The Good, the Bad and the Lovely

The Good, the Bad and the Lovely – a take on RPG alignments…and love interests

When playing a classic Roleplaying Game such as Dragon Age: Origins (Bioware, 2009.), Baldur’s Gate (Bioware, 1998) or any game that is based on classic pen and paper role-playing rules, the player will probably either choose or play out a certain alignment during the course of the game.  The table of alignment looks something like this

[1]

While it is possible to play out these alignments in a pen and paper role-playing game, at least with a game master who is willing to focus on it, it gets more complicated in video games. Most often the alignment is played out through dialogue options, choice of quests and in the interactions with NPC’s including members of your group. Transferring the same range of alignment choices into a video game without making them meaningless, is an almost impossible task and therefore fails in most games. Usually players go along two lines – either one is the goody or the evil one. Those are usually the choices with the most recognizable consequences which can be the possibility to go places, join societies, get new contacts and goods  for lower prices and sometimes even boosts or the opposite of all that. NPC’s will react accordingly with regards to their own alignment. To play something neutral or chaotic in the middle just wont to any of these things since one never gets enough of a reputation of any kind to trigger the chances in attitude. Some might remember you as somewhat good others as somewhat bad but in the end no NPC will have an meaningful attitude towards you, which might be the true meaning of neutral but it sure is not rewarding for the player.
An additional dimension is added when the player character can and must also interact with her group members. In Dragon Age: Origins the relation to your group members determines not only their will to fight by your side but when the relationship reaches a certain point in the ‘Approval Rating’, the respective companion will get a bonus to their chosen stat.

This is how the appreciation rating is translated into statistics:

Approval Rating	Disposition	Romance
(-100)	Crisis	Interested
-99 - -26	Hostile
-25 - 25	Neutral
26 - 50	Warm
51 - 70		Care
71 - 75		Adore
76 - 90	Friendly
91 - 100		Love
[2]
How the bonuses look like

Approval Rating	Bonus to Stat
25%	+1
50%	+2
75%	+4
90%	+6

[3]

This leads to a whole dimension of micromanagement of your companions which actually goes against what role-play is about. Talking from my own experience I do not necessarily like all of my companions and do not want to make an effort to please them, which would also go against any chosen alignment but neutral good. However, the most effective way of playing a video game makes is beneficial to be on all your members good sides in order to get the at least one of the better boosts. The difficulty presents itself not only within the one on one interaction with the fellow travellers, but in the decisions the player makes while playing. It is hardly possible to make decisions everybody is pleased with, so the player is forced to align with some of the companions and reject others either along the own chosen alignment or in terms of who she prefers to get the boost. Therefore, the relationships arising from gameplay are not to be seen as genuine role-playing choice but often as a compromise between what is beneficial and a personal way of playstyle. Unfortunately the range of choice and variety is shrinking significantly with these mechanics at play. Especially the emergence of a romantic relationship which results of these studious changes seem less meaningful than they potentially could be.
While I enjoy the possibility to play an alignment and have options to react to a certain situation, it is frustrating how arbitrary the reactions and consequences can be. In terms of NPC interaction and quest choices I found my personal playstyle but forced companion relationships are simply not my cup of tea.

References

Bioware, 2009. Dragon Age: Origins. Electronic Arts.

Bioware, 1998. Baldur’s Gate. Black Isle Studios.

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[1] http://gamerstavern.org/2014/05/

[2] http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Approval

[3] ibid

Watch Dogs and pervasive gaming

Watch Dogs is a game about vigilante Aiden Pearce. The futuristic Chicago is his playground. The entire city is connected by a system called ctOS. This means that traffic lights, pipes, bridges, trains and so on are connected and they are therefore all hackable. Aiden Pearce so happens to be a very skilled hacker and parkour practitioner, using the ctOS system to his own advantage. He hacks through his phone, which enables him to control the city and to check the people he meet on the street. The phone is equipped with a profiler that tells Aiden personal information on the people he profile as well as enable him to steel money from them. Aiden’s greatest weapon is therefore his phone.

The game has multiple online parts including a multiplayer option for a max of 8 players to roam free in the world.

When playing the single-player mode one has the opportunity to join an online game and either race or fight other players. These are online games that will give you points and trophies without affecting your normal gameplay. But requests for racing can be shown on the screen when running around the city freely.

There are two other online games, but in these you enter another players game without their knowledge.

One of them is hacking: here you are challenged to hack another player’s phone without them profiling you.

You therefore enter their world and hack them when they are within sight. Once you start hacking, they will be alerted of your presence and start looking for you. However, you do not look like Aiden Pearce to them, but a random person on the street. They are therefore forced to profile every person they see within the purple circle shown on the map to contain both your locations.

