Blogging the experience of gameplayhttps://www.gamelog.cl/gamers/GamerPage.php?idgamer=1943https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6639Just beat chapter 3 and it was actually pretty short. Not a whole lot of side missions popped up, it was mainly a lot of cutscenes. In this chapter we play as a new character, Majima, whose the manager of a well known cabaret club. He's a proper and polite manager when on the job, and will do anything to make his business successful. We later learn that he's only doing this in order to make money so he can go back to living as a yakuza. He'd rather go back to living as a yakuza than living a normal civilian life, even if that civilian life earns him a lot of money and a peaceful life. He wants to stay true to himself. Though it kind of seems like he may forsake his own moral compass in order to accomplish his goals. So far it's hard to tell what moral framework he follows or if its a mix. Majima helps others when they're in need and takes out those that try to get in his way like Kiryu. Unlike Kiryu he's a smooth talker that can 'read the room'. Kiryu and Majima seem pretty similar in terms of morality. The only difference is there methods in getting things done, besides the beating your way out of a problem aspect cause they both kind of share that. Kiryu is pretty straightforward and lets his intentions visible for everyone. While Majima is a bit more calculative and tries to find a more efficient route and his will to continue following his moral compass no matter what may be a bit lacking compared to Kiryu. This game seems like it's going to be pretty lengthy, which I don't mind. And so far it's been an enjoyable experience because of the story and it's characters. There's a lot of things that I can see being applicable/relatable to real people's lives. It's a game that I can see people take a lot from it. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Mon, 26 Mar 2018 01:14:53.)Mon, 26 Mar 2018 01:09:13 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6639&iddiary=11732https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6639Today's Entry Date: March 21st, 2018 I spent way too long beating up random yakuza, hooligans, drunks, and men in black. I've just completed chapter 2 and it took around roughly 7-8 hours from like 4:30 PM to like almost 2 AM, with some little in between breaks though. In this chapter they really let you roam the city and do random stuff. I guess this chapter was to introduce those side quest mechanics and to show a more human side of Kiryu. To show what he's like when he's not bound by the yakuza or anyone else. He's just doing what he feels is right, following his own moral code, no matter how messed up it kind of is. At this point in the game, it seems that the main way to solve a problem is through intimidation and violence. Probably the reason why it took so long to finish chapter 2 was because me goofing around and going around the city. Exploring and seeing what I can do. I went to a dance club and had dance battles, I visited various stores ranging from: restaurants, drug stores, convenience stores, bars, etc. And the side quests/types of people I met doing all those things was interesting. The game shows various kinds of moral codes from all kinds of people and their reasoning for following those codes. I met a dad that stole a video game from a thug that stole it from a high school student that stole it from a kid, and the dad stole that video game in order to give it to his kid for his birthday. And upon realizing that the original owner of the video game was his very own kid, he felt ashamed that he did all this even at the possibility that it could've been someone else's kid and they would've been sad from having their game stolen from them. He realized that the end does not justify the means. While doing this deed he felt that because this could result in a good consequence then that meant that it was a good action, though this is before realizing his errors. Despite this good consequence = good actions kind of thinking, it doesn't necessarily fall into utilitarianism because he's not thinking of the happiness/pleasure for everyone but just for his son, and in doing this act himself and the rest of the thieves would've actually caused the least amount of happiness overall. And in a way from realizing this mistake he realizes that stealing is never good and seems to fall into how a Kantian would think. I met various other people to and chose to help them. I helped a film crew get through their shoot by impersonating as their producer, this was by the film crews instruction of course. This was done because the actual producer was on strike and avoided coming in and so I had to impersonate as a well-known oversees producer to deal with the passionate director. So I had to lie, and so from this I believed that Kiryu doesn't follow Kant's way of thinking. Though I probably should've realized this when the very premise of the game is Kiryu being framed and having been used as a means to an end. I helped a girl that felt pressured to remain in a underwear selling ring. That even though she wanted to stop and leave she felt that by doing so she would be bullied by the ringleader and her friends. Though in due time I did change their minds. The ringleader's reasoning in doing this business was just because she could. It wasn't really specified but she didn't really care about what her parents would think and even rebutted Kiryu's saying that a girl shouldn't do such things like selling basically their sex with how come men are allowed to do it, that it was gender discrimination. I was only able to convince the ringleader to stop because she was about to be stabbed by her customer and that she realized that this kind of job could put herself and