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Comment on Ludonarrative Harmony: what makes games unique as a medium

I know it’s a dead horse by now as I keep beating it whenever I get a chance to bring it up, but Disco Elysium is full of examples of ludonarrative consonance. Especially the Thought Cabinet (the game’s perk/trait system) has many examples of it, my favourite perhaps being the thought “White Mourning”. This deals with the protagonist dissociating and attempting to distance himself from heartbreak and trauma, and what is the game mechanical benefit? Greater zoom-out distance. The thought cabinet is full of little things like that.

But there is much more as well throughout the game, including

spoiler

the reveal in the Final Dream that the way Harry speaks - picking branching dialogue options from a list as you would in any CRPG - is abnormal and a symptom of his mental illness.

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Elevator7009@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
More reading on the Thought Cabinet. Game sounds so appealing in theory especially because of this type of mechanic but it seems way too dark and real, and makes me think “I already know this realm of suffering, I have zero interest in exploring it in fiction, I just want distance.” So instead I’ll read articles about it!

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- Wrufieotnak@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  As somebody with depression: it is dark, yes, but in a hopeful kind of way? That even at the bottom there is a light we create for is and others and we can always improve.
  
  It definitely has dark moments, but the game doesn’t wallow in it. Instead it takes the approach of: this is you at your lowest, now build yourself up.
  
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- Ashtear@piefed.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  The game does some seriously raw stuff with failed relationships that I still haven’t entirely recovered from. I still strongly recommend it, though.
  
  Lately I’ve been considering a replay as a liberal just to see all the internal commentary on it.
  
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Wrufieotnak@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Nah, I’m always up for more Disco Elysium talk!

And I don’t think I found the White Mourning thought or at least I didn’t realise that connection you explained. So thanks, another great thing to know about this awesome game.

For me the biggest thing was the skills talking to you and having their own personality but