You win the hacking when you have hacked them a 100% and thereby gained the desired file. They win by profiling you and even killing you after.

When getting hacked you can be anywhere in the city, doing whatever you want – except playing the main story. And then you are suddenly under attack. Many players therefore when trying to find the hacker tend to look at “human” behavior such as not crossing the road by the crosswalk, or by speeding and such.

Tailing is a little bit different. Here the player being tailed is told so by the system. They can be wondering around and suddenly notice a person acting differently than an AI. Their job is to profile you and kill you. However, they cannot recognize you as anything other than a normal person so if the player trailing you is good you will not even notice until a sign says that you have been tailed.

The player tailing must be able to blend in and does therefore not necessarily have to hide from the other player.

Another thing about this is that players can tail you while you are looking at the map, trying to decide where to go or basically when you think the game is paused. This is seen when you tail a player standing perfectly still, doing nothing.

A pervasive game is a game that has one or more salient features that expand the contractual magic circle of play socially, spatially or temporally.

 Taking the text: “fun with strangers” McGonigal talks about the game “the comfort of strangers” where the player meet lovers and dancers, giving and taking your lives respectively. You do not know who they are only that they are close and that you have either gained or lost a life. You therefore have to be aware of your surroundings and the strangers around you. They are your friends and foes.

The two mini-games in watch dogs can very well be perceived as pervasive, since they use the ”strangers” surrounding us. However now they are only visually available to us on the screen and not in our own living room. It is a form of game within a game effect. The other online players of the game have the opportunity to enter your game without your knowledge and accept. You are then tasked to find among the AI-people and eliminate them from your game.

The games expand the social of the original game, forcing you to interact with strangers. It also expands temporal as you can be affected even whilst you are “on pause”, looking at the map.

It breaks the magic circle since you are no longer in control of the game world.

The mini-games seem to simulate a pervasive game within the game world of Watch Dogs.

The sudden hacking of your person in the game can be a very overwhelming and scary happening to some players. This leads to players shutting of their console as they are hacked leaving the hacker alone and back in their own game world. Others panic and start shooting every AI near them, in the hopes of getting the hacker. This approach however more often than not leads the player to be chased by the police instead.

When with your console many players are in the confines of their homes, playing against each other, alone or maybe even online. Nevertheless, this sudden intrusion cannot only feel like an intrusion in your game but also like a break in to your home.

The Magic Circle

The metaphorical magic circle of play is a voluntary, contractual structure that is limited in time and space. In Huizinga’s definition of play, it is defined that the participants agree that some activities in some places by the players are interpreted playfully as a part of the game instead of ordinary life.

The magic circle of a game is the boundary separating the ordinary from the ludic and real from playful.  Regular game is played in certain spaces at certain times by certain players.

The magic circle is a metaphor for a barrier that forbid players from bringing external motivations and personal history into the game world. It also forbids the player from taking the game world into the realm of ordinary life.

The conflicts are artificial. In boxing; the pain is real, the conflict is not. This conflict is negotiated by rules. If you cheat, you will be punished or banned. There is one set of rules inside the circle another outside. You cannot go around beating other people in real life as you do in a game of boxing.

But is it true? Are we never affected by what happens in the game world? In the world of sports one would have to disagree. Athletic stars are treated like royalty and paid large sums of money to play for certain teams. As soon as you are paid to play, there is a spillover effect from the game world as your everyday life very well may change because of it. Players are suddenly millionaires and superstars that cannot walk anywhere without signing autographs. None of that would happen if they did not play or if society and people did not care for the sport.

But is this relevant for computer games as well? One might argue that computer games are only a part of a device and therefore cannot cross into the real world. However, if you are chatting with your friends while playing are you then truly within the border of the magic circle or are you somewhere between? What if the game is on your mind in the real world does it then transcend the borders? Or what if you use game slang in your everyday life? There seems to be a spillover effect present for video games as well, since when we play the digital world becomes your context and a way for us to experience new things. It becomes a part of our identity and therefore transcends the device and the magical circle. 

Tekken

Tekken is a game series of martial arts games. Here you are tasked to battle each other with the super skills of the different characters of the game. The players can choose to play in teams or one on one, both on screen and in real life.

On screen, you can choose one character or a team of characters. Off screen, you can be playing alone, one on one or in teams. You decide.

I have played these game in every which way possible. I have played alone, trying to gain characters and their backstory. I have played one on one with my brother. I have played in teams and against different people. And I have spectated others playing the game. Sometimes we would make it a group effort to reach a certain level in arcade mode. When you died, another would take the controller and you would have to wait until it was your turn again.