employees in danger. She didn't realize how dangerous this kind of job could be. She just thought about the overall happiness from making so much cash by just selling underwear. Possibly the majority of her employees are happy and that seemed to justify the means, so in a way the ring leader was a utilitarian at least until her realization that it was wrong. I've helped a few other people as well and I could keep talking about them but that'd take too long. Overall, like I said the game shows you that everyone has their own sense of morals and that their framework of thinking is different. Some people think that just because someone else did it that it's ok for them, ends justify the means, or the means are everything and that circumstances don't matter, etc. Kiryu follows some aspects of Kant's way of thinking and some aspects of Utilitarinism but he doesn't fall in either. If I had to choose out of the three we've talked about: Utilitarianism, Kantianism, Social Contract Theory I would probably say that he falls more into the social contract theory. Because of the moral rule from social contract theory that right acts are those that do not violate the free, rational agreements that we've made. Even though he hasn't really made any agreements with others but himself, so I'm still determining his moral framework of thinking. Also the actual main story of the game where Kiryu has been approached by a real estate company, Tachibana. And that they're trying to seize the empty lot just like the Yakuza/Tojo clan is. And the reasoning so far explained for them wanted the empty lot like the yakuza is that the want to essentially stop the yakuza because they're using the people of the city as a means to an end. The yakuza don't think of the people as people and consider them autonomous. So the Tachibana group is seizing properties in a more ruthless/calculative way compared to the yakuza. The use the intimidate residents through harassment, using private information they have on residents. Now, Oda, the right hand man of the president of the Tachibana company feels that their means are justified because the people they're taking from are people that did the same and took the building/resident by similar means, that it was 'karma'. Even in one district they feel that the Tachibana group is better than the yakuza because they're supposedly protecting them from the yakuza, I'm not entirely sure how though because they're also seizing property. All in all, Tachibana and the company seem to be Utilitarians in the way that in order to take/relieve the city of the yakuza's control that the end justify their means. Overall, I'm having a great time with the game and it still feels like I've barely touched the game's content despite my long hours of playtime. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Thu, 22 Mar 2018 03:59:15.)Thu, 22 Mar 2018 03:54:50 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6639&iddiary=11722https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6639I'm starting a little early for the third OPA game log, and I kept this game for last because of the good and bad things I've heard about it. And now I have an incentive to judge it for myself. I just finished chapter 1 of the game and it took me about 3-4 hours. And so far it still feels like I don't know much, in terms of the context of the story. I'm enjoying the game so far despite the really lengthy dialogue sequences that kind of happen a little too much, in my opinion. At least all the sequences feel important and that it doesn't seem to be unnecessary. I'm enjoying how much detail and work is put into the city, the characters, and the NPCs that inhabit it. There's a sense that a lot of thought went into their design, it feels 'authentic'. I've only been to Japan once, so I'm talking without much experience/knowledge, but the atmosphere of the city feels pretty similar from when I visited. The way districts are designed, the cramped alley ways, some of the mannerisms of the people, it feels 'authentic'. Back to the game, the story in my opinion feels like it's based on a true story of some sorts. I don't mean the characters themselves but the events that are happening in the game feel like it's based on some event. Though I'm talking without any knowledge of Japan's history, so I could be wrong. In the game's story, you play as Kiryu, a picked up orphan turned yakuza, and you've been framed for murder. And this murder that you've been framed for has interrupted a big redevelopment project. So you're on a journey to find who framed you and killed the man you beat down to collect the money he owed. We're not that far into the game yet, and I haven't done many side quests so there hasn't been much character development yet. All I know is that I'm was an orphan and I was picked up by one of the captains of the yakuza. From seeing the sequences and the way Kiryu handles himself in the in-game sequences and the cut-scene sequences, you get a sense that Kiryu isn't a bad guy despite his occupation. He's man that stands by his beliefs no matter what. So far, i'm not sure if he follows moral frameworks like Kantianism, Utilitarianism, the Social Contract Theory, or something else entirely. Of course in the game he's given ultimatums by his adversaries like spying, basically betray the person that raised him or go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. Though the issue is kind of resolved fairly in a weak manner, in my opinion, though I guess it fits with how Kiryu is as a character. A character that sticks by his beliefs and is loyal. The ultimatum situation is basically resolved by Kiryu being loyal and him just essentially fighting his way out of the situation. I guess the moral question or issue depicted in terms of reality is that some people are put