Life is strange case study [WEEK 5]

Life is strange (Square Enix 2015) is a “third-person narrative adventure games”(Square Enix 2015) following the plot of a student by the name of Max Caulfield who possesses the ability to rewind time and change the future. The game takes place in a location called Arcadia bay, Max must make her way through a complex story with many routes in the hope to save her classmates, and Arcadia bay from a terrible fate. The plot of the game has many dark and emotional moments in which the player must make very difficult decisions to get to a certain ending, there are times where picking what you think is the best choice might actually end up hurting another character or taking you down another path entirely. 

Life is strange (Square enix 2015)

 The artstyle of Life is strange is very similar to most Square enix games of the time, It is somewhat stylized realism with high detail in the skin and lighting, however the hair on the models are quite blocky and segmented. In some places the characters and lighting almost feel like old photographs, which i think is somewhat intentional considering the prevalent themes of photography throughout the game. Max is a student photographer and one of the storylines does include this plot point quite heavily. In the image below of Max and Chloe, You can see this effect very strongly, I found an image of a polaroid someone had took and i think that this effect in the game is probably created through filters to  get that sort of hazy lighting and warm undertones that are present in a lot of old polaroids. I think this is a very interesting and subtle design choice that really helps build a nostalgic feeling to the game. Another theme that is very prominent within the game is the iconography of butterflies. When the player chooses an option, very often in the top corner a butterfly will appear with the text “This action wil have consequences”, this is a reference to the butterfly effect which is a huge mechanic within the game. I think this adds a nice touch to remind the player that each decision they make will impact the future and the ending they will get.

Relationships (Fandom 2015)

How to date a polaroid (Thepolaroidblogger 2014)

As stated before, the butterfly effect plays a huge role in the gameplay of Life is strange, You are presented with many different routes to take depending on where you are on what day and who you talk to. Each one of these decisions then have sub decisions which offer you more and more branches and so on and so forth. This gives the game a very natural and interesting story that also allows the player a lot of freedom in how they approach a situation, it also encourages the player to replay the game several times to get a different ending each time. There is another mechanic in the game too, that being the rewind effect (Fandom n.d.) which allows you to go back in time to change specific outcomes, on the fandom there was a quote that explains why Square Enix decided to include this mechanic, “it emphasizes the overall theme of cause and effect as well as the butterfly effect.” this extra mechanic really demonstrates how the player drives the story forward and also gives them additional glimpses to how they can change the plot for better or for worse. Character relationships are also a big part of the story, depending on how you treat a certain character it may dictate their fate in the end of the game. Life is strange had one very famous example of this, that being the relationship between Max and her childhood friend Chloe (Fandom n.d.). As the player you are given the choice between starting a relationship with Chloe, or just remaining friends, One route will follow Max’s new relationship with Chloe, whilst the other has her pursuing another character by the name of Warren. As Chloe has a crucial role to the plot of Life is strange, this might change how the player decides to end the game.

Episode 1. Chrysalis (Square enix 2015)

Whilst Life is strange was a big benchmark game in the interactive fiction genre, there are a few other games that also follow this similar formula to equal amounts of success. One game to note that is similar is a game by Supermassive Games by the name of Until dawn (Supermassive Games 2015). Released at a similar time, the game revolves around a party of young adults staying in a mountainside lodge where they must fend for their lives. Until dawn also has heavy emphasis on the player’s relationships with other characters and decisions they make throughout the story, however your perspective in this game is not just locked to one character. This means we are able to view the story from multiple points of views and also opens up more opportunities for plot changing decisions. The decisions can be very unpredictable in both games, the choices you make are often morally grey and only develop into more serious consequences as the plot moves on, this makes the game not only more believable but also more interesting, as the ending is usually never that predictable.

Saving Josh Or Ashley ( Supermassive Games 2015)

Looking into these games its interesting to see how they implemented the Butterfly effect and how they encourage the player to choose certain options to get a desirable ending. As our game will also be following a similar formula of decisions being influenced through relationships, it is helpful to look into these benchmark games. Perhaps interacting with one character may affect your relationship with another, almost as if a certain character does not get along with another character, and you interacting with that person will change how they look at you. As well as this the branching decision trees are something we will have to make in the script writing stage, these decision trees will help decide what ending the player will get and what scenes will be necessary to get there. So not only is is important for the script writer to understand, but also the character artist, concept artist and environment artist to understand so they can figure out what artwork and assets need to be created to build that final product. Overall we chose to consider these games as an inspiration due to their popularity and efficiency of use of the multiple choice mechanic.

Bibliography -

Games-

Square Enix, 2015. Life is strange [online], PC. Square Enix. Available at: https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-gb/games/life-is-strange-remastered-collection   [Accessed 26 October 2024]. 

Supermassive Games, 2015. Until Dawn [online], PC. Steam. Available at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2172010/Until_Dawn/ [Accessed 26 October 2024]. 

Websites -

Fandom, No date. Max and chloe (Online).Life is strange Fandom. Available at: https://life-is-strange.fandom.com/wiki/Max_and_Chloe [Accessed 26 October 2024]. 

Fandom, No date. Rewind (Online). Life is strange Fandom. Available at : https://life-is-strange.fandom.com/wiki/Rewind#:~:text=Rewinding%20is%20one%20of%20the,well%20as%20the%20butterfly%20effect. [Accessed 26 October 2024]. 

Fandom, No date. Rewind (Online). Life is strange Fandom. Available at : https://life-is-strange.fandom.com/wiki/Rewind#:~:text=Rewinding%20is%20one%20of%20the,well%20as%20the%20butterfly%20effect. [Accessed 26 October 2024]. 

IGN, No date. Butterfly effect (Online). IGN. Available at :https://www.ign.com/wikis/until-dawn/Butterfly_Effect . [Accessed 26 October 2024]. 

Images -

Square Enix, 2015. Episode 1. Chrysalis [online]. Available via: Player theory.[Accessed 26 October 2024].

http://playertheory.com/review/life-is-strange 

Square Enix, 2015. Life is strange [online]. Available via: Microsoft [Accessed 26 October 2024].

Square Enix, 2015. Relationships [online] Available via:  Fandom.[Accessed 26 October 2024].

https://life-is-strange.fandom.com/wiki/Relationships 

Supermassive Games, 2015. Saving Josh Or Ashley [online]. Available via: Game Rant. [Accessed 26 October 2024].

https://gamerant.com/until-dawn-ps4-tips-decisions-consequences/ 

Thepolaroidblogger, 2014. How to date a polaroid [online]. Available via: My Polaroid Blog.[Accessed 26 October 2024].

https://mypolaroidblog.wordpress.com/2014/12/31/how-to-date-a-polaroid/