However, I realized that there was a big difference between playing the arcade mode and the battle mode. For an example I was once stuck on a certain level, unable to beat the boss. My brother decided to try and choose another character. Once the battle started, he did nothing but make the character kick the opponent. And he won. After that we found out that by repeating the same kicking action, winning was fairly easy, which soon created a problem.

When we were battling each other this advantage or cheat in the game was deemed exactly that – a cheat – by us. Therefore, we soon agreed that such moves were illegal in battle. They were still practiced in arcade mode, but when playing against others it was considered a cheat. If you were to perform such moves anyway, nobody would want to play with you.

This shows that there was a clear distinction between what was considered a legal move in arcade mode and what was legal in multiplayer battle.

So cheating depends on who you are playing against; a person or a machine.

Beyond: two souls – New ways of interacting

Jodie is a special girl. She is connected to a ghost named Aiden. They have been linked since her birth. This has brought her to a military base where she lives with her foster parents. Jodie’s psychic connection to Aiden enables her to communicate with him and perform telepathic acts, such as manipulating certain objects and possessing peoples’ minds. As the story of the game progress, Jodie becomes a CIA agent using Aiden for missions and what not.

Jodie and Aiden’s story is not chronologically told. You are to play different scenes of her life, slowly piecing her life together. As an agent and psychic person, Jodie travels all over the world during the 20 years of her life you are able to play. She is in desert and snow landscapes, trying to survive or fulfill a mission. The long time span and the many places gives a very diverse experience for the player, playing a little girl and a grown woman. Furthermore, the player controls both Jodie and Aiden, changing between them by pressing a button.

Beyond: two souls is an action adventure game. The player mostly controls Jodie who can interact with other characters and objects in the scenes. These objects are marked with a white dot on the screen. For one to interact with them it is demanded that the player move the control stick in the direction that seems most natural for the interaction. When playing as Aiden the player cannot see him but they are able to float through walls and ceilings. Interactive objects are highlighted by a shining aura of color. The color determining the possible action.

The interaction possibilities in the game are very subtly done. The small dots prompts the player to figure out the interaction for themselves instead of a standard button press. Furthermore, the fight scenes in the game demands the player to pay close attention to Jodie’s movements. The picture moves into slow motion whilst Jodie perform the action. During that time the player must be able to determine the direction of Jodie’s movement and move the control stick accordingly.

This is another way of presenting on screen interaction to the player, and who knows maybe a look into future interaction. 

Flowers

The flowers game is not about points, winning and beating others. It’s a game about exploring and healing a broken world. You play as a petal from a lonely flower. You then proceed to soar through the wind touching other flowers and thereby gaining more petals. The further you get the more petals gather, creating a cloud of them. Each flower is distinct in color and sound. Once you have touched all in a place the spot will heal. Giving back color and life to the grass, trees and stone there.

The goal is simple; help save the world. Not by killing or constructing things but by healing the nature around us.

You control the petals in the wind by shaking and shifting your controller and not by any buttons. Everything is simple. One sound and one color per flower. You are slowly getting to know the difference between them. You sail through the sky, feeling like you are a part of nature. There is no dialog or text in the game; it forms a narrative from the visual presentation and the emotional cues.

The game Flowers was never meant to challenge players, but it intends to arouse positive emotions. The game design is simple, where all game mechanics that did not suit the intention were removed. The game was a critical success and was named the “best independent game of 2009” and the “casual game of the Year”. It was called a unique and compelling emotional experience by reviewers.

I found the game beautiful and engaging. You could do no wrong, just play. It was nice and free play. It felt like I was playing and feeling true freedom. The game was so simple yet able to portray such complicated emotions. The visuals were also beautiful, rid of violence and death. This was life and healing.

Sucking at video console gaming…

… is something I’m extremely good at. While I wasn’t born with this gift, I do believe it is something I’ve always been destined for. Video game consoles were a rare sight during my childhood in the 90s and early 00s: my family didn’t have one, my friends didn’t have one, and our neighbors didn’t have one. The few encounters I had had with one were when visiting family friends, and even then, I rarely did anything but observe. So naturally, I was excited when my family acquired a PlayStation 2 during my tween years, however, it didn’t take long to realize that the vast amount of time that I had already spent on playing computer games had made me accustomed to point-and-click controls. Shockwaves from my immense failure to grasp the console controls could be felt worldwide, and by even failing at games that require minimal motor skill to succeed, such as Tekken 5 and SSX 3, I found my true calling as that one person who really blows at video console gaming. I am the morale booster to the player who thinks they’re terrible but who don’t yet know that I’m even worse; I am the co-player that you wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy to end up with for Pair Play in Tekken Tag Tournament 2; I am the girl who sucks at video console gaming.