Hi everyone,
Today we brought The Dream Machine to a close, finishing the sixth and final chapter of the game. It proved to be a truly compelling ending, that, while not bringing a definite conclusion into sight, allows the player to define the final meaning of what you see. In my opinion, the ending merely proves the game’s prowess as both a psychological horror and a well-designed point and click adventure game. It forays into things that I don’t imagine many other games or developers would ever touch, and it’s a thought-provoking marvel, in my eyes. I’ll have to let it sit for a while, but it might be one of my favourite games I’ve ever played.
We also discussed chapter 3 of Galloway’s “Essays on Algorithmic Culture”, “Social Realism”. We discussed games like September 12th, Toywar, and America’s Army in relation to how a player experiences them and then takes bits of the game away in real life, i.e. startling statistics regarding how players who’ve played a lot of skill-based first-person shooters has higher accuracy than trained police officers. We also discussed the level of agency that a player has in a game, and whether or not a diegetic character has more agency than the player (which I disagreed with).
Next week’s reading is chapter four from Galloway, “Allegories of Control”.
Hope to see everyone next week,
Jacob