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Paperwork, and the inhumanity of being a cog in a machine, with the machine not forcing you to do evil but rather making you very good at self-generating evil o

Paperwork, and the inhumanity of being a cog in a machine, with the machine not forcing you to do evil but rather making you very good at self-generating evil out of a desperate desire to survive. Another game with a similar take on moral choices is This War of Mine. Both are fairly serious works of literature; do not play either with the expectation that you will feel good about yourself or the human condition afterwards.

chii 9y ago
most games marketed to young adults or teens are a power fantasy - after all, they are what sells well because everyone has power fantasies, and those games fulfill them. But occasionally, a good game comes out which makes you think about the world, and evoke other kinds of emotions like papers please.
- unixhero 9y ago
  Like I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream That was an awful game.
  - iamcreasy 9y ago
    What makes it awful?
    - unixhero 9y ago
      Could have been more elaborate here. Didnt really want to explore it. Well the story and the choices you must make. The game itself is a fine work of art; but it's more exploitation than a fun adventure game. I picked up the game because I thought it would be a spiritual successor to the text based game Mind Forever Voyaging. Well it wasnt exactly that. The game gets dark fast. In fact I don't see it as a game at all, as it isn't fun other than solving puzzles that are at time grizzly. (Nsfl) I was pretty shocked at having to operate an organ/eye out of a living and awake prisoner of war in a one of the game's simulations; of a concentration camp. Another simulation you play as a female that gets violated. Screenshot: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/I_Have_No_Mouth_and_I_Must_Scream_gameplay.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/I_Have_No_Mou... "The game's story is set in a world where an evil computer named AM has destroyed all of humanity except for five people, whom he has been keeping alive and torturing for the past 109 years. Each survivor has a fatal flaw in their character, and in an attempt to crush their spirits, AM has constructed a metaphorical adventure for each that preys upon their weaknesses. To succeed in the game, the player must make choices to prove that humans are better than machines, because they have the ability to redeem themselves. Woven into the fabric of the story are ethical dilemmas dealing with issues such as insanity, rape, paranoia and genocide." Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream_(video_game) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_...
- watwut 9y ago
  Many good games are not power fantasy. There is huge category of puzzle games, dating simulators, speed based racing games that are power fantasy only if you extend the definition to cover anything. Angry birds, tetris, card solitaires, candy crush, minecraft to name easy most popular examples. Non power fantasy does not mean only a game that makes point about the world. It may mean also comedic game or Nintendo like feel good whatever.
- jorvi 9y ago
  'Spec Ops - The Line' comes to mind. The gameplay is nothing special, but it makes you face the consequences of your actions in a very brutal way.
  - rocqua 9y ago
    Chiming in, this is currently available on steam at a huge discount (€4 here).
  - sesqu 9y ago
    Because the gameplay is so poor, my experience was that it ignored my actions and presented consequences that didn't match them in the slightest.
- lucio 9y ago
  I'm not trying to alarm you, but I've watched a youtube video of a gamer playing it "unironically". After 30 minutes the guy was enjoying rejecting people and starts getting angry at characters with bad papers, insulting and rejecting them with some kind of sadistic pleasure. Pretty scary.
- sidcypher 9y ago
  The Age of Decadence is a great example, if you're on a lookout for such games. It's a non-linear RPG that lets you play a lone, vulnerable person in a brutal, unforgiving world with a rich setting and highly intricate storyline. One-on-one fights are hard enough, you-against-many usually ends with your dead body on the ground and a snarky commentary about your yet another fatal mistake.
enraged_camel 9y ago
I bought This War of Mine yesterday, but haven't dared touch it. I don't want to get depressed playing it. Will I get depressed?
- fellellor 9y ago
  Being sad and feeling such things isn't a bad thing. There's got to be a balance to everything.
  - amagumori 9y ago
    i agree. not only that, there are so many beautiful feelings to be found within the realm of "sadness". and don't let that emotional pain be a barrier to you experiencing meaningful things that'll help you grow.
- ErrantX 9y ago
  No, but you will find it sad. And I think what's more compelling is you will question the choices you make; is this really what you would do? I recommend playing it. It can be intense but incredibly powerful; simple choices like "who gets to eat today" really bring it home. Easily the best game of the last few years.
- Mithaldu 9y ago
  Probably not. Narcissu will get you depressed. War of Mine is still too mechanical.
- benologist 9y ago
  Only when you discover how short it is.
- Fradow 9y ago
  If you play it like a strategy game with not much feeling, you will not get depressed. If you get read the text, feel the emotions and really get inside the story, you will probably feel depressed. I know I did feel depressed a bit after playing it. That's actually one of the reasons I stopped after 2 playthroughs. That's still a good game, and I recommend playing it.
ekianjo 9y ago
This War of Mine isn't nearly as good or as important as Papers Please, though.

