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Professor Layton – This Article Reminds Me of A Puzzle

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Anyone who knows me knows that I am a massive fan of the Professor Layton games. As a kid, I was always (and still am) a major nerd when it comes to puzzles. Logic puzzles, riddles, you name it. So, when wandering through a game store, looking for something to spend my birthday money on, I spotted Professor Layton and the Curious Village. I read the back, saw the word “puzzles” and was instantly excited – running over to my mum and showing her with a massive grin on my face.

The puzzles, the story, the characters and the music are all a part of what makes this series so impactful to people like me. It reminds me of Agatha Christie, just with a bit less murder and trauma (though Miracle Mask STILL MAKES ME CRY). It was a passion I shared with one of my closest friends, Olivia. We used to sit and watch the cutscenes during lunchtimes, chat about the characters and share inside jokes that others had no clue about. To this day, we still share the occasional meme about it.

To this day I still frequently come back and play through the games again. It’s interesting to see which puzzles I find easier now that I’m older. For example, I’m a lot better at sliding block puzzles nowadays than I was as a kid – I cannot tell you how high the move counter was back when I was eleven, mainly because I think it stopped when you got to 999. I’m still horrific at visualising what a cube should look like when you fold up the given net but that’s why we have walkthroughs.

My brain cannot cope with these types of puzzles

The Layton games take a lesson from the Star Wars films, where the first three games are not canonically the first in the timeline. Once the creators realised the popularity of the games and the loyalty of it’s fanbase, they created the prequel trilogy which delved into the past of the character’s, explaining how Luke and Layton met, what Layton’s past was like and introducing fan favourite Emmy (aka my ninja wife). Each of the six main games are brilliantly written, with emotional interactions and dramatic twists throughout, all pieced together by the brilliant mind of gaming’s favourite gentleman.

Here’s a CaitlinRC synopsis of each of the games, in canonical order:

  1. Spectre’s Call – Introduces Emmy, you get to meet Luke in the days before his time with Layton – features sadness, soul resounding music, rooftop jumping crows, corrupt police, a whole lot of mist, Emmy’s quest for sweets and giant over the top mechanical creations (LOOKING AT YOU DESCOLE)
  • Miracle Mask – A more Layton focused game, we switch between his teen years with his best friend and the present day – with carnival shenanigans, Luke on a feisty donkey, EMOTIONS, the robot revolution, a terrible storybook, the blame game, Indiana Jones but cooler and child endangerment.
  • Azran Legacy – Ties up many of the loose ends in the series, with a world travelling adventure with our favourite envoy of ancient civilisations Aurora who just needs LOVE AND HUGS OK. Probably the most emotional of all the games – with BETRAYAL, the most dramatic egg hunt ever, terrible parenting, A VERY TRAUMATIC FINALE, bridal vanishing acts, Duck Layton and snowmen.
  • Curious Village – Probably the hardest game in terms of puzzles but also very heart warming. You meet Don Paolo aka Oh God Its Him Again and get to spend time with sweetheart Flora, featuring – cat chasing, Tetris Hotel Edition, WHY DOES THIS VILLAGE HAVE A DRAWBRIDGE, angry Ferris wheels, far too many chess puzzles, sewer exploration and Layton having the most dramatic escapes ever.
  • Pandora’s Box – Probably the oddest out of the games, considering some of the twists and turns but still an intriguing story and good moments of suspense, following the myth of Pandora’s Box and trying to uncover what its true nature is. Featuring – angsty vampire grandad, the weirdest train ride ever, disturbing disguises, treasure hunting, THAT HAMSTER, Layton being a badass, a very odd baby and dramatic revelations over tea.
  • Lost Future – Time travelling hijinks, future versions of themselves and a whole lot of emotional upheaval. Thrown into Future London, Layton and Luke try to track down the missing prime minister and scientists, whilst avoiding the eye of “Evil Layton”. Featuring – furious rabbits, far too many stairs, STOP HURTING LAYTON HE DESERVES HAPPINESS GODDAMIT, angry youths, the destruction of London, ridiculous massive robots like what the hell where did you get all the resources for it and crying in a river.
Why are Layton villains always so extra?

