#lyrical ludology

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🗣️ Episode 1 of #LyricalLudology drops in 14 HOURS!👂🏼

I'm am so excited to finally share this podcast with you. I'm such a nerd for lyric games and the emotional power and resonance they can have

Come with me and step into this world of weird little games ✨

Find all the places to listen here: https://redcircle.com/shows/lyrical-ludology

Transcripts and links master post: https://docs.google.com/document/d/15yCm8fc6es5rGknD4For0kB6TWhq-dWY7-lSwUoXwIA/edit?usp=sharing

Link to the discord is in the master post!

I would deeply love to hear your thoughts on the pod once it airs. Feel free to @ me and/or use the Lyrical Ludology tag

Episodes will drop Tuesdays and Thursday 8am AEDT

Thank you so much to everyone who has already supported the pod and hyped it up

I can't wait!!!!

[thecoppercompendium]

Another game jam!

I recently joined the Lyrical Ludology discord server (through seeing directionless by @junkfoodgames on tumblr). directionless and many other games were part of the recent say hi to a bird jam, and as one jam finished, another was posted on the discord!

[ilyass-world]

[fireyspicyicecreamninja273728228]

KISS👌🏻

[looptc]

I'm starting to go blind what will I do

[hachiiblog]

[kb85lazy]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by purple 🟣💜 (@purples3970)

[fireyspicyicecreamninja273728228]

[renzzfuentes]

The New Generation of Games – An Analysis of Life is Strange: True Colors

Life Is Strange: True Colors is a third-person adventure video game published by Square Enix and developed by Deck Nine released on September 10, 2021. The story centers around Alex Chen, who has psychic empathy powers to read and manipulate emotions, which she perceives as colorful auras. She physically perceives how others feel around her, putting herself at risk of becoming "infected" by their feelings.

Life is Strange: True Colors defines the new generation of games and gaming. Tell me otherwise.

The Gameplay

The protagonist is controlled by the player as she explores various towns in the fictional environment of Haven Springs. She may converse with non-player characters (NPCs) through a chat system built on a dialogue tree. Players get access to Alex's skills from the start of the game. You will be able to move around Haven Springs "freely" This could point to a less linear plot or a more open universe. Regardless of the size of the world, a variety of choices can impact Alex's path and future.

To analyze the game, according to Aarseth (2012), ludology (the study of games and gaming) began as a critique of the assumption that games are just stories. He suggested that any study should include both game mechanics and symbolic aspects. He proposes a four-dimensional approach:

The World

Haven Springs, a little mining town in Colorado, is full of beauty and mystery. As senior staff writer Felice Kuan mentioned, the forced closeness of a remote village was closed on purpose to provide a place for Alex to deal with a similar difficulty with her emotional intimacy. She gets to know many people, which can be unique and increase her sense of belonging. For someone like Alex, though, this can be a big concern.

The Objects

Alex can interact with items holding memories, which are essentially audio logs that disclose more about certain characters in a variety of scripted and unscripted situations. This, in my opinion, was a terrific addition to Alex's already broad empathetic abilities. It not only aids in making choices large and small, but it also broadens Haven Springs' population's worldview.

After browsing the flower shop, I came across a t-shirt reminiscence about Riley Lethe meeting her partner during a bot-fighting competition in which she competed. When you interact with the object, you will be rewarded with a new backstory for some people, which Alex will record in her diary. Her journal has a strong resemblance to her, and it provides insight into the character you're portraying. When immersed in another person's intense emotions, she will occasionally write new lyrics or expose critical information. You can also listen to the optional memories you come across.

The Agents

Main Protagonist

Alex Chen has an unusual superpower: she can feel tremendous emotions through colorful auras surrounding her. It's not as exciting as time travel, but it goes beyond simply "reading" people. If a person's feelings are strong enough, Alex will experience them. It's almost as if she's having an out-of-body experience as she walks a mile in their shoes.

She hides her 'curse,' which is the exceptional ability to absorb and affect the emotional emotions of others. Alex has always struggled with these powers, which she sees as a curse rather than a gift. She is frequently overcome by the grief, rage, and fear of others. Throughout the story, she comes to terms with her abilities. She seeks comfort in figuring out what happened to Gabe and exposing dark secrets concealed by the town. When a True Colors character experiences a strong emotion, Alex (and the player) can see their entire body glow with a vibrant aura. Alex can hear ideas and feelings.

Side Characters

Some non-player characters will have stronger auras, indicating pain or hardship. When Alex interacts with them, the world around Alex and the individual changes to reflect aspects of the trauma. It allows the player to determine what triggered their emotions and assist Alex in providing consolation to the character.

The Events

It follows Alex, who reunites with her brother Gabe after a difficult life. Alex investigates what happened after Gabe was killed in a tragic accident. She literally senses how others feel around her by using her psychic empathy power - at the risk of becoming 'infected' by their emotions. Along the way, Alex will meet numerous residents of Haven Springs, a picturesque mountain town, including two prospective love prospects, Ryan and Steph.

What makes it "the new generation of games and gaming", then?

It is a wide range of gaming genres - a fusion, rather.

It can feel like a simulation as you socialize, interact with objects, and go about regular activities. This genre is marked by realism and is reminiscent of real-life settings (a.k.a. Haven Springs).

It is also a strategy game because of the decision-making that influences the entire plot. Players must gather and understand the information before making decisions to achieve various endings.

As a result, it may also be "Action" because players do the action through an avatar.

