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Thursday 19 January, 2017
I started The Wolf Among Us today. A little last minute, as I didn't realize that the game logs for class were due so soon, but hey, I'll get all my other game logs in quick. I'd actually started The Wolf Among Us once before for a different class, but I'd never completed it. I'd always intended to, the first chapter was enjoyable, I just never got around to continuing. So this was a nice excuse, and it had been long enough that I decided I should start a new save file and go in fresh. And I'm glad I did, because I apparently remembered even less than I thought.
Trying to view it from a lens of ethical issues, I'm not sure exactly where to start. Going in as you start the game it's instantly clear that though the player has choices to make, you're not playing a "good" guy. Well, I have to put the "good" in quotes there, because Bigby doesn't seem like a "bad" guy either, but he's direct, to the point, has a job to do and doesn't coddle those who get in his way. No matter how you play him, from what I've seen so far. It's interesting playing a character who is generally disliked, whether or not its fair.
More interesting, morally and ethically speaking, though, is that within five minutes of the game starting you are thrust in a situation where in order to progress the story you are required to beat up a man for hitting a woman. More specifically, in what I am sure was a clear and intentional design choice, it looks like you are walking in on a man abusing a prostitute, though from a narrative perspective it's equally clear this is probably not what is going on. And before the player is given time to process the questions of "is violence wrong?" "is the sex industry wrong?" "Why does he owe her money?" etc, they're just instantly thrust into a quick time event and expected to try to clean it all up later. And, naturally, after the fight things don't get cleaned up. You learn nothing about what the girl was actually doing there, the Woodsman limps off, and you're left in the position of trying to help but having clearly escalated the situation.
It's interesting how the game thrusts you so quickly into the action, and I'm excited to see how the game progresses, as I suspect that the theme of "making things worse by trying to help" will continue to hold as the narrative develops. As of this writing, I've just discovered who Faith really is, and have made the decision to go to Lawrence's apartment before going to Toad.
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