There are also three additional games in the Layton universe, that take place separately – Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, Layton Brothers Mystery Room and Layton’s Mystery Journey. There is also a feature film based around Layton which is genuinely good (surprising I know) called Professor Layton and The Eternal Diva. Layton vs Phoenix follows an intriguing story with courtroom segments and puzzle segments whilst Mystery Room is a series of condensed cases in a more “investigative style” following Layton’s son Alfendi and his … strange alter ego. Meanwhile, Mystery Journey follows Layton’s daughter Katrielle, who is searching for her father through establishing a detective agency and solving cases.

Although the games have not yet been ported from the DS/3DS consoles, a few of them are available on mobile – which you should give a shot if you haven’t experienced the series before. Mystery Room is a good starting point, it gives off a Sherlock Holmes vibe whilst staying true to the Layton narrative. Plus, the first few cases are free so if you don’t like it, then your bank account doesn’t need to worry!

A well-designed game series is one you can come back to and enjoy it more each time you play it. I’ve played through all the games more times that I can count but manage to discover something new every single time. Whether its character dialogue providing subtle hints to future events or quiet references to past games, it is clear how much love and care the developers put into these games. Every puzzle, every spoken line, every chord of the music, it is all given the attention it deserves to make these games shine. (Though Layton’s appearance in PL vs PW is a tad unsettling)

Note to self: Don’t stand between Layton and the truth.

I can’t exactly explain why, but the Layton games have always brought a sense of calm and peace to me, even when my anxiety is running rampant. I often listen to the soundtracks to cope with my panic attacks, focusing on the music and the memories it evokes in order to slow my heartbeat and breathing back to a normal pace. I’ve built up an association between the series and my happy memories, to the point where I know even talking about the games can put a smile on my face.

We should aspire for our lives to have a positive impact. Be it through spreading a message, raising awareness or just bringing joy to people, if your work can make the world around you a better place then you have lived life to the fullest. Humans are inherently social and cooperative creatures, forming unbreakable bonds with friends and family members, sharing experiences be they good or bad. For me, the Layton games have been that source of light. It’s something I can share with my friend. It’s given me so many good memories and provided me with a coping mechanism for the anxiety I’ve fought all my life.

I could ramble on for hours about these games, but I think you should experience them for yourselves. Try any of them and let me know what you think of them, as well as any games you would like me to talk about in a future article! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go watch the cutscenes from Miracle Mask and cry like the grown adult I am.

If you play any of the Layton games, play this one.

Be sure to like, comment and follow the site for updates on all future content 😊

See you soon,

CaitlinRC (@OurMindGames)

Octopath Traveller: A Kraken Good Time

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Opening a game and immediately being told to choose between eight characters, is a tad daunting, to say the least. However, I am a sucker for story-driven RPG’s so I didn’t let it put me off and threw myself into the game, starting with H’aanit – because I saw she had a snow leopard as her best friend and I wanted in on that immediately. When you choose a character at the beginning, you are given a basic description of their personality, abilities and where their story is going to go. The eight you must choose from are:

