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osengar64's Undertale (PC)
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| [April 6, 2016 07:48:23 PM]
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I've completed my third playthrough of Undertale, making it as far as the Tem Shop.
From where I was with the last entry to here, nothing of huge interest happened. I went on a date with a skeleton, got chased down by the head of the Royal Guard, was attacked by a possessed training dummy, and met some very strange creatures.
The date itself was...strange. The minigame was a lot like an encounter, but I felt I had little control over what was going on. Played as a series of yes/no questions with clear right and wrong answers it felt to me as if it didn't fit with the theme of the game.
The date ends with Papyrus requesting a platonic relationship with the player - since clearly the player is in love with him for hanging out.
The entire idea of a date was pushed throughout the Papyrus fight - Acting was either insulting or flirting with Papyrus only.
I found this a little strange - why would flirting be the only option instead of something more platonic?
My guess is the design is deliberate to mess with the player. Flirting has strong romantic overtones that most of us would not use in the context of interacting with someone we are not romantically attracted to.
Yet the interaction does apply when making friends - small petty annoyances that we find endearing that eventually lead to feelings for a person.
The interaction sequence through the date did make me a little uneasy, since I began with flirting then went on a date I felt a little off.
I was constantly on guard for what was going to happen, and was put moreso when we entered Papyrus' bedroom to "do whatever it is people do on a date."
My unease culminated when Papyrus asked me to find his 'secret' in the new outfit.
This entire scenario made me uneasy because of cultural references for what a date is.
A date is set up to be a romantic experience, not something one would use for two friends hanging out. Curious how this changes,
children have play-dates with friends, then sometime around our teenage years it transitions from being innocent, to meaning something deeper.
The game took advantage of that culture shift brilliantly. Very rarely has a game made me feel this uncomfortable.
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| [April 5, 2016 04:48:29 PM]
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I've completed my second playsession of Undertale and have made it to the Papyrus fight.
Papyrus himself is an interesting character - projecting his own doubts onto the player, fighting to capture the player
(despite liking the player) just to further his own reputation.
Papyrus portrays in a very charming way our basic need for acceptance. Throughout the Snowdin area Papyrus has set up puzzles for the player to navigate.
As the player solves puzzles, Papyrus grows more impressed while presenting cheesy villain dialogue about how the player will not solve the next puzzle.
At the half way point, Papyrus leaves a plate of food for the player and a note stating the food will be too distracting for the player to be able to proceed.
This simple gesture tells a different story: Papyrus is trying to express affection for the player.
Papyrus' entire demeanor changes from cheesy villain to awkward and shy. He's boastful to a new face to try and impress them into liking him.
But that facade falls with dialogue from his brother: Papyrus is a nice person but has been feeling down, solve the puzzles to humor him,
and that his clothing is a costume he has been wearing since a party they attended.
He's now shown as a sympathetic character who is only searching for a friend.
Given that I am playing a pacifist, I will be befriending Papyrus and see what happens when he gets what he so deeply desires.
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| [April 5, 2016 12:38:08 AM]
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I've completed my first play session of Undertale and am enjoying the game so far.
The combat system is new, with the player getting to decide whether to fight or engage in dialogue.
I've decided to do a pacifist playthrough - only engaging in conversation and sparing the enemies rather than engaging in combat.
When given the option, I usually take the "good" path first: in Fable I play white alignment, in Mass Effect I choose Paragon, and for this I chose pacifist.
The pacifist path is far more difficult, I don't appear to be gaining any experience from engaging in combat, which means my stats won't scale as rapidly as the enemies.
This may change later, or perhaps I am sparing the enemies too early in the encounters. This requires more testing later.
For this playthrough I exited the ruins and began Snowdin. Through the Ruins area, Toriel is your guide.
She lives alone in the ruins since the last human who fell left to try to get back to the surface. Starting she is lonely, then she finds a child who fell.
Her loneliness compounded with her caring nature create what is essentially a helicopter parent personality in this character.
Toriel begins by leading you through some simple puzzles, in a very direct way - chalk arrows on the wall, looking over your shoulder as you interact with the training dummy,
asking you to solve a puzzle alone only to lead you through by the hand, and finally hiding behind a pillar in an area that has no puzzle to solve, just a long path.
At the end of this, Toriel gives the player a cell phone, and asks them to wait for her to come pick them up.
Throughout the Ruins, Toriel calls to check in with the player, asking what they like to eat, any allergies, and other fairly mundane questions.
However, the player has the ability to call Toriel and ask for puzzle help, and she responds by asking if the player is still in the room where she left them.
I found this more annoying than anything: I was abandoned and asked to have faith, constantly checked in on, and finally when I actually need some help, ignored.
Her behavior culminates at the end of the Ruins area, where she intends to destroy the exit to the ruins so the player must remain behind with her, as the world beyond her house is too dangerous
At the exit, the player must fight Toriel as she wants to show the player the world beyond is much too dangerous, and she is doing the player a favor by beating the crap out of them,
clearly it is much safer with someone willing to abuse you in the name of teaching you a lesson...
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osengar64's Undertale (PC)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Tuesday 5 April, 2016
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