chii 9y ago

most games marketed to young adults or teens are a power fantasy - after all, they are what sells well because everyone has power fantasies, and those games fulfill them. But occasionally, a good game comes out which makes you think about the world, and evoke other kinds of emotions like papers please.

unixhero 9y ago
Like I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream That was an awful game.
- iamcreasy 9y ago
  What makes it awful?
  - unixhero 9y ago
    Could have been more elaborate here. Didnt really want to explore it. Well the story and the choices you must make. The game itself is a fine work of art; but it's more exploitation than a fun adventure game. I picked up the game because I thought it would be a spiritual successor to the text based game Mind Forever Voyaging. Well it wasnt exactly that. The game gets dark fast. In fact I don't see it as a game at all, as it isn't fun other than solving puzzles that are at time grizzly. (Nsfl) I was pretty shocked at having to operate an organ/eye out of a living and awake prisoner of war in a one of the game's simulations; of a concentration camp. Another simulation you play as a female that gets violated. Screenshot: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/I_Have_No_Mouth_and_I_Must_Scream_gameplay.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bf/I_Have_No_Mou... "The game's story is set in a world where an evil computer named AM has destroyed all of humanity except for five people, whom he has been keeping alive and torturing for the past 109 years. Each survivor has a fatal flaw in their character, and in an attempt to crush their spirits, AM has constructed a metaphorical adventure for each that preys upon their weaknesses. To succeed in the game, the player must make choices to prove that humans are better than machines, because they have the ability to redeem themselves. Woven into the fabric of the story are ethical dilemmas dealing with issues such as insanity, rape, paranoia and genocide." Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_Scream_(video_game) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Have_No_Mouth,_and_I_Must_...
watwut 9y ago
Many good games are not power fantasy. There is huge category of puzzle games, dating simulators, speed based racing games that are power fantasy only if you extend the definition to cover anything. Angry birds, tetris, card solitaires, candy crush, minecraft to name easy most popular examples. Non power fantasy does not mean only a game that makes point about the world. It may mean also comedic game or Nintendo like feel good whatever.
jorvi 9y ago
'Spec Ops - The Line' comes to mind. The gameplay is nothing special, but it makes you face the consequences of your actions in a very brutal way.
- rocqua 9y ago
  Chiming in, this is currently available on steam at a huge discount (€4 here).
- sesqu 9y ago
  Because the gameplay is so poor, my experience was that it ignored my actions and presented consequences that didn't match them in the slightest.
lucio 9y ago
I'm not trying to alarm you, but I've watched a youtube video of a gamer playing it "unironically". After 30 minutes the guy was enjoying rejecting people and starts getting angry at characters with bad papers, insulting and rejecting them with some kind of sadistic pleasure. Pretty scary.
sidcypher 9y ago
The Age of Decadence is a great example, if you're on a lookout for such games. It's a non-linear RPG that lets you play a lone, vulnerable person in a brutal, unforgiving world with a rich setting and highly intricate storyline. One-on-one fights are hard enough, you-against-many usually ends with your dead body on the ground and a snarky commentary about your yet another fatal mistake.

enraged_camel 9y ago

I bought This War of Mine yesterday, but haven't dared touch it. I don't want to get depressed playing it. Will I get depressed?

fellellor 9y ago
Being sad and feeling such things isn't a bad thing. There's got to be a balance to everything.
- amagumori 9y ago
  i agree. not only that, there are so many beautiful feelings to be found within the realm of "sadness". and don't let that emotional pain be a barrier to you experiencing meaningful things that'll help you grow.
ErrantX 9y ago
No, but you will find it sad. And I think what's more compelling is you will question the choices you make; is this really what you would do? I recommend playing it. It can be intense but incredibly powerful; simple choices like "who gets to eat today" really bring it home. Easily the best game of the last few years.
Mithaldu 9y ago
Probably not. Narcissu will get you depressed. War of Mine is still too mechanical.
benologist 9y ago
Only when you discover how short it is.
Fradow 9y ago
If you play it like a strategy game with not much feeling, you will not get depressed. If you get read the text, feel the emotions and really get inside the story, you will probably feel depressed. I know I did feel depressed a bit after playing it. That's actually one of the reasons I stopped after 2 playthroughs. That's still a good game, and I recommend playing it.

ekianjo 9y ago

This War of Mine isn't nearly as good or as important as Papers Please, though.