  1. H’aanit: A hunter, who can tame beasts to help in your quest and is loyal to the balance of nature. Has a pet snow leopard and is phenomenal with a bow. A good starting character for anyone unsure of where to begin with this behemoth of a game.
  • Alfyn Greengrass: An apothecary, who travels the land providing care and treatment to anyone who needs it. Can be extremely powerful if you learn how to mix ingredients properly, but difficult to master.
  • Primrose Alezhard: Her story line is not for the fainthearted. After witnessing her father’s murder at a young age, she grew up as an exotic dancer, trying to survive and searching for her father’s killers. Proficient with a dagger and able to buff her teammates during battle, she is not to be overlooked.
  • Cyrus Albright: He is a scholar, with ridiculously powerful magic attacks that can affect multiple enemies at once. I’d recommend making him a staple in your party, especially if you’re out grinding levels for a weaker party member. Word of warning though, he’s a bit of an idiot, which can cause you to cringe in response to his actions.
  • Ophilia Clement: The best darn healer in the game. You want her in your party, always. ALWAYS. She is a kind, sweet girl who deserves the world and I will MURDER ANYONE WHO HURTS HER. Anyways. She can also inspire NPC’s to fight by her side, giving you that extra edge in battle.
  • Tressa Colozone: A merchant, whose appeal doesn’t seem majorly obvious at first. Her storyline is about discovering herself and improving her “merchant skills”, which isn’t that interesting but her ability to pick up endless amounts of loose change from the ground is essential for being able to afford those shiny new swords.
  • Olberic Eisenberg: A knight, who can probably beat you to death with his little finger if he wanted to. He is a very honourable man, seeking the truth behind his friend’s betrayal of the king they served. A tad cliché but you can’t help but like him, he’s a good man and one of the heaviest hitters in the game.
  • Therion: A thief, with the ability to steal anything off anyone (if the percentage gods are in your favour), and after a failed robbery, ends up on a mission to retrieve some valuable artefacts and track down his childhood friend. Not the best fighter but stealing is fun, right? Right?
H’aanit or Olberic are good starting characters, as they have a strong enough attack power on their own. Once you have one of them, go get Ophilia because lord knows you’ll need a good healer.

Whoever you choose to start the game with, is locked into your party until you complete their storyline. However, you can still meet every other character and experience their stories, coming back to your main character’s tale when you think you are ready for it. Like most RPG’s, you can have four character’s in your party at a time, meaning you can’t have all eight of the adventurer’s at once and encourages you to switch out your companions to suit the situation you are facing. You can switch characters at an inn, which are present in every single town you come across – so you don’t have to run across the entire world every time you want Ophilia in your party. The only restrictions on who you can have in your party, is the character you chose to start with and the character whose storyline you are attempting to follow (because you can’t really follow Therion’s story if he isn’t there)

Octopath Traveller is a game more suited for handheld systems like the Switch. Not because it is a short game, but because like any RPG, you can get a bit fed up of it if you play for too long at a time. Boss fights can take half an hour, so being able to work your way through a dungeon to a boss, then take a break and come back to kick its butt, is quite relaxing. Save points are frequent, normally right after you complete a section and are always present right before a big fight, so you don’t need to trek all the way back if the boss pounds you into a bloody pulp.

The first thing people will notice about Octopath, is that it is a beautiful game. Developed in a 2D-HD style, the world is mesmerising. Every place you go to is unique, no location looks like a replica of another, even dungeons can range from mansions to caves, to sewers and abandoned ruins. The sprites of your characters are expressive and a joy to watch, especially when executing new moves in combat. However, the best art in the game must go to the bosses. Typically, the enemy sprites are small, around your size or slightly bigger, depending on the monster. However, bosses, have gigantic unique sprites that are incredibly detailed and stun you for a moment when you first enter battle with them.

Who doesn’t want to attack a giant demon bird thing.

The soundtrack of a game often makes or breaks an experience. After all, a game can be as stunning and interesting as you want, but if the music is abrasive and irritating, you won’t want to play it as much. Trust me when I say, the game’s music doesn’t disappoint. Every location and character has their own unique theme. Tense cutscenes have dramatic music playing underneath it, sadder scenes make use of piano chords to tug at your heart strings whilst boss fights inspire you with kickass tunes (even when you are getting beaten to a pulp).

It’s hard to put into words how much I love Octopath, even though it’s story can be a bit weak in places (looking at you Tressa and Therion). A lot of people’s criticism of it, is that the stories are quite separate from one another. Excluding the “secret final dungeon” after you beat all eight stories and some specific side quests, there is very little linking the characters together. However, for me, this makes sense. We are all living our own stories, walking our own paths. Sure, I may be sat in the same coffee shop as about ten different people as I write this, but it doesn’t mean our journeys through life are intertwined in any way.

