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Miranda's Life is Strange (PC)
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| [November 9, 2017 10:57:48 PM]
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At the end of Chapter Two, there are quite a few events that puts the players’ morality to the test, however, I’d like to take a closer look at Kate’s suicide attempt and the events that led up to that moment in the game. There were many signs that she was mentally unwell, but I think it’s interesting how the game used the aspect of a large event in the game to test the player in what they may think are decisions with less consequence leading up to the event. For example, there are a few small decisions that increase your friendship with Kate before she chooses to jump or not: talking to her when given the chance, taking her phone calls/calling her back on the telephone, stepping in when David is scolding her, and looking through her room to learn more about her. All of these small choices in Max’s daily life added up into a trusting friendship with Kate which assisted in talking her out of jumping off the building.
It’s pretty obvious that “Life is Strange” uses the Suspension of Disbelief (willingness to overlook limitations of a medium enable to accept a fictional premise), which is a great tool to use in video games. In the case of Kate, it’s obvious that not one single action of a single person would be able to prevent a suicide because that’s an unrealistic premise; however, with the Suspension of Disbelief the player stays enthralled with the game and gives every decision more weight and attention. I think this is what makes Life is Strange such a popular game; the fact that almost every decision may or may not change your future timeline keeps the player guessing and captivated with the game decisions.
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| [November 9, 2017 10:31:34 PM]
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Moving forward, I’ve noticed that there are many different actions one can make, many with light consequences and a few with heavier consequences. Although, it’s difficult to determine exactly what type of consequence an action has immediately because some may stew and come back to assist or punish you later on. For example, stopping to talk to Kate to ask her about her mental health has already begun to show a positive repertoire, while choosing to make fun of Victoria after her paint accident will lead to continued aggression in our relationship with her. Actions such as knowing the answer to Evan’s question enable to look at his portfolio or talking to Chloe gave us a little more information about the elusive character Rachel Amber.
The game does a great job of keeping you guessing at what may or may not be important actions to take for future consequences. It also does a great job of utilizing virtue theory and vices (alcohol, drugs, prostitution(?)). Sometimes, it’s a difficult decision to save Chloe time and time again because she gets into trouble concerning drugs and other illegal substances. There are, however, a few decisions I’m faced with in Chapter Two that I don’t really get a decision in making such as: reversing Chloe from shooting herself, stopping Frank from harming Chloe, and saving Chloe from the train tracks. As we discussed in class, there is definitely a moral motivation that the game makes for us; it’s obvious from my previously listed examples that one of the prominent predicaments “Life Is Strange” uses is “harm to characters”. It’s difficult to make a decision or an action that will cause harm to a character or not rewind time to prevent harm of a character.
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| [November 9, 2017 06:48:13 PM]
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Starting the game as Max Caulfield, an 18-year-old photography student, "Life is Strange" centers around the morality of having the ability to rewind time. As a player, you quickly learn that after an event occurs you have the ability to rewind time; but what you decide to do with that and the consequences you face (butterfly effect) follows those actions.
The first time you encounter being able to reverse time is when Max watches a girl named Chloe being shot by a boy named Nathan. Max gains the power to reverse time, and henceforth saves Chloe from being shot by pulling the fire alarm. I quickly learned that there were actions that held greater weight and consequences, while others that weren’t as critical. For example, saving Chloe’s life was a critical action because it involves a human life and those around it. This decision isn’t one to be made lightly because although it may seem like a straightforward action (Save a life? Or watch and do nothing? Obviously save a life, right?), it would be wise to consider all the consequences of a heavy weighted action.
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Miranda's Life is Strange (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 7 November, 2017
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