Critical Play: Social Deduction

Name: Among Us

Creator: Inner Sloth (Marcus Bromander)

Platform: Mobile app

Target Audience: “the majority of Among Us players fall within the age range of 14 to 30 years old” (source)

“How does the game emphasize social deduction through its mechanics? Connect your analysis to the game’s formal elements.”

From formal elements videos and mindmap:

1. Players: The settings in an among us game are decided by the host. For the most part games have 10 players but sometimes have 15 (screenshot included below). You can join public games or make a private game for friends. In public games you are playing with people you don’t really know. This adds to the element of social deduction because players have to take what the others are saying at face value, especially at the beginning of a game.  When electing to vote someone out, if one player has even a mild conviction about another player being the imposter, then the will player being accused will almost certainly be voted out (screenshot included below). The bar for this first and second vote is extremely low. However if you are too quick to accuse people without convincing arguments then it is likely the group will turn on you and vote you out. These dynamics can be manipulated by the Imposter in order to make it seem like they are a crew member.
   1. Game rooms:
   2. Chat:
2. Objectives and Outcomes: The outcomes in the game are zero-sum, either the crew wins or the imposter(s) wins. The game ends in four scenarios: when there are equal amounts of imposters as crew members (imposter wins), when the imposter is voted out (crew wins), when crew members are able to complete all their tasks (crew wins), or when the imposter sabotages a task and crew members can’t fix the sabotage fast enough (imposter wins). The first two scenarios are a classic in social deception games and almost necessary for this genre. However the revolutionary and unique element in this game are the two other win scenarios. Crew members are running around trying to complete tasks and have a mission and purpose (screenshot of tasks included below). Even dead players have to contribute to finishing their tasks in order for this win condition to occur. This dynamic where crew members can actively do something to win beyond voting out the imposter adds a level of enjoyability and engagement that doesn’t exist in mafia and other simpler social deception games. It also makes it easier for the imposter to chase someone around and kill them without being noticed. The win condition where all tasks are completed is very rare so crew members really do have to navigate the social deception element of the game to win.
   1. Tasks:
3. Procedures and Rules: There are rules around when the voting occurs (after a dead body is reported is when an emergency meeting is called) add to the element of social deception. The person who reports a dead body is usually asked about if they saw anything and has a lot of trust at that moment. The people who call the emergency meeting will be suspected if they don’t have a strong reason for calling it. The host of the game can set a discussion time of 15+ seconds before voting commences where players text on the chat and will lead the vote towards a specific person. This forced period of time adds to the element of deception. Customizability of settings also leads to different dynamics across games (screenshot below)
   1. Settings(on the left of the image):
4. Boundaries and Magic: Boundaries are on a space ship. Imposters have the ability to hide in vents that crew can’t access. This makes it easier to kill others. All players have a flashlight though which they can see the map and others, imposters have a 50% larger flashlight. Not being able to see exactly who is around you is a key challenge for the imposter when they are trying to kill someone (screenshot below). Its hard for them to ensure they won’t be seen by someone else around the corner.
   1. Gameplay and flashlights: