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Nov 8th, 2017 at 23:32:10 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
After playing through several other puzzles in the game, I found that several scripted events put the boy in situations where the only one who can save him is Trico, however, these situations are not the same with the armored guys where whether the boy is in danger or not, Trico is always going to be attacked by their spears, essentially painting a situation where the beast is obligated to help him in order to survive.
These events are usually portrayed as jumping from a highly dangerous place and leading to certain death, unless Trico catches us. The first time this is done, the game cleverly omits any sort of indication of whether we will be saved by our 'friend' or not. Taking a leap of faith, I'm sure many players believed themselves to be dead, until Trico catches them with its mouth despite having no obligation to do so.
I believe this is the turning point for many of us who thought of TRico as a simple slave, who would receive a negative reaction from the player if he doesn't obey. Scripted or not, this event is probably meant to portray the fact that Trico, in his own AI-restricted will, does wish to help us.
Furthermore, this can be connected to the pov about Ethics of Care, in which the receiver of care also has a role. In The Last Guardian's case, it might be of thankfulness.
Unconsciously, I found myself treating Trico differently, more so when this kind of situations came over and over again. I believe these instances in the game are meant to question the player regarding value of an NPC animal character in virtual media.
An article regarding this sort of identity explained that the more related an animal is to a human or sentient being in the game (able to have a language, different actons, and meaningful backstory), the more it's likely to be portrayed and identified to a human, essentially bringing a more meaningful relationship. I would add that, in this sense, Trico's random actions support this notion in a different way. He is not only a regular robot who does everything we want him to do, which is usual in videogames and essentially brings the idea of bond to 0, but he behaves in ways we don't want, and sometimes in ways that turned out better than we intended, culminating in life-turning actions which may bring thankfulness out of the player, establishing a deeper connection between the two characters from his/her perspective.
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Oct 31st, 2017 at 18:56:59 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
Playing through the Last Guardian some more, I believe this game presents a complicated mixture between real friendship and simple, selfish gain. Throughout the game, messages appear where we can issue commands to Trico, but it leaves the part that we can also interact with him in less meaningful ways to proceed through the game, but nevertheless attempts to establish a more solid bond between the characters (at least in several player's perspective).
This raises the question: Is the game trying to diminish the notion of treating other characters as meaningful, and support the other way around?
So far, Last Guardian seems like a game with a lot of potential for driving away from the typical notion of simply seeing the other characters as mere means for an end, but it is hampered by the lack of information and how several levels are designed.
Perhaps by adding more animations for Trico as a stealthy reward for those who chose to carve some time for "meaningless" actions between the boy and the beast might serve as an underground but noticeable mechanic which supports true friendship, rather than always focusing on reaching a goal.
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Oct 26th, 2017 at 13:26:05 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
One of the most interesting things that I noticed in TLG (besides the amazing environments or how good the character's look) is Trico's AI. Compared to other NPCs which help you out in overcoming obstacles, Trico seemed more realistic, more of a living being that does its own actions like a dog.
This got me thinking: Everytime I raged because Trico did something that I did not intend, and when I gave him (or it) barrels when he did, made me feel like I was using him for my own means rather than respecting him as an end.
Despite being an animal, something that Kant states it does not have the same benefits or rules as humans do, when a creature or character feels more alive, I think it makes certain players give it more importance despite what he/she is.
With this, I think this moral dilemma of using characters for your own means became more prevalent in this game rather than nonexistent as it usually is.
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Sep 26th, 2017 at 18:45:05 - Life is Strange (PS4) |
This time I think I reached halfway of episode 3: Chaos Theory.
Besides keeping a notorious choice framework that does keep track of everything you have done even from episode 1, I believe it also has quite a persuasive way to try to convince players to engage in some sort of utilitarian approach.
Utilitarianism, as we saw in class, is a moral framework that mainly focuses on the consequences of your actions, and how much unhappiness or happiness they generate.
In life is strange, every time you take an important decision, Max seems to have an inner argument with the choice you did, despite the one you take. She seems centered on choosing what might cause the best outcome, happiness, ease or pleasure from the two.
In fact, the time travel mechanic itself seems to imply that the main reason you want to go back to take another decision, is to choose what is best for everyone's success.
Max's thoughts and the rewind technique seem to try to convince a player to choose the decision that benefits the most people. In an utilitarian perspective, this notion can be greatly related with the philosophy, which, as mentioned before, puts the amount of happiness and unhappiness as the most important thing to consider.
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