into situations/circumstances and sometimes they feel that they no choices and just stick to that life because that's all they know, if that makes sense. That this kind of problem can still be seen in today's world. For Kiryu and Nishiki, they were picked up as orphans and raised into the yakuza, though in the game they wanted to go into that life themselves and the person that picked them up was initially against it. Also the game may be trying to depict an accurate/also romanticized representation of what life was like in 1980s Japan and how the yakuza operated.Tue, 20 Mar 2018 23:36:26 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6639&iddiary=11721https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6607NOTE: Spoilers ahead and behind (my past entries). Entry submitted 2-15-18 at 11:25 PM. Played for a total of 3 hours today. I wanted to finish the game for the last OPA entry of this game. I right up until the end it was pretty exciting and a little terrifying. Throughout today's play-through you figure out that someone has been watching you. So until I figured out who it was at the end I was paranoid for every little sound I heard from the environment, especially like something is moving in the bushes. But nothing popped out, I guess this isn't that kind of game. To pick off where we left off earlier when we're heading fishing. Henry/Hank find a clipboard that has the conversations that Delilah and Henry have been having throughout the whole Summer. Henry is knocked out by the person that has been watching them. From this point on, both Delilah and Henry start becoming afraid and paranoid. I believe there were options to verbally attack Delilah during some conversations but I tried to keep a level head as possible. Henry and Delilah are thinking there some kind of conspiracy and so they decide that they/Henry should investigate the fenced off area. You find some high tech communication devices and documents, later figure out they were drafted by the mysterious man, detailing Delilah and Henry's life and personality. They begin thinking that this whole place was created to observe them both but you later find out that that isn't the case. I've already given out too much so I'm just going to say that what seemed like a whole big dramatic plan/event was actually not that big. There is no secret research facility doing experiments on the inhabitants of the forest. It was just facade for something smaller. A story about a former lookout and his son. They figure out that the son has died and the lookout/father is to blame. Delilah's angry at both the failure of a father and herself because she didn't report about it. It's not really apparent on whether she gets completely over it. After solving the whole mystery of who's watching them, the former lookout, and a murder. A fire is enveloping the entire forest and Henry and Delilah escape. Now right before escaping, Henry is in Delilah's lookout tower waiting for the helicopter, while Delilah's already left. Henry and Delilah talk on a ham radio about what they're going to do in the future. And Henry wants to be with Delilah, at least that's what I chose. But Delilah tells Henry that he needs to face up and go see his wife before anything. That the problems he came to the forest to run away from are still in front of him. This brings up a theme that is pretty apparent throughout the game, and that is guilt, escapism, self-acceptance and moving forward. Now does the game depict these themes effectively? I would say that the story brought up/presented the themes very well and it's just up to the player's dialogue responses on how well it turned out. For me I chose dialogue that I would think I would say and that I wanted Henry to accomplish what he came out to the forest to do, which was I believe to be moving forward and tackling your problems. The former lookout/father is what Henry could be. He's a symbol of having run away from his problems instead of owning up to them and facing it head on. He was still stuck in the past. I've kind of rambled on and pretty much spoiled the game for whoever reads this, so sorry. Anyway overall, I came into this game with low expectations and came out semi-satisfied. Semi-satisfied just because I'm a little annoyed that we didn't even get to see Delilah and that the ending felt a little underwhelming. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:32:04.)Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:25:58 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6607&iddiary=11696https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6607NOTE: Can't change the site's time. Time of this entry's submission is 2-14-18 at 11:58 PM. Was only able to get around 40 minutes in today but I think the two hour play time yesterday counterbalances that. So, found the teenagers or at least their campsite. And it was wrecked, they even left a note and it mentions that the two teenage girls believe that I was the one who destroyed their camp. I didn't do it but I find it funny that they threatened to call the cops even though they were the ones who wrecked my lookout tower. Now here's where the game starts to speed up the story and boy did they really speed it up. Delilah asks if I'm ready to get to work and I tell her yes. But then it gives me the option to tell her to put it on hold cause I want to explore around more. In my head I'm thinking oh I guess somethings going to happen since they're giving me this option. I explore a little and then tell her I'm ready to work. Note, that when I tell her I'm ready to work that it is day 3 in game time. A couple days pass by and Delilah mentions that the teenage girls who I saw at the lake and think I that I destroyed their camp, are missing and that I was potentially the last person who saw them. Fast forward a couple weeks and Delilah begins telling me about her life after having told her so much about mine. Henry and Delilah are becoming pretty close now. One night you get a call from Delilah and next thing you're talking to your wife whose asking how you are. I tell her I'm fine and she lets you go back to bed but apparently according to Delilah, I was talking in my sleep. I was kind of thinking that the whole game so far was coming from Henry's head and that Delilah wasn't real but now I'm rethinking that. More weeks pass and finally a forest fire happens. And Delilah and Henry are really intimate with each other now, as much as you can be over a radio. Henry names a fire after Delilah's middle name, June and now here I am about to go fishing. Note it's like day 64 in the game now. Overall, I'm having a good time despite my initial low expectations. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 15 Feb 2018 01:00:08.)Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:58:29 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6607&iddiary=11669https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6607NOTE: the time it says I posted this entry is wrong. I posted this entry 2-13-18 at 11:56 PM. I've heard good things about this game for quite some time but just haven't really felt like picking it up, til now anyways. It just so happened that the game became on sale on the Microsoft store so I thought, why not. I came into this game with pretty low expectations just because I've heard about how the gameplay is basically just a walking simulator with a few button presses for simple interaction, and that's partly why I haven't felt really motivated to play this game until this assignment. And you know what, this game actually made time go by pretty good. I expected to play at least a little bit over half an hour and at this point for my first OPA of the game I'm clocked at about two hours. Now I'm a little worried I went too far because I've heard the game is fairly short. Anyway, so far the game's story has captivated me to the point of always having an urge to figure out what's going to happen next. Off the bat, the soundtrack really helps set the mood. The beginning part with the on screen background information/story about how he met his wife was pretty captivating and moving. You would probably normally think that just pure screens of text would bore, you, but the music and content of the text really drew me in. The game brings up a pretty serious issue of your wife going through Alzheimer, dementia. You're growing apart from her and you just need an escape. So fast forward a little later and you set out on a new job as a lookout. You're always in contact with a person named Delilah, your supervisor, and you have some pretty interesting conversations whether it's about the actual plot of the game, just finding random objects on the ground, or you admiring the scenery. She questions why you took the job and even mentions that usually people only take this job because they're escaping from something, which Henry, you, to be doing. So far throughout the job I've had to tell off some teens because they were causing potential dangers to the forest with their campsites, fireworks, and oddly catchy yet annoying music. After doing that I head back to my lookout tower. Note, do not take the teens boombox because while it does make the trip back pretty enjoyable with the pop music it kills the tension when someone has broken into your lookout tower. The only people I expect to have caused this so far is the teenagers and the creepy guy I met on my way back. Later communication towers wires have been cut off by someone deliberately and now at this point I'm looking for whoever did it, suspecting the teens. Now you're probably wondering how this took up 2 hours. Well, I explored way too much. Anyway, the only moral, ethical, issues I've picked up through my playtime so far is escapism and coming to terms with things. So far Henry our protagonist seems to be escaping his home issues of his wife going through dementia. And he's come to the forest in order to clear his mind and forget about it. And I believe we've all had similar experiences where we go to places or use devices to escape our problems. I know I've done it multiple times through whether it's just surfing the web or playing video games. (This entry has been edited2 times. It was last edited on Wed, 14 Feb 2018 00:58:55.)Wed, 14 Feb 2018 00:56:42 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6607&iddiary=11634https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6571*NOTE: I was on the waiting list and didn't really know how to do the assignment because I didn't have access yet. So the dates will be added here. Before, I hit 'New GameLog' for each entry that I did per day and had my thoughts/entry in the optional 'Opinion' section. So I'll be rehashing what I've said here. I started playing Tuesday, January 16. Also each day's entry is it's own separate GameLog that has one entry for that day. I've made it up to day 12 and for me the game is finally showing consequences of failing at calls. The consequences started showing up at day 10. I guess I let too many perpetrators get away, both by chance and some not so, and now the mayor/city hall is punishing me by making me fire employees. No big deal, if I just fire the lowest ranking officer. However, I soon came to realize that my B shift force was low on officers. And the calls were coming in faster than ever or at least that's how I felt because I was understaffed. I had to pay even closer attention on who I sent out at times. I could send my best officer to a job that's decently difficult and the next minute a very dangerous situation comes up and I have either too low rank officers left or not enough officers