Tuesday 24 January, 2017

Brothers a tale of two sons is a game that has been on my back catalog for a long time now. Part of the reason I take classes like these is to make me play through my back catalog, so I jumped at the opportunity to analysis this game. I've read a bit about Brothers and every thing I've read warns of the oddness of the controls. The warnings are due, as someone who plays a lot of shooters de-mapping the joysticks from their usually camera navigation uses is a challenge, but one that is worth taking. The act of just moving the brothers through the environment is compelling and different. Which is where my first complaint arises. Everything in this first level in the town screams to be interacted with. Every interaction gives a little insight into both brothers personalities and the world in which they inhabit, all conveyed through a coherent art design and well down animations. The problem is that the narrative explicitly wants you to hurry along with your quest. If this tutorial level would have come before the father's injury that would have removed some of the ludo-narrative dissonance I felt through the tutorial. This is a forgivable offence though because it is one many games fall into, which is why I will continue to point it out whenever I see it because it should be easily avoided. This introduction to the game is just the skin, but I know there is a lot of room within the mechanics of controlling these two brothers to tell a story, and I'm excited to see what they do with it.

This is a cool observation, and I think you're right to call it out! It's worth noting that while some players love to explore environments deeply, others are driven by the pressure structured within the game--in this case the quest to help the brothers' sick father.

I'm interested to see what kinds of ethical implications you find in there!