I think if all eight characters were linked together by the story, the game would lose its impact. By having four chapters focused entirely around a character, you get to understand them on a deeper level. Having so many playable characters means that the amount of attention you can give each one, is limited. So being able to break the story down and follow one person’s tale at a time, results in good character writing and storytelling, rather than reducing some of your party members to boring, rushed NPC’s with a brief backstory.

H’aanit speaks in a very Old English style, which takes some getting used to but LOOK AT THE KITTY.

More than anything, Octopath is about travelling. Shocking, I know. No matter who you are playing as, you get to experience the world built by Square Enix with little concern for accidentally coming across story spoilers. The game lets you know the rough level requirement for an area, so you don’t walk into a level thirty forest when you are still only level twelve (totally not talking from experience). There’s something calming and fulfilling about Octopath. From the little interactions between your party members, to getting to know every NPC you come across, to exploring the lush landscapes and fighting everything you come across, this game is incredibly detailed and a lot deeper than most people expect.

A big example of this, is the combat. Like most RPG’s it is turn based, where depending on your character’s speed, each party member can make an action each turn (or several depending on your perks, thank god for H’aanit being able to attack twice). Enemies have a certain defence level that can be broken by attacking them using weapons/magic that they are weak against. Once their defence is broken, they are stunned, will not attack you for a turn and take greater damage from your attacks. All generic enemies have set weaknesses, that once discovered, will appear next to them in future encounters – so you don’t have to recall every single enemies’ weakness. Bosses, can change their weaknesses mid-fight, so be prepared to switch up your attacks and have a good range within your party, otherwise you might be wiped across the floor.

In summary, Octopath is probably one of my favourite RPG’s I’ve ever played. From the intricate combat system that forces you to think ahead and strategize, to the beautiful art style and haunting music, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with these characters and have sunk over a hundred hours into it, from the main storyline, to levelling up my weaker party members, to completing side quests and stealing everything I can (sorry not sorry). If you like RPG’s and want one you can really sink your teeth into, I cannot recommend it enough.

What’s yours is mine, what’s mine is mine.

What games do you recommend I try out? Which ones keep you up at night? Let me know in the comments and maybe I’ll write my next article on them! I’m currently thinking childhood nostalgia in the form of a certain puzzle solving gentleman. Remember to comment below and subscribe to my site so you get notified whenever I post a new article! If you want to keep up to date on what’s going on, follow me on Twitter @OurMindGames .

Until next time,

CaitlinRC.

Minecraft – A Far Bigger Part Of My Teenage Years Than I Care To Admit:

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It’s weird to think that Minecraft is over ten years old now. Even weirder to think about how I started playing the game about six or seven years ago. Up until that point, the only games I had played on the computer were flash games on websites such as Newgrounds or Friv. I have many fond memories of eating lunch as quickly as possible and then racing my friends back to the classroom, just so we could play Fireboy and Watergirl together. So, when my friend ran up and showed me the game, I was immediately hooked.

I spent several months just repeatedly playing the demo version of the game, as I didn’t have any way of purchasing the account myself (after all, I didn’t have a debit card or anything at the time). Eventually, I sidled up to my parents around Christmas time and showed them the demo of the game, expressing my interest in a way that was hardly subtle. I’m relatively sure my parents did a full look into it but on Christmas Day, my dad built the word “Minecraft” out of Lego’s and put it under the tree for me, though it did take me a minute to figure out what it meant (because come on, whose brain works at 7:30 in the morning).

I logged onto the game the other day and was immediately killed by a polar bear. WHEN DID WE GET POLAR BEARS?

Roughly three years of my life were spent playing Minecraft in my spare time, from playing online with new friends that I’d made or just messing around in survival. I found YouTubers who had a dedicated following for their Minecraft content, and I joined a community that although I am no longer a part of it, still had a big impact on me. In fact, some of my closest friends came from those communities and my online pseudo name harkens back to those times (looking at you RC crew).