available to accept the job. Now sometimes in the game you're given something like a "false dilemma" where even though it may seem like there's only two choices/extremes that there are actually more. And on day 12 I'm given two choices and "false dilemma doesn't apply here. I have no other choice, there are only two buttons. Do I side with some random criminal guy, who I forgot the name of, that came out of nowhere or side with Mr. Sand the mafia leader who I've worked with a for awhile? I sided with Mr. Sands just because I knew him longer. Like I wonder if anything really changes if I choose the random criminal guy. I'm going to be doing some pretty unethical things either way. I've been doing that this whole time anyway. Now doing unethical things in a game some could argue that that's bad and that it reflects who I am, player vs. self. But that's a whole other issue that I'm not going to jump into right now. (This entry has been edited1 time. It was last edited on Thu, 18 Jan 2018 03:50:07.)Thu, 18 Jan 2018 03:36:01 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6571&iddiary=11536https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6564*NOTE: I was on the waiting list and didn't really know how to do the assignment because I didn't have access yet. So the dates will be added here. Before I hit 'New GameLog' for each entry that I did per day and had my thoughts in the optional 'Opinion' section. So I'll be rehashing what I've said here. I started playing Tuesday, January 16. I played around 3:40 - 4:16 PM for this entry. Also each day's entry is it's own separate GameLog that has one entry for that day. If there's any confusion, please contact me. 2nd Entry: January 17, 2018 I had a better experience this time. Now that I've taken the route as a dirty cop, the game is starting to pick up the pace. I'm given more choices on how to handle various situations. For instance, I was called up by the mafia to ignore a robbery that they were planning. Now I was given the choice to send over a few officers to stop them or I could just ignore it and gain $4,000, I did the latter. And my officers are starting to give me some pretty terrible excuses to skip work. Depending on their stamina bar and the excuse I may let them go home or tell them no. The game is really diving deeper into the corruption of the police back in the 1940s. It's giving me choices based on my morals. The only thing that's bothering me is that I don't know if my officers are aware that they're committing crimes when I tell them to help the mafia. Like I could tell anyone of my officers no matter how long they've been on my force to just go and do a crime and they don't even question it. Also when I stopped a dangerous criminal holding someone hostage all I had to say was "put down the gun", I would think that the criminal who opened fire at officers and caused a car chase and held a civilian hostage wouldn't give up so easily. It really has me contemplate my decisions on how to hand those kind of situations. I could have just shot but I thought let's just reason with her, and it actually worked. (This entry has been edited3 times. It was last edited on Thu, 18 Jan 2018 03:49:05.)Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:32:09 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6564&iddiary=11522https://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6532*NOTE: I was on the waiting list and didn't really know how to do the assignment because I didn't have access yet. So the dates will be added here. Before, I hit 'New GameLog' for each entry that I did per day and had my thoughts/entry in the optional 'Opinion' section. So I'll be rehashing what I've said here. I started playing Tuesday, January 16. I installed the game around 3:52 P.M. and started playing at around 4 PM. Also each day's entry is it's own separate GameLog that has one entry for that day. First Entry: January 16, 2018 First impression so far, the game is quite interesting. The game's story so far hasn't shied away from serious topics like racism, sex, or corruption so far. I'm about 66 minutes into the game, because 30 minutes was not enough to form a first impression opinion. In terms of gameplay pacing, it was a little slow in the beginning but it picks up a little bit. I don't think I've seen all the mechanics yet, I hope so. The gameplay is pretty simple, you choose which officers/detectives go to what scene. And you really have to watch out who you use. Off the bat of the game I used my not so good officers because I thought it'd be fine early game. Nope, they failed capturing the perpetrator. The game at times feels like its RNG, random, on how my successful my cops are. Except when I use my best cops for certain things, they typically get the job done. But when I pair up two decent/average cops together on what seems to be a simple task, they fail. Sometimes you're given choices on how to approach a scene when your cops arrive the area you assigned them, and for me those are the most fun. You see pictures of what's going on and what's happening because of your decision. While you do kind of get that kind of feedback when you regularly send cops around, you just see them drive around town and you get an outcome. Fun at the beginning, but it seems to repeat throughout the game so far. Overall, it's been a pretty good time because of an interesting story that doesn't avoid serious topics such as sex, racism, political corruption. It showed me a sex scene pretty early in the game. It has decent mechanics that play into the message of the game and that's corruption, I believe. (This entry has been edited5 times. It was last edited on Thu, 18 Jan 2018 03:49:15.)Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:28:31 CDThttps://www.gamelog.cl/logs/LogPage.php?Log_Id=6532&iddiary=11519