In these cases, an icon pops up in the top-left area of the screen, indicating that this information can be used if the player chooses to rewind. In some conversations, Max learns information that would have been useful to know prior to the start of the conversation. In spite of this, Life Is Strange does do something interesting with dialogue that other games do not. Max chooses to be mean and vindictive, or kindhearted and, if I may, a bit of a brownnoser. What if I wanted to say something snarky to Victoria, but not be so cruel as to humiliate her over social media? Unfortunately, one cannot choose the middle ground in this given instance. There is no in-between here, though in reality, we all know multiple options would be available. For example, you can choose to humiliate Victoria by taking a photo of her covered in paint, or you can choose to comfort her. This game has been hailed as revolutionary for its methods of utilizing choice-based gaming, yet when it comes to dialogue, only so much can be done. This might seem like an obvious statement, but choice in Life Is Strange-and any game, for that matter-is limited only by the given dialogue options.
![weird illusion games weird illusion games](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/92/32/de/9232deef1b80a0a5758bfd8095bf9f0a.jpg)
I say “semi-unique” because, although DontNod has indeed created something fresh with Life Is Strange, I still stand by my previous argument: even in this game, choice is still an illusion. Each episode begins with information loaded from choices made in prior episodes, creating a story with a semi-unique experience for every player.
![weird illusion games weird illusion games](https://www.happyfacts.me/assets/img/003/929/originale/18-optical-illusions-play-games-our-brains.jpg)
If, however, Max hides the truth about Nathan, his suspicions of her are much less vested or intense. For example, if Max chooses to tell Principal Wells that she found Nathan in the girls’ bathroom with a gun in Episode One, Nathan’s attitude and behavior toward Max become increasingly hostile and dangerous throughout the rest of the game.
![weird illusion games weird illusion games](https://cdn.browsercam.com/com.vinternete.illusions-header.png)
Choice affects behavior, action, relationships, and fate. The player’s choices can create drastically different gameplay experiences in subsequent episodes. Thus, I concluded that both Bioshock and Bioshock: Infinite demonstrate the illusion of choice in gaming through their unique gameplay and storylines. Many readers responded by asking how I felt about the game, Life Is Strange, in terms of choice-based gaming, but at that point, I had not yet played it and could not offer my two cents. I am proud to say I have now played this amazing game and, boy, do I have some things to say about it.ĭontNod has done something fascinating with Life Is Strange, and it likely would not have worked if the game had been released as one big game rather than in five episodes. This article dealt with the way we players want to believe that we are in control of our choices in-game and the outcome of the game itself, yet mechanics only allow so much actual control.
![weird illusion games weird illusion games](https://mobimg.b-cdn.net/v2/fetch/39/394daf2d832500598e0dd267dcd2affd.jpeg)
I recently wrote an article titled, Bioshock and the Illusion of Choice in Gaming. Bigger things are at risk, such as the lives of Max’s peers and the fate of the town, possibly destined for destruction at the hands of an approaching tornado. But these small decisions are not what DontNod wants the player to focus on. Even minute decisions-such as whether or not she should water her plant-affect future episodes. An ambitious photography student with a recognized gift, her senior year is drastically different from that of most other teenagers: chiefly, she discovers she has the power to rewind time and alter her choices, and therefore the consequences of said choices. The player takes control of Maxine “Max” Caulfield, a quirky eighteen-year-old wallflower at the prestigious Blackwell Academy in Arcadia Bay. Released in five parts-each of which range in gameplay time from two to five hours- this game garnered a large fan base immediately after the release of Episode One: Chrysalis in January 2015. Life Is Strange is a serialized, episodic video game published by Square Enix, the makers of the famous Final Fantasy series, and developed by DontNod Entertainment. Life Is Strange: The Illusion of Choice, Part II Max and Chloe take a walk along the train tracks.