Gameplay Journal #1

Transistor was my game of choice to play this week. Released in 2014, it was developed by Supergiant Games who started strong with their first game, Bastion. Over time, they’ve slowly cemented their reputation for having well-polished games, most notably their most recent hit, Hades. Seeing how much their games resonate with their audience, there’s something to be said about the systems of technicity.

David Tomas uses the term (technicity) in order to account for the new kinds of social and cultural relationships being formed through the use of technology.” (Kennedy & Dovey, 2006, p. 16)

If I were to describe Transistor, it would be “cool.” While I know that’s a broad term, Transistor does an excellent job of creating its atmosphere. From the sci-fi environmental/UI artwork, the characters’ fashion sense, and bringing the narrative together using the dynamic soundtrack and well-written commentary that provides enough context while also keeping certain aspects of the story more of a mystery. The environmental art and 2D art are gorgeously painted, it all blends together as one cohesive piece. The dialogue flows well, appropriate for grasping context and pinpointing when things are unnatural. The music is perfect, sometimes it quiets down so you can listen to Red’s humming and her song, it’ll intensify and change in boss fights as you go through phases. It’s dynamic, to fit where the story takes it. As a result of all of this, I’m thoroughly immersed in the atmosphere of the game.

During combat, I feel focused. I understand what the protagonists want, to take back what they’ve lost. But with so many forces against them, they need to be smart. The mechanic of stopping time to plan your moves coincides with that need. You want to live, take as few hits as possible, and quickly deal with the multitudes of enemies on the board. There’s a need to survive, and to do whatever I can to do so. I feel the need to be as efficient as possible. Get a layout of the enemies, understand how my attacks function and combo, figure out how to defeat several enemies in the time I’m allotted, then position myself in a place where I can find cover from the rest of the enemies to recharge. I must also understand how the enemies work as well, such as prioritizing support enemies to weaken the harder-hitting enemies. Given the lack of time limit to plan and ability to redoing actions are extremely helpful for ensuring you can be as efficient as possible.

5-minutes of Transistor gameplay:

Reference:

Kennedy, H. & Dovey, J. (2006) “Networks of Technicity” in Game Cultures: Computer Games as New Media. Open University Press.