Two nights ago I began replaying from the beginning to get *that* ending. Once I see the epilogue slides, I can make a fair comparison.
I like how the game limits how many people you speak to in each playthrough and how no one appears entirely reliable as narrators. As I select different paths the situation feels even more grey despite it feeling *very* grey on my first PT. Chatting up Yakone in Chapter 1 during this second PT darkened the shade of grey even further.
After it becomes clear that the City was constructed as a magitechnological wonder on top of stolen indigenous lands, designed by academic technocrats off in the distance and run, in actuality, by a class of wealthy merchants and bankers who labor using legalisms that are hardly distinguishable from slavery, the ... well, the bluntness of the metaphor is certainly one that leaves me smirking.
If RPing from Yani's and Galen's point of view, they benefit hugely from being academic technocrats who are usually off in the distance, away from this broken place, so having them perpetuate this horrible system, even if it makes them somewhat uncomfortable while they are there, is what would probably happen: they are young, they are career focused, and they each need to look out for number #1 because this is only a temporary assignment. Save lives in an imperfect (horrible) system and return home to be rewarded.
... So, allowing Constance to win *while* attempting to RP this game in character sort of requires a post-game rationalization in which Yani & Galen are unlucky, or that they are incompetent for this job because they are inexperienced, or they are struck a sense of fanatical idealism. Although I need to see how the "escape with Yakone" variant of this ending plays out because there might be an additional way to RP it.
All that said, I prefer games that force the player to become aware of how their point of view (and their ideals) are complicated by the situation presented in a choice based game.
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branchandroot
Re: Endings
Date: Monday, 4 July 2016 02:31 am (UTC)I like how the game limits how many people you speak to in each playthrough and how no one appears entirely reliable as narrators. As I select different paths the situation feels even more grey despite it feeling *very* grey on my first PT. Chatting up Yakone in Chapter 1 during this second PT darkened the shade of grey even further.
After it becomes clear that the City was constructed as a magitechnological wonder on top of stolen indigenous lands, designed by academic technocrats off in the distance and run, in actuality, by a class of wealthy merchants and bankers who labor using legalisms that are hardly distinguishable from slavery, the ... well, the bluntness of the metaphor is certainly one that leaves me smirking.
If RPing from Yani's and Galen's point of view, they benefit hugely from being academic technocrats who are usually off in the distance, away from this broken place, so having them perpetuate this horrible system, even if it makes them somewhat uncomfortable while they are there, is what would probably happen: they are young, they are career focused, and they each need to look out for number #1 because this is only a temporary assignment. Save lives in an imperfect (horrible) system and return home to be rewarded.
... So, allowing Constance to win *while* attempting to RP this game in character sort of requires a post-game rationalization in which Yani & Galen are unlucky, or that they are incompetent for this job because they are inexperienced, or they are struck a sense of fanatical idealism. Although I need to see how the "escape with Yakone" variant of this ending plays out because there might be an additional way to RP it.
All that said, I prefer games that force the player to become aware of how their point of view (and their ideals) are complicated by the situation presented in a choice based game.