1. AIM was put to rest late in 2017. Fortunately, Emily Is Away Too can fill that Instant Messenger shaped hole in your heart.
2. This game consists 100% of mashing on the keyboard and pretending to type into a simulated chat window. It is actually really good.
3. The only sound effects in game are the stock sounds which seem to have been lifted straight from the original software. Realism!
4. The way Emily Is Away Too incorporates music is really clever. Whoever is talking to you sends a link to the in-game version of of YouTube. That opens in your browser in stylized web page made for the game w/ an actual YouTube video embedded in it which you can just play and listen to in the background. Viola! Licensed music w/o the license.
5. I found myself listening to Soulja Boy Tell 'Em at some point. Ummmm.....
6. You play as a young man sitting in front of the computer and typing things two young women in 2007. It is clear from the outset you have at least some romantic interest in both of these women and they may have some similar feelings for you.
7. Any time you have a chance to talk, you get three choices of what to say. You have to select one response and then mash on the keyboard and it types out what you actually respond. This is a little Mass Effect in that your actual response does not match verbatim what you input but there's no real surprises. I also found that it was really rare that I did not want to respond any of the options I was given.
8. There were some moments early on where I was nervous that the game was finding
clever ways of giving me the same results no matter what answers I put in. It becomes clear as you play though that what you say in Emily Is Away Too actually matters and the landscape of the game changes because of it.
9. Number 8 is what makes the narrative in Emily Is Away Too more effective as a game than it would in any other medium. The sense of choice and purpose draws you into the protagonist's shoes. You are made to understand the story as if you are one of the characters in it.
10. To me, it was pretty obvious what choices were "right" as far as it goes. Presuming you don't want these young women to hate you, you do simple things like not lie to them and if you are romantically interested in one of them, you have to ask them out. It is pretty easy to see how you can get you some lovin' if that's what you're after.
11. This being said, for a more realistic experience, you can be the grand fuck up you are in real life and they will react accordingly.
12. This is where a lot of tension in Emily Is Away Too comes from. You are torn between roll playing how you think the protagonist might act, acting how you would actually act or acing like some idealized version of yourself. Playing through again will reveal what other outcomes you could have had but, you know, you only get to play it the first time once.
13. If you are looking for inspiration for getting into narrative game design, look no further than Emily Is Away too. It is simple, effective and built in such a way that it makes sense for the story to be told via game play. It is also just believable and touching in a way that few games are. This is one of those games where if you are inclined to play such a thing in any given moment, this will quite definitely work for you in that moment. It is a game designed seemingly w/ a clear goal in mind and achieves its aims unquestionably.
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