For this critical play, I played Among Us.
Learning Curve
Historically, I am not a good Among Us player (or liar for that matter). Playing this game under the lens of a game designer, there were several aspects of the game mechanics that made it difficult for me to play effectively. The core function of the game as an imposter is to kill, of course, but also maintain a facade of completing crewmate tasks. Because the imposter isn’t actually completing tasks, they must learn to bluff and bluff hard—what tasks they were doing, who they saw, where they were, where they were going etc. For a new or inexperienced player, this can be incredibly difficult because I didn’t have the experience or knowledge of what would provide a good defense. I struggled to defend myself by pretending to do tasks, because I wasn’t familiar with the tasks themselves. I struggled to create a cohesive story about my location, because I didn’t know where things were or what tasks were near each other. When asked why I was in a certain area, I floundered to think of what task was in that area, what excuse I could provide. The game’s structure requires an effective imposter to not only be a good liar, but to have excellent familiarity and knowledge of the game’s map and mechanics.
As an inexperienced player, I was definitely more comfortable as a crewmate because doing the tasks themselves provided me reasoning to discuss during voting sessions. I didn’t have to think about what tasks I would have been doing, because the game prompted me to do tasks. I didn’t have to think of ways to defend why I was in a certain area or where I was, because I genuinely did have a good reason for being there. In part, there is inherent discomfort in bluffing, but I think the game’s learning curve made the act of lying and pretending much more difficult. However, there is structure that supports new players—depending on the number of people playing, there are only 1-2 imposters at a given time. So, the game provides support to newer players by means of it being unlikely to be selected as imposter, allowing players to gain experience as a crewmate and building their repertoire of knowledge.
Ethics question
Lying as part of a game does not constitute a wrong action if the premise of the game is to lie. Lying as an action is generally morally frowned upon, but when the game structure quite literally revolves around lying, bluffing/lying/deception becomes acceptable and even expected. Games that encourage lying, especially games where it is necessary to lie in order to play the game, are special exactly because the lying is necessary. In engaging with the game, players acknowledge that the premise is about lying. The bottom line for players is that everyone consents to lying and being lied to—no one is genuinely betrayed or hurt by the lying, because there was an initial expectation and agreement that lying is a necessary mechanic in the game.