At the time, I wasn’t sure why the game appealed to me so much. Sure, it was kind of like “living Lego” and as a kid, I loved building and creating my own structures – to this day we still have a box of Lego in the house. However, now that I’m older and wiser (probably), I can see all too clearly why the game became such a refuge for me. It made sense. It had rules. There were specific ways to craft the items you needed, a process to follow to achieve your goals. The real world didn’t have that.

We all fear that we will make the wrong choices in life. That the words we choose to express ourselves aren’t the right ones, that our decisions will always hurt someone no matter how hard we try not to. For some of us, this manifests in conditions such as anxiety. For as long as I can remember, the sheer volume of information and potential outcomes of situations has overwhelmed me. I’m terrified of missing a key piece of information, of selecting the wrong path.

So, a game where I control each aspect of the world, from the structures I create to the tools that I craft, is calming. I always know what the outcome will be, there are no unknowns to fear. No matter what enemy I come across or new environment they add, there are set rules and algorithms that I can follow to ensure my success.

Even the Nether makes sense once you get used to it (and don’t put down any beds!)

I know that concept must be confusing to some people but I’m also aware, that a few of you reading this can relate. Most of you probably think this rule bound and mathematical approach is taking the fun out of a lot of what makes Minecraft special, but it adds to it. Think about it. At our core, we are simply made up of atoms. These atoms combine to form elements, which are the building blocks of the universe. Everything we see in the world around us, is built from these simple particles, following the specific rules of creation.

The insane creativity of the community is what I believe has kept this game so popular, for so long. From designing your own texture packs to insane mods to custom made adventure maps, the game provides players with all the tools to basically reinvent the world. I remember spending countless hours building the perfect home from scratch in the game, collecting every resource possible and perfecting my simple abode with my limited artistic repertoire. Meanwhile, you look around and see scale models of Buckingham Palace; working recreations of games such as Space Invaders and even the game being used to teach kids how to code.

Even if the game isn’t your cup of tea, you can’t deny the impact that it has had on the world. Sure, the creator is… problematic to say the least, but the reach of the small sandbox game he released ten years ago, is phenomenal. People use it to test machine learning algorithms, to teach economics, to learn about programming, to encourage people to go into architecture and more. When I was a kid, Lego was my main form of creativity and I adored it. Sure, Lego is still massively popular today, but it feels that Minecraft is the right step for kids to move onto to encourage their self-improvement when they feel they are “too old” for Lego. (Spoiler Alert: You’re never too old for Lego)

I’ve taught kids how to code using Minecraft and they’ve loved it. Never deny the power of games to help kids learn.

Apologies that this piece seemed a bit more scatter-brained than usual, I’ve just finished exam season myself and there is a lot going on personally. Plus, this idea came to me at 3AM the other day so it’s slightly hard to format thoughts when you’re having a staring contest with the seagull outside your window (Cardiff problems). I’d love to write more pieces about the game’s you guys know and love, so leave your suggestions in the comments!

Much love,

CaitlinRC.

That Dragon Cancer – Hard hitting tales that need to be told:

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Just a warning before I start talking properly, this article is about That Dragon Cancer. For those not familiar with it, it tells the story of a family and their struggles against cancer. They share memories of their son, Joel, such as when he went into remission, to their last few days with him. It is a heart-wrenching tale of love and loss, especially to anyone who has lost a loved one to cancer. If you have lost someone and that wound is still fresh, I suggest not reading this article. I know personally how painful those reminders can be, and I do not wish to cause that pain in others.

If you haven’t experienced it, I’d play it yourself first. I cannot put into words the strength of the emotions it induces.

————–

To those of you who are still here, let’s talk. In the UK, one in two people will get cancer in their lifetime. Nearly everyone has either lost someone to cancer or knows someone who has. It has become one of these things that we just accept as inevitable, like taxes or rain. Yet, the devastating impact it can have on every aspect of your life – as either as the sufferer or an observer, isn’t something we should roll over and accept.

In the early summer of 2015, I lost my grandmother to cancer. Though I only really got to see her a couple of times a year due to the distance between Edinburgh and wherever I was living at the time, she had a profound impact on who I was as a person. To this day she remains one of the kindest people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I see her in the birds in the trees and the squirrels roaming the Cardiff parks, I hear her encouragement whenever I struggle, I see her in my mum’s eyes and in my own. It doesn’t feel like four years since I last saw her, yet the calendar doesn’t lie to me.

It’s not all sad though. My grandmother beat cancer once. Breast cancer tried to beat her, but she conquered it. I’d never have gotten the chance to get to know her otherwise. I have so many warm memories of her – encouraging me to pursue computing even though she had no idea what I was talking about, helping me finish a puzzle on the floor of the living room. When she knew she couldn’t beat cancer the second time, she made the decision to live out the rest of her life the best way she knew – with her family. I didn’t get to spend those last days with her, I wish that I could’ve, but I was in the middle of exam season, blissfully unaware of what was going on.

Race For Life is one of many events that raise money and awareness about cancer.

The last memory of someone is the one that sticks with you the most. We visited her in the hospital just before Hogmanay (it’s New Year’s for Scotland basically). Even now I can still recall every sign on the doors I passed, every passing conversation between the doctors and nurses, even the smell of disinfectant lingers in the back of my nose as I write this. Though my gran was all skin and bone at this point, the light in her eyes hadn’t faded. I don’t think anything could’ve broken that woman’s spirit; not whilst there were still birds to fade and nature to explore.

She could see how nervous I was, so started chatting away about what I’d been up to and what comics I was reading, drawing me out of my shell slowly. I remember leaving the room clutching a piece of paper, on which I had drawn a diagram of the code I was working on and she had drawn a rough sketch of an old piece of farm equipment she used to use, back when her, papa, my aunt and my mum all lived on their chicken farm. I don’t know what happened to that drawing, I think it might’ve gotten lost in a suitcase or mixed up with some paperwork. I wish I still had it, as a reminder.

They’re never truly gone. They live on, in our hearts and our memories.

That Dragon Cancer isn’t like any game I’ve ever played. You go into the game knowing what will happen, knowing that Joel isn’t going to make it and you are an observer, looking in and catching glimpses of tidal wave of emotions that the family goes through. It is a tale of love and loss, joy and hope, pain and fear. It’s not there to provide a moral or some philosophical point to ruminate on, it’s just there to tell you the story of Joel and his family, no matter how hard it may be to hear. Of course, you root for them, praying that somehow, they will triumph and find their happy ending, smiling wide at every happy giggle that comes from Joel and every peaceful moment the family get amidst the storm that rages around them.

The scene that hit me the most, one that I feel everyone should play through or at least watch, is the doctor’s office scene.  For any of us who have ever had to sit in a doctor’s room and hear the words that they wished would never be spoken, this scene speaks volumes. You start by spinning a toy that makes different farm animal noises and jokes, to make Joel laugh, a bittersweet feeling when the doctor begins to speak. You hear how the chemotherapy has failed, how this wonderful little boy has so little time left to live, and that toy becomes a vessel to hearing the tormented inner monologues of each person present – from the doctors to the suffering parents.

To all the doctors and nurses out there, who have to give bad news to people. Your strength is phenomenal and your compassion is amazing.

The music and the visuals in this game are what ties it together. They can each be harrowing and beautiful, perfectly encapsulating the emotions of the scene and drawing you into it completely. You forget for a time that you are playing a game, instead living the tale of Joel through the eyes of his family – allowing their hope, joy and grief to become your own. For those of you who have lost someone, it feels like an echo chamber, reflecting all those feelings back at you. Your memories dart in, between piano chords and scene transitions.

The game reminds you not just of the loss, but of the joy and happiness that those we have lost brought to us. This is a lesson that I feel can apply to more than just cancer, be that loss through accidents or mental health conditions or just old age. Losing someone does not diminish their impact on the world and on who we are. I wouldn’t be studying computing now without my grandmother. Birdsong wouldn’t make me smile; I’d never pause to smell the freshly bloomed flowers. I am who I am because of her and because of all the people I’ve lost, as well as those who are still such a major part of my life.

