Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=2015https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6894Since finishing the game, I went back and made sure to complete all the extra little achievements. I had to make the protagonist throw up from drinking too much and make sure to inspect each of the paintings in the art gallery. The latter achievement was particularly interesting since that collection of artwork made up every art asset-every character, location, and item-in the game. That one room serves as credits, an in-game location, and a hidden achievement, all in one. In fact, I think that Joe Richardson accomplished a number of impressive achievements with this game. First of all, the concept of taking Renaissance artwork and rigging it to all the game's assets is incredibly creative and very well executed. The game's writing is amusing and thought-provoking, and it functions well in the point-and-click genre. I thought the ending was excellent. The protagonist ends in hell, chained to a rock and armed with a pickaxe. There are all sorts of crazy characters doing bizarre acts on every side, but when the player tries to interact they are all too far out of reach. The only object within reach is a rock, and the only available action is to swing the pickaxe. And so the player does that, and then again, and then again. After the fourth or fifth swing, the game's title appears. Another swing, and the first of the credits appears. With each swing the next line appears, until it just says, "the end :)", and with each subsequent swing the screen darkens a shade, eventually to black. And now let's get back to that ethical perspective. "Four Last Things" might be summed up as one extensive and harsh critique of Catholicism, or perhaps of organized religion in general. From the beginning, the protagonist is driven to repentance out of guilt inspired by the Church. He dreams about the creation story, of Adam and Eve and "original sin," and it startles him out of his lifestyle of low-key debauchery. But when he comes to the nearest church, the Bishops handle it bureaucratically. They don't care about his sins, about absolution, or about his intentions at all. All that concerns them is that the protagonist follow protocol, even if that means committing each of the seven deadly sins again. The protagonist remains consistently aware of the absurdity of it all, but follows through by seducing a woman, murdering an innocent man, eating far too many meat pies, and siphoning money out of a dead man's inheritance, among other smaller misdemeanors. Later in the plot, another higher up in the Church acknowledges that all this was done for no reason other than to satisfy a power-hungry organization. Even choosing to give away all your possessions to a beggar within the cathedral does not matter to the Church, and you are sacrificed regardless of how you act. The game even goes so far as to let you scream for forgiveness or salvation at the clouds, but no god ever answers. Regardless, you end up chained in Hell for all eternity. Fri, 09 Nov 2018 00:28:18 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6894&iddiary=12328https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6894So as it happens, I got carried away and ended up finishing "Four Last Things" on my second day. The story is a little shorter than I expected, but I don't really mind since learning that the entire game was developed by a single person. I completed the rest of the sins with only mild difficulty, until only Envy was left. That last sin took me hours. I had collected every item I could find, talked with everyone and anyone I could find, and tried giving everything to everyone. It was painful and draining. In the end, all my problems were solved when I talked with some random dude in the bar with all the children. I hadn't realized that this man was even available for interaction, but with a single line I had completed that last sin. As if to hurt me further, the game followed that up with "Well that was worryingly easy." After that, I confessed my sins and was offered the suicidal "leap of faith" as absolution. Then I was in Hell and the game was over. I loved the last scenes of dialogue, and I thought the settings were especially amusing and interesting near the end. You enter the church and there's a beggar who provides an opportunity to give away all your possessions. Only it doesn't matter how righteous you are in the game, as a character soon reveals. The game ends with a message that the church (and perhaps all religion) is corrupt and meant only to make a few people powerful over others. In the end, Hell is the inevitable outcome. It was certainly a thought-provoking conclusion, and I loved the final scene where the only action is to hammer a rock for the rest of eternity. However, I think the game could've easily included some branching at the end and experimented more with various conclusions. This ending could be kept, but perhaps there's a way to gain God's attention before that final leap and instead be lifted into Heaven. I imagine the developer could do something clever like trap the character in that heavenly space without anything to do, forcing the player to just quit out of boredom. Anyways, I really enjoyed this game's art and writing.Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:19:47 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6894&iddiary=12285https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6894This game didn't look like much when I first selected it. The art style is bizarre, the gameplay is standard point n' click puzzle solving, and yet the writing and premise of the game makes it all worth it. You play as some random sinner as you come to the church to confess your sins. However, the church won't allow you to confess unless the sins were committed within their jurisdiction. And so, you must set out and commit each of the seven sins. At this point, I've made it through half: Sloth, Greed, Lust, and Pride. Still to come: Wrath, Envy, and Gluttony. In terms of morality, the game seems to be poking fun at that moral system based fully in religious teachings. In fact, it depicts a system so broken that you're supposed to commit as many immoral acts as possible in order to achieve moral righteousness. All in all, this game is ridiculous, politically incorrect, and wildly entertaining.Wed, 07 Nov 2018 00:51:48 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6894&iddiary=12248https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6823Day 28. I'm beginning to better understand how this game forces the player to walk a fine line between corruption and moral righteousness. Every small decision to placate or upset a character in