nier: Automata the only ethical choice that the player is presented with is kill or be killed, that is, until about 25 minutes in when you’re partner, 9S, radios in and shows a bit of emotion. 2B snaps back at him saying that those feelings are forbidden, and without thinking, 9S shuts them down. After this exchange, the entire opening sequence had new meaning, one with a glaring ethical issue: Was it right for whoever was using these machines as weapons to suppress their emotions and dehumanize them, allowing them to be killed off without second thought? And furthermore, was it right to desensitize these robots, or automata, to the death of their comrades? Just from the emotion that comes out of those two questions, I can see this game holding deep values in equality and what it means to be human and the all-encompassing nature we should all retain.Tue, 28 Aug 2018 21:51:08 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6749&iddiary=11920