This week, I played the first episode of Life is Strange, follows Max who is a student photographer and has the power to rewind time. These episodes are available on PC, consoles and some also on mobile. The original Life is Strange game was developed by DONTNOD Entertainment, and is made for older teenagers / young adults and beyond as there are many references to language, drug use and guns / violence.
[Start screen]
For this critical play, I argue that the narrative is well-woven into the game’s mystery through the main character’s unique time rewind feature placing an emphasis on the player’s choices to ultimately control the overall plot.
Both enacting and embedded narratives are used to weave the game’s mystery with the main mechanic of time rewinding as Max is able to to redo choices in order to further interact with her environments and try out other options before sticking with one option. As a result, this mechanic of rewinding time encourages deep exploration into the clues that may be around in the world and aligns with the theme of uncovering the truth, whether about her powers, between Chloe and Nathan, and what happened to Rachel. This interplay between environmental interactions and the redo mechanic introduces a novel perspective into exploration and allows players to interact with the game world on a much deeper level than what was previously possible. For example, the first major puzzle was when the player had to make Victoria move from the steps of the dorm. However, I was stuck for at least 10 minutes before I realized I had to interact with the paint bucket as well as the sprinklers to make the paint fall on her. The time rewinding mechanics as well as environmental interaction with the sprinklers guided me towards that logical conclusion when, without the rewinding feature, I would have never figured it out.
[Me trying a million times to get Victoria to move]
In terms of architecture of the story, Life is Strange Episode 1 features time rewind loops and a traditional arc. Episode 1 follows a traditional narrative arc, with rising action, climax, and resolution which follows Max as she delves deeper into the mystery and faces increasingly difficult choices that culminate in impactful outcomes. The time rewinding mechanic creates literal loops as players must rewind time to explore different outcomes and make alternative choices. These loops contribute to a slight emergent narrative, where each decision uncovers a new path that the player can take and usually has far-reaching consequences, shaping the story in unique ways for each player. Rather, each answer leads us to different outcomes in the end (most likely, I haven’t played the full episode). For example, after dousing Victoria with paint, the player is given a choice whether they want to console her or to make fun of her. I like to think of this part as “friendship” points, as the dialogue the player receives after each action is either very positive or negative for their “friendship”. I can foresee this action having an impact on a future interaction between Max and Victoria, which follows the emergent narrative.
[Choice of dialogue when talking to Kate]
Overall, I did enjoy the game but I thought some of the mechanics were a bit overwhelming at times since there was a lot to keep track of and explore. I was not ever sure what was actually important and what was apart of the world-building. I loved the time rewinding aspect and honestly I used it a little too much on random scenes just because I wanted to test it out. However, I thought the storyline itself was alright a it followed a redundant structure (talk to people, solve a puzzle with rewind, make a major choice, repeat) although I acknowledge that it might be because I haven’t played the rest of the game.
[Environmental Interactions]