the game can cause a domino effect, culminating in disastrous effects later on. I discovered this when I pissed off City Hall. I'd refused to fire all black employees, I didn't suppress riots with force, and I accidentally missed a few opportunities to send the Mayor officers for unofficial business. So I wasn't entirely surprised when the Mayor cut the police force budget, and I was forced to fire an employee. It wasn't ideal, but I adapted and realized I should be more cautious with City Hall requests in the future. Then I was reported to the Labor Union by an employee. I couldn't figure out what I might've done. I decided to let it play out, trusting that I could navigate my way out of it or call that employee's bluff. What I didn't know was that I had broken the law when I fired that employee for the Mayor. The case went through, and my pay was dropped 50%. Now I pull in $724 each week. Worse than the pay cut, that experience made me nervous. Through the future, I worried about the City Hall and their ridiculous requests far more than I had for the first 22 days. So when the Mayor demanded that the police force have a balanced sex ratio, I felt obligated to make it happen. At least this time I supported the sentiment. So for the next four days, I made calculated firings and hired any female applicant available, gradually yet legally bringing the ratio from 14 men and 9 women around to 12 men and 11 women. It was that last day, however, that I ran out of options. I'd run out of old officers, drunks, and unreliables. There were no more female applicants left. I knew that Burch Jr. was the man who needed to go, but I didn't have the legal means. I spent that last day in anxiety, hoping for a deus ex machina moment that might save my ass. But as the day came to a close, I couldn't help dwelling on that final resort: a mafia-aided assassination. It was at that moment that a call came in from the Ghetto, only a noise complaint but calling for three officers and a SWAT team. I sent Burch Jr..Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:19:53 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6823&iddiary=12149https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6823September 26th Entry I lost "This is the Police" by Day 11. I could tell that the game was pushing the player to accept the mafia's grip and reluctantly embrace a certain level of corruption. But I was curious to see what would happen if I chose only to uphold the law and refuse to participate in perpetuating the corrupt system. I turned down each and every offer or request from Christopher G. Sand, the mob boss at the head of it all, and on Day 11 I was gunned down in my own kitchen by a drive-by shooter. So I restarted. I overlooked certain low-level crimes from Sand's men, but I made a personal decision to punish the more serious transgressions. Doing this, I discovered that Sand could be placated without fully indulging his every wish. However, now I began to understand a new complicated issue in my gameplay, this time a moral one. The game's mechanics offer no distinction between crimes aside from the potential challenge they may pose to the responding officers. Petty theft, vandalism, suicide, arson, terrorism, homicide, or even mass murder are all treated with the same unemotional calculation of success or failure. So when weighing whether or not to respond to Sand's criminal activities, I realized that I was deciding on the basis of my own personal moral values, though admittedly through a more utilitarian lens than I might normally use. At what point do I believe that the crime outweighs the potential good I can do later on if I keep Jack Boyd within Sand's good graces? Robbing a casino with a hand grenade? Alright. A sentenced criminal shooting up a court room and taking a hostage? Not okay. But a shooting in broad daylight leaving the victim in critical condition in the middle of the street? Fine. Now I've reached Day 18. A gang war has started and I had to choose who to back: Sand, the ruthlessly efficient kingpin with powerful connections everywhere and the mayor in his pocket, or Varga, the old-fashioned upstart with a propensity for taking down untouchables and getting what he wants. I chose Varga, mainly because I hate the mayor and hope that he suffers along with the Sand gang in the upcoming bloodbath.Thu, 27 Sep 2018 14:35:38 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6823&iddiary=12143https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6823I am already obsessed with "This is the Police" for its engaging, challenging gameplay and significant moral dilemmas. You play as Jack Boyd, the chief of the Freeburg city police department. Entering into the game, the police department is just recovering from a massive corruption scandal in which officers operated in the pocket of the local mafia, and the game makes it explicitly clear that these issues are ongoing. The local mayor is open about his complicity while the player is directly presented with decisions between corruption and righteousness. Gameplay consists of managing a squad of cops and delegating them to handle crimes and occasional special tasks. To that end the player must manage the experience and energy levels of each cop, discover hidden vices that may impact job performance, and hire/fire police officers as needed. This all takes place on a delightful little isometric diorama of the city on Jack's desk with sunlight (and weather patterns) that comes through the window to light up the setting. The game also intersperses this with cutscenes and dialogue decisions that reveal more of the game world and the overarching plot. Already, I've been confronted with a decision between saving the life of a corrupt cop by taking on his responsibilities as the mafia informant or letting him die at their hands. I believe this game will continue to focus on similar moral decisions, choosing between upholding the law and keeping people safe.Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:47:01 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6823&iddiary=12087https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6756August 30 2B and 9S are sent into the desert to root out and destroy a population of machines. The quest seems simple enough: enter a zone, kill everything as it jumps out and attacks, and repeat. Only when you reach the last little zone, one lone machine turns around and flees. Up until this point, the player has learned that all the machine enemies are fairly generic and single-minded. They will idly wander about until the player wanders too close. Then they charge and attack until either you or they are dead. Occasionally some machines appear to malfunction and only attack if they are attacked first. But they never flee, until now. That moment, when the lone machine turns and runs, is so striking because it goes against the mechanics that the player has come to expect from this game as well as from stylistically similar games. The gameplay typically revolves around fighting a horde of enemies and demands the player learn to combo, dodge, and parry effectively to survive. Part of what makes the game so exciting is assessing the oncoming enemies and weighing the potential to land an attack without opening yourself up to attacks from other angles. So when the machine simply turns and runs, it feels like a violation of the basic mechanics of play. Other small details begin to suggest a shift in the game's direction. The machines are found wearing clothes. Some begin to speak simple phrases. They seem to demonstrate a sort of rudimentary intelligence now, whereas before they were only the most generic enemy forces. It all culminates in a final arena buried deep in the ruins of ancient buildings. There, a couple dozen machines sit about performing actions that are distinctly human (though not effectual): rocking a crib, imitating sex, etc. At this point, 9S argues that they still are only machines and are only imitating humanity, but I couldn't bring myself to attack them. How does one define life? A machine can perform any action it has been programmed to carry out without being "alive". Perhaps their programming (or else some small glitch in their software) led them to pick up the odd human trait and replicate it. But still I doubt most players would consider that to be living. Even if they had picked up and replicated every little aspect of being a living human, could we ever truly call that life? The question shows up again and again in scifi works like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Blade Runner, and Ex Machina, but this game presented it in a slightly different context. Those machines, along with about a hundred more that began crawling from the surrounding ruins, linked together to apparently transfer all their combined learnings into one being which then dropped down with birth-like imagery. This new creature (which I believe will come to be named Adam in the game) possessed the same white hair and human physique as 2B and 9S. I had unconsciously already decided that the two YoRHa androids were alive, by my standards. But the game forced me to directly challenge this conception by literally breaking down the elements that went into the creation of Adam and forcing me to question whether or not that was enough to be "alive". And I can't quite say for certain what I believe.Thu, 30 Aug 2018 23:54:36 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6756&iddiary=12006https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6756August 29 I knew I'd been too critical in my first log on Nier Automata, but I have immediately realized that I misunderstood everything about the game. From that moment 2B first flies over the ruined Earth, I have been finding detail after detail to love about this game. The game is clever about introducing its menus to the player through the main android's conversation with 9S, and I'm already itching to see what will happen now that I've flipped her self-destruct setting off. I think that it is genius to include UI upgrades as in-game purchases. I still maintain that the style of the characters and the game world are definitely flashy for my taste, and yet I am beginning to feel just how well they all fit nicely with the game's plot and themes. From the standpoint of ethics, the game has already given me plenty to think about. Random NPC androids bring up very human-sounding concerns and predicaments while simultaneously discussing their own artificiality. One "man" in particular brought up an interesting quandary as he considers replacing his outdated left leg, the only part of his body remaining from his original model. And then to top it all off, the game presents the subtle topic of a self-destruct switch hidden in the menu, forcing the player to consider that choice blindly and bringing to mind questions of suicide, death for the greater good, cloning, and life purpose. The game is already up to that 5/5 stars, and I'm excited to explore the supposed 26 endings that I overheard a classmate mention.Thu, 30 Aug 2018 04:06:48 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6756&iddiary=11973https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6756(For my first experience with Nier Automata - August 25) My initial reaction to Nier Automata was nothing special. The game had some interesting mechanics between it's initial aerial battles and the ground fights that blend ranged and melee combat. In particular, I came to appreciate the game's style of flipping perspectives or forcing the player to carefully control their viewpoint in order to play effectively (although this did make me more nauseous than most games would). The plot of the game did not impress me as much initially. You begin the game as "2B", an android sent to deal with some malevolent mechanical entity. She, along with an accompanying "9S" unit, demonstrate very flashy style: elegant and voluminous dresses, suits, and stockings, complete with shock white hair and a black blindfold. Your weapons are two swords controlled (presumably) by the character's telekinetic abilities. Additionally, there is some small drone-like character who helps in combat. These quirks give the game its style, but they are presented in a vacuum with no clear background or reasoning provided. The interactions between characters feel somewhat weightless when your entire fleet is gunned down in the opening scene, and I have yet to find anything distinctive in the personalities of these two characters. Despite all my initial misgivings about the showy design and undefined characters, I'm actually very excited to continue to play this game and fill in all the gaps and shortcomings of my first look. And I'm optimistic because this introduction concludes with a gripping premise: both 9S and 2B perish to destroy the threatening machinery, but shortly after they are both rebooted on their space station in all-new bodies. 2B retains the memories of their sacrifice while 2B was unable to upload anything after their first meeting. Immediately the game has showed the potential to dive deep into ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, cloning, defining humanity or self, and other issues that may arise in such a game world. And so I will begin with a rating of 4/5 stars, but I already anticipate that my impressions will rapidly improve.Wed, 29 Aug 2018 00:36:31 CSThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6756&iddiary=11932