Role-playing is also included, allowing the player to explore and co-author a fascinating universe. A fictional, magical world is built, and players take on the role of a character, contributing to the game by learning new skills and solving puzzles.

In one scene, the entire community participates in a live action role-playing (LARP) to cheer up a sad child. My favorite part of the narrative was seeing the townsfolk dress up in costumes in locations like the town's bar. There's even a minor RPG element in that one episode, which makes the game a lot more enjoyable to play.

To conclude...

Because of the consistent writing for key and supporting characters, Life is Strange: True Colors proved to be the greatest. Furthermore, a gripping mystery plot with solid pacing, functional supernatural abilities, and, most crucially, conversation choices add more depth and complexity with big and tiny decisions that affect the story in meaningful ways across five chapters.

It's a terrific game with a fantastic story and fast-paced gameplay. It gave me the idea that every decision I made was significant. "Life is Strange: True Colors," according to Kuan, is basically about empathy. They were intrigued by how narrative games operate as empathy generators since players truly experienced another character's perspective. They planned to build on that concept and make it the game's premise. It enables the gamer to take on the role of a character, who then symbolizes the lived experiences of other characters in the game.

"There's a lot of nuances to how people experience emotion,"

Because the game designers cannot simply assert that everyone feels agony or delight, each moment is customized. The participants decide how to apply their knowledge: Do you help this person with whatever they're going through? Or do you remove that emotion – and how does that affect Alex and the other characters? "Alex's power serves as a fantastic vehicle to get into that, and we try to explore it from every angle imaginable," Deck Nine writer Jonathan Zimmerman explained.

References:

Carpenter, N. (2021, June 13). Life is Strange: True Colors shows the power of Alex’s empathy. Polygon. Retrieved from https://www.polygon.com/e3/22524888/life-is-strange-true-colors-deck-nine-e3-preview

Lyles, T. (2021, September 9). Life is Strange: True Colors – Review. IGN Southeast Asia. Retrieved from https://sea.ign.com/life-is-strange-true-colors/176328/review/life-is-strange-true-colors-review

Siapera, E. (2018) Understanding New Media. 2nd Edition. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Skrebels, J. (2021, March 19). Life Is Strange: True Colors Coming in September, No Episodic Release. IGN. Retrieved from https://sea.ign.com/news/169965/life-is-strange-true-colors-coming-in-september-no-episodic-release

Square Enix (2021). Life is Strange: True Colors. Retrieved from https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-gb/games/life-is-strange-true-colors/

[cmgm-lower6th-l1-1819]

Sept 17 - Conceptual thinking!

Morning all

So as we start moving from some analogue ludology into the digital realm it’s time to flex the muscles of your brain that deal with concepts, ideas and development.

You have 1 lesson to create some characters and assets around a song that I’m going to give you in different formats. You will have the audio, the lyrics and the video of a song.

You can take inspiration from any or all of them to create the following on Piskelapp.com (you should all have a log-in to this by now but if you’ve missed this with Chris then complete one today)

A Protagonist for your adventure

An Antagonist for them to meet

A sidekick or NPC (friendly) for your protagonist

If you complete all of these then try and work on the following as well (If you don’t get to this point in lesson then complete them at home or in your own independent study time)

An Environment for your adventure

Assets for your story (objects in the world, tools or weapons, power ups etc.)

YOU DECIDE THE STORY, YOU CHOOSE THE INSPIRATION, YOU SET THE PATH YOUR HERO TAKES! Here is you source material, click on the song titles below to jump to the external links - USE HEADPHONES PLEASE!

Audio and Video One Week

Lyrics One Week

[breathing-stories]

Finally released the finale of Lyrical Ludology Season 1!!

This journey has been such a blast, and I’m so happy I finished it off this way, even if it was delayed.

Enjoy this silly-fun bonus episode, and let me know if you play ;)

Listen here (or on your pod catcher of choice):

[breathing-stories]

The 'Say Hi to a Bird Jam' is live! 🦆

Join us for an explosion of lyric games on themes of:

- saying hi to birds 👋🏼 - something about building relationships with birds 💞 - is written by or with birds 📝 - flight, migration, nests, feathers, eggs, etc 🪺

(And remember, birds can be a metaphor for all sorts of things...)

More info on the jam page! 🕊️

https://itch.io/jam/say-hi-to-a-bird-jam

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Lyrical Ludology Guest Announcement!!

With just 2 weeks until launch, I reckon it's time to share none other than Jay Dragon ( @jdragsky ) as our first guest!

You might know Jay for games like wanderhome, Yazeba's B&B, and more - but I first knew Jay through lyric games...

Learn more about the pod and where to listen in here!: https://redcircle.com/shows/lyrical-ludology

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Shoutout to @partyofonepod for being a legend and sharing his wealth of podcasting knowledge freely with me!!

I reckon Lyrical Ludology will be all the better for it.

Have a wee logo to celebrate 😉

[breathing-stories]

Podcast Trailer drop!!

Ok I've been teasing my upcoming podcast, Lyrical Ludology, for a little while... so it's finally time to share something tangible!

So without further ado, here's the Lyrical Ludology podcast trailer on Spotify (also available on google podcasts, still working on apple).

I'd love to hear any thoughts and feedback you have :)

[breathing-stories]

3 down, I don’t remember how many to go! 😅

I’ve had 3 super juicy, very different conversations about Lyric Games with 3 excellent humans, all of whom have inspired me in one way out another. 🤩

I’m so so excited to share these chats with you via Lyrical Ludology when the time comes. But before that - editing!