Emoticons

Tea flowchart

What makes a game, a game?

"Games are the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacle"
- Bernard Suits (1978)

"A game is a rule-based system with a variable and quantifiable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels emotionally attached to the outcome and the consequences of the activity are negotiable"
- Jesper Juul, Half-Real (2005)

Life is Strange

Rule-based system: the game is very linear, there are basic objectives given for each chapter within the episode and an option must be chosen when asked. Some scenes ask you to save another character who's life is in danger and you cannot proceed with the story until this goal has been achieved.

Variable outcomes: there are several different outcomes depending on how the player responds to each character and the physical events they have the antagonist do. This includes obtaining the trust of another character or changing the attitude of the main character.

Outcomes different values: all outcomes can either have a positive or negative effect on the character and play alike, for example, the option between killing or letting a character live. Some decisions made can have the desired outcome or shock the player and make them regret the previous choices.

Effort exerted: based on actual movement and gameplay there isn't a huge amount of involvement for the player, however within each episode there are several choices, both important and less so, impacting the entire rest of the game and the players' satisfaction with the end result. The effort exerted may also be increased if the player wishes to replay the game in order to experience each individual scenario and ending.

Negotiable consequences: there is a huge difference between playing alone and with a friend as they may have a completely opposite opinion and cause you to change your mind or go back and alter one you've already made.

Life is Strange emotional response (episode 1)

The game starts up with a young girl lying on the ground, woken up by a ferocious storm complete with a tornado. It is unclear whether what is happening is real or fake so I felt very confused and also frightened for the safety of the girl. I began to ask the same questions as she was, "Where am I?" and "What is happening?"

The story then cuts to the girl waking up in a classroom filled with students, with a very teen movie vibe about it. I felt a little more informed as the game tells you the previous scene was merely a nightmare. The whole atmosphere of the game is very immersive and I began to feel more involved in the story and characters.

The next major event takes place in the bathroom, it all felt very ominous and I had a feeling something bad would happen. The build up felt very real and when the girl is shot I was really shocked but even more surprised once we see Max then reverse time.

Back to the classroom and I was even more puzzled, much like the antagonist. After learning I could rewind time I knew that this game had a lot in store. Once having saved the girl I felt relieved and excited for the adventure and story that would follow now Max knew the power she possessed.

Then came humiliating the 'bad guy', but this time you are given a choice and I am the worst at making decisions so this stressed me out a little bit, knowing that my choice would effect the story somehow. Even with the power to go back and change your option, I felt I had too much power and would spend a few minutes going back to explore the consequences of each possible choice.

Dontnod Entertainment

Dontnod Entertainment is an independent company founded in 2008 by Henrve Bonin, Aleksi Briclot, Alain Damasio, Oskar Guilbert and Jean-Maxime Moris. Their headquarters is based in Paris, France with around 200 employees and they have created just two games, Remember Me and Life is Strange and are currently workingon their third, Vampyr. Life is Strange has sold over 1 million copies, however their first game, Remember Me flopped, selling just under 200,000 copies. Dontnod develop games available across platforms and both games have been single player, third-person, roleplaying action adventures.

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Life is Strange infographic