Although it is a narrative piece, involving little “gameplay” on the part of the player, there are little minigames that you can play in each scene – such as steering Joel away from the tumours. One scene has you wandering through a hospital reading the messages sent in by the game’s supporters, telling their stories of love and loss and fear and hope and grief. If you spend any time with this game, I guarantee that most of it will be spent wandering those hallways, reading every card possible and catching a glimpse of the lives of those touched by this disease. This game’s power doesn’t just come from Joel’s storyline, it comes from the fact that this story is not uncommon. So many people experience their own version of Joel’s life, be that with their siblings or grandparents or close friends.

An adorable minigame, until you realise that the timer is the time passing and the collectables are all the treatments and medications Joel had to have.

I can see myself in the shoes of Joel’s family. Sometimes, I’m the dad, trying desperately to fight back against something so much bigger than myself, falling deeper into the dark ocean when I fail. Other times, I’m the mother – praying that some higher power will realise that this disease needs stopping, that so many good people could be saved if someone just intervened. In these situations, we fight for control over something we can never control, grasping for a sense of purpose or something, anything we can do to make it better. We try to fight an enemy that we feel we can never defeat.

Joel fought and won time and time again, despite all the tumours and the pain, he kept fighting and winning. Yet, he couldn’t win forever. After a long time of fighting, the little warrior was given peace. Despite all the pain and the grief that the Green family went through and are still going through, they chose to make a game. A game that highlighted the amazing moments Joel brought to their life and the devasting impact the disease can have on a family. They chose to raise awareness, to create hope and to remind people that cancer can be beaten. Hopefully, in the future, we will find a cure. We will be able to stop any family going through the agony of losing a child to this monster, allowing a little boy like Joel to grow up happy and healthy – as all children deserve to.

To anyone going through this, you are not alone. To anyone who knows someone who is, be there for them. Sometimes when we feel as if we are drowning, we need to be thrown a rope, to pull ourselves out of that abyss before it consumes us. If you can, donate to cancer research, take part in the Race For Life (like my wonderful mother did last weekend 😊) or just be a shoulder for those who need it.

Thank you to Joel and his family, for telling your story.

– CaitlinRC

Detroit Become Human – Robot Revolutions:

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For those of you that know me, you’ll be aware that I am a computer science student studying at university at the time I am writing this. For the past six years of my life, the computing industry and more specifically, Artificial Intelligence, has been a key interest of mine – touching my literary interests, my career ambitions and even my choice of video games. Obviously, I am nowhere near an expert, but I always enter games based on computational theories or methods, with a sceptical mind. This means that hacking minigames or games based in future dystopias containing robots, tend to turn my head and not always in a good way.

So, where do I come down on Detroit Become Human? Well, David Cage games and I have never really gotten on, especially considering the portrayal of their female characters – such as Maddison from Heavy Rain being limited to be a romantic interest to protagonist Ethan or attempting to force Jodie into several relationships in Beyond Two Souls. So, walking into Detroit Become Human, I was worried, to say the least.

Androids are always a … interesting topic for games to focus on.

DBH follows a similar formula to other David Cage games, in that your decisions and responses to quick time events, have a significant effect on the fate of your characters. You follow three different androids as their stories unfold and intersect with one another, with whether they survive to enjoy a happy ending being entirely dependent on your unique choices. Out of the three characters, I feel that only one of them really is worth following the story of – that being Kara.

Kara is an android owned by deadbeat dad Todd and is responsible for looking after the house and Todd’s daughter Alice. Almost immediately after the game begins, Todd’s abusive behaviour towards both Kara and Alice, causes Kara to break from her programming and flee into the night with Alice in tow, protecting the little girl from her father’s abuse – potentially killing him in the process, depending on your choices. The entirety of her character arc, is mostly about learning to be free, protecting this little girl and trying to escape the society that wishes to scrap her for parts. It is eventually revealed that Alice is also a robot but your attachment to this little one is not affected by this revelation, in fact, considering how this version of America treats androids, you want to protect her even more.

