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Mar 31st, 2018 at 23:27:36 - This is the Police (PC) |
As I've been playing this game, I've started to wonder the 'correct' way to play it. There is a heavy emphasis placed on characterization of the main character--a sixty year old, soon to be retired police chief named Jack. Jack frequently has monologues and soliloquies reflecting on his mental state, how he feels about work, his home life, and his friends. All of these tie into gameplay. I'm trying to play the game strategically, all while taking Jack's life into consideration and acting accordingly. So he's a hardened police chief. Maybe I shouldn't let off coworkers so easily when they ask to call off sick. How should I feel about the mafia asking me for favors? Well, Jack's best friend asked for a cover before fleeing town. As Jack, I should be interested in maintaining the word I gave to my friend, as well as keeping my own family safe.
Understanding Jack thoroughly has added another level of dimensionality to the game. In the opening sequence, he offers thoughts on his own moral lens. He has wild impulses, but keeps them restrained, for the most part. Mediating play between my own moral code, and Jack's has been an interesting one. Sometimes, I will make strategic moves such as purchasing names of workers who plan to testify against me, which I personally would not do, but Jack might. Other times, I decide to let workers off for a day because of a weak excuse, which Jack would not allow. Playing this way has made for an interesting experience that has lead me to consider my own thoughts on morals, and how others see the world around them.
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Mar 30th, 2018 at 22:56:42 - This is the Police (PC) |
I've started to get into the nitty gritty of gameplay, and things have gotten much more strategic. I have to weigh my options between sending in an officer who is too tired to do a job or send backup for him and risk not having the resources for another call, and when to just let a call go. Not to mention, the mafia who the main character is also working for, requests that I leave, or throw calls. This has been especially difficult for me because when I do throw calls, the mayor's office cuts funding to the police office and I am forced to fire an officer.
The gist of the game is--how much do I want to care about retaining my job, my relationship to the mafia, or to my coworkers? I spent several in-game days attempting to reach a happier balance with not a lot of success. When cops ask for a day off, I usually give it to them. Despite that, I have fired cops that are threatening to testify against me for something or another. I also try to act efficiently when it comes to calls, but the mafia is frightening enough that I will not respond to a call or send a less qualified officer to respond. There's a careful balance that the game demands that I feel reflects life well. There is always a lot happening that is contradictory. I can only respond as best I can, sometimes aiming for the least negative outcome, instead of some sort of win.
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Mar 29th, 2018 at 18:29:12 - This is the Police (PC) |
* note: I know this assignment is late, so I will start it today (3/29) and add two more logs, ending on (3/31).
I have a lot to say about this game, because it is already pretty convoluted only 45 minutes in. I'll focus on one thread that interested me: distancing oneself.
The game begins by introducing the main character who is a police chief set to retire in 180 days. He narrates a bit about his morals while entering a strip club (ironic) that he frequents. He mentions how he has some decency and doesn't just hire a prostitute like the younger officers, and only spares passing glances at the girls. This is similar to gameplay. Nearly none of the strategic gameplay involves much decision making or attention to crimes. I merely dispatch officers I think will do well and await their report, like how the main character only gets a glance of the girls. I am given a brief report, and must act just off of that information alone
This mechanic was intentionally implemented to make work as a police chief feel rote and repetitive/boring. Story happens outside of work - dispatching officers is just something to be done in the meantime. The crime reports are often shocking as well; "a man at the park taking pictures of children", "strippers caught in a barfight", all of which are handled with just a few clicks of my mouse--not to mention, with a soundtrack of upbeat swing music in the background. I think the purpose of this is to allow players to realize that to some police officers, this is routine work which may lose significance over time. Breaking up strippers fighting at a bar is just another day on the job.
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Feb 13th, 2018 at 21:55:39 - 1979 Revolution (iPd) |
Today, things got very interesting.
The main character has been welcomed (see: coerced) into the resistance because of his photography skills. Abbas, one of the important leaders of the group was stabbed during a photo-shoot minigame and he insists that my films have captured who betrayed him. I am inept enough at this game that I messed up the film development and could not pin down a subject. Yet, Abbas still asked me to accuse a man. I chose Jafar because he had done nothing but attack and insult my character.
Most importantly, there was not a "I do not know" option here. I had to pick a suspect, and they would obviously be hurt or killed. I later learned that my pick, Jafar, was innocent--found beaten to death in a shallow grave barely covering his bloodied face. This felt very real, and yet I saw it coming at the same time. This was a quick, uneducated decision I had to make, and I faced consequences. Today during class (2/13), we brought up the value of a human life. In this case, each life of the accused had the ability to be ended by the tap of my finger.
The interrogator at Evin prison (where my character is while he is not flashing back to previous events) mentions this. He says that he and my character are both the same. That we are both killers. I answered negatively, saying that I had not killed anyone. Then he showed me the picture of Jafar's body. This made me consider killing from another perspective. While I was not the one who killed Jafar, my actions clearly lead to his death. Is this enough to hold my character accountable? I believe it is, in this case.
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| Emma Morrissey's GameLogs |
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Emma Morrissey has been with GameLog for 6 years, 10 months, and 14 days |
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