Wednesday 14 February, 2018

1979 Revolution > 1 hr
So some more decision making and photography for me today. Things are really heating up, not that they haven't been pretty intense from the get go. What I am noticing about these decisions is that they tend to not challenge my logic, in fact they don't even seem to give me logical decisions (the only logical decision for this game is to turn tail run, head to the airport and get the hell out of the country) but instead give me nice gut wrenching options that appeal to my heart strings. A lot of these decisions really make me feel like there is no correct option, and that no matter what I do someone is gonna not like what I do or someone will get hurt. I really get the sense that the developers were aiming for this sort of personal dilemma where I am not supposed to be able to tell right from wrong because they remove the right and wrong and just leave me with the reality of the consequences of any decision I make. I did a little research at the end of my play through today just to see if my hunch was right, and yes, the developers did indeed make it so that your decisions do not ultimately change the outcome of the story, but more so how other characters act towards you (particularly your brother the police officer). I really really like that they do that, it shows how things are never black and white, and how the grey area can be a lot more confusing and create inner turmoil far beyond the color greys ability to represent.

Fantastic job Sterling! You do a great job of looking at how the game is constructed (choices that don’t actually lead to different outcomes) and how this makes the player reflect more on their own principals as opposed to the story outcomes of their choices. Another great theme you address here is how the developers unbiased approach to the subject of revolutionaries vs. the shah allows for the player to simply experience the consequences of decisions playing as a person living during this moment in history. You have a lot of great material to work with here for your OPA. Keep it up!