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Feb 23rd, 2017 at 18:01:58 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
An interesting mechanic in The Last Guardian is the use of the “Call Trico” button. Essentially, you should be able to call or direct Trico with this button, but it rarely works unless you’re going the right way. This was interesting to me primarily because of the dog/human relationship. Usually, the human would be in control of instructing the dog, but instead, Trico directs you everywhere, in a sense. Trico primarily goes where you are supposed to go next, and the button seems to function more as a “Trico’ll do what you say if it’s what it wants to do, anyway.” I liked how the boy and Trico were essentially partners in this way. Most games have dogs that merely function as a sidekick, yet here you’re equals.
I think it therefore must have been a conscious choice to make the Protagonist a small boy, and Trico dog-like. In our society, we consider children and pets to be vulnerable, and dependent. Of course, Trico is a large beast, but his mannerisms are similar to a pet’s (from playing in the water to being enthralled by the smell of treats). It evokes empathy for something we have seen before. Similarly, the young boy, while enduring feats many adults could not, still has mannerisms like a child. When he pets Trico or runs, it is childishly clumsy. By putting these two archetypes together, we feel a need to protect them against danger.
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Feb 22nd, 2017 at 19:22:47 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
The more I played, the more I realized the difference between my own and the boy’s wants and desires. While he just wants to get home, and will likely go about the fastest way to do so, I want to help Trico, scouring every corner for a barrel. I wasn’t sure what they symbolized, but it felt like the barrels were important, and my constant fear of keeping Trico alive empowered me to search. I realized I put myself in place of the boy, forgetting my ultimate goal most of the time, and not caring much for the child as much as the dog. In particular, I remember when I had gone through all this effort to scale this wall, only to see a barrel at the bottom. Not wanting to climb again, I simply jumped. I was too scared to throw a small barrel at Trico, but not to jump a height that would certainly kill someone. The boy was immediately in pain, clutching his knees and limping afterward. While I felt bad, the limping went away after a few moments, and I found myself doing it again soon after. It made me think how differently we’ll treat the wellbeing of our player characters, knowing their invincibility (even if they die, they just come back anyway.)
When Trico and I approached the birdcage, and I accidentally called him down, I immediately paused the game and began googling whether or not I was supposed to do that. It seemed unavoidable so I continued, anxieties high. When Trico ate me, my friend who had been watching me play said audibly “Well [Trico eating me] was a dick move.” It made me think about animals and morality. From what we know, animals are “True Neutrals.” They do not adhere to a moral code, but rather do what they need to survive. I saw in Trico’s flashback humans stabbing it, and while I understand the need for humans to protect themselves against the beast, I wondered if that was the case. Trico had been overall kind toward me (except the recent devouring me whole incident) so it made me wonder if Trico was that dangerous to humans, or if it was simply trying to survive.
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Feb 22nd, 2017 at 19:21:07 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Feb 22nd, 2017 at 19:22:12.
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Feb 21st, 2017 at 23:22:15 - The Last Guardian (PS4) |
What I noticed immediately about The Last Guardian was how much I loved Trico’s design. It’s a mixture between a beast and a dog, with glowing eyes that seem somewhat cold and unrelatable, but with an adorable snout that I instantly recognized as similar to my own dog’s. The game begins by calling Trico a man-eating beast, but it’s obviously injured. I like how The Last Guardian was able to play with empathy in that way. We didn’t need to see Trico hurt to empathize with it, and we also didn’t need to be told it was man-eating to see it was dangerous. You want to help it immediately, even if it may mean it’ll eat you later on, and I chalk that up mostly to the friendly but slightly foreign design.
When searching for barrels, I made sure to never throw one at Trico directly. I felt like I might accidentally hit it if I did. So, I gently placed the barrels in front of it, despite being hit back every time. When I finally succeeded in getting Trico back on it’s feet, it felt like an accomplishment. I always found it fascinating how great it can feel doing a good deed in a game, especially when you care about the quest. Despite being made of code and polygons, I was invested in my new dog companion. Similarly, I was terrified of accidentally hitting Trico with a barrel, because I was scared of hurting him. This personal investment and feeling of accountability has always been specific more to games than any other medium.
Ironically, my devotion to Trico also stemmed from my ideas of safety. While I cared for the little boy’s well-being, his narrator voice sounded like an older man, so I assumed he grows up. Trico, however, has no foreshadowing that it’ll be okay. I was worried the game might take it away, and although I didn’t feel like I could prevent such an end, it made me want to protect the big dog even more.
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Chimes has been with GameLog for 7 years, 3 months, and 6 days |
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