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Nov 7th, 2018 at 10:11:58 - A Mortician's Tale (PC) |
The 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.
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Nov 6th, 2018 at 11:03:36 - A Mortician's Tale (PC) |
I 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.
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Nov 4th, 2018 at 14:20:25 - A Mortician's Tale (PC) |
I 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.
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Sep 24th, 2018 at 10:41:26 - Four Last Things (PC) |
I 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.
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jackcodonoghue has been with GameLog for 6 years, 2 months, and 26 days |
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