Kara’s story makes you think about the ethics of Artificial Intelligence – a subject that has been highly debated since the topic was founded. Kara and Alice clearly care deeply for one another, with Kara putting herself in danger to protect the young android, showing she is capable of love and affection and fear and bravery, raising the question about whether she deserves to be free to live her life, just like any living, breathing creature on the planet. In the ending I got, Kara and Alice manage to escape to Canada alongside their friend Luther, to live their lives without the fear that followed you for the entirety of her parts of the game.

These two genuinely care for each other and it shows from the very first level.

Then you have Connor. Connor is a detective unit of android, designed to assist with the investigation of crimes and works alongside a human who thoroughly dislikes androids, who can slowly become more than just a “android created by Cyberlife” or can work to oppress his own people and ensure the androids never get the freedom that they are fighting for. Connor’s story can be sweet, his buddy cop relationship with Hank and slowly becoming more “human” is a joy to see but it doesn’t have the same emotional connection as Kara and Alice do, so it does have the better moral dilemmas such as allowing fugitives to escape or refusing to execute another android just to gain information that could help a case.

Finally, we come to Markus. He starts out as an assistance android to an old painter, who treats him kindly and they get along very well. However, disaster strikes in the form of the painter’s douche of a son whose actions cause his father to have a heart attack and blames it on Markus, resulting in him being destroyed and thrown onto the scrap heap. He survives, reassembles himself and goes on to become the leader of the revolution for android freedom. His choices can affect whether Kara escapes to Canada successfully or whether hundreds of civilians and androids die in the explosion of a dirty bomb. This use of a “minorities struggle” is where my problem with Detroit Become Human lies.

I love storytelling games, but the writer of Markus’s storyline is attempting to shove in a narrative about the fight for equality, be that in women’s rights, LGBT+ rights or the struggle that minority groups go through every day just to have something “edgy” to put on the back of the box. Normally, I’d support games that raise awareness of these issues, but this storyline doesn’t feel genuine. It feels forced in by a writer who clearly has never truly struggled in life or experienced true oppression, like so many communities in our world fight against. It cheapens the effect of this so-called “fight for freedom”, feeling more like a story gimmick than a genuine message about equality or freedom.

Oppression isn’t always obvious, it’s subtle. It comes across in the tone of someone’s voice or the subtle body language of the people you walk past on the street. It doesn’t wander around with a giant neon sign saying LOOK AT ME! We shouldn’t be taking such a critical issue such as minority group’s struggle against racism, oppression and prejudice, and turning it into a quick plot point in a video game. They. Deserve. Better.

The civil rights movement and other campaigns for equality such as Black Lives Matter, share very little except the aesthetic of “fighting for equality” with DBH. The only way the androids receive their freedom is by choosing peaceful solutions at every turn, even if it means watching as your fellow androids are gunned down for protesting peacefully. The fight for equal rights is not just about peace, it’s about people being willing to die for what they believe in such as Emily Davison diving in front of the king’s horse and becoming a martyr for the suffragette cause. David Cage claimed this game was not meant to be a political statement, meaning that the resulting storyline seems so much more shallow and makes the impact of the stories told in the game, seem worth so much less.

This scene is so emotional and this moment is well done, just a shame it was a small glimmer of good in a pile of mediocre.

In conclusion, I feel that DBH had real potential. Even the portrayal of artificial intelligence made sense in the context, though was not entirely accurate (I’ll let them off, it is a video game after all). However, the storylines they chose to follow let down their entire premise, seemingly jumping on a bandwagon of including revolutions and fights for equality in media, instead of following its own unique blend of storytelling and the consequences of our actions. Maybe next time get writers who have experienced those events, to tell the story, instead of doing it yourself Cage.

Sorry if I seem a bit harsh this week, I thought I’d go for a more realistic approach to a game that I did have hope for. Can’t always be nice after all.

Thanks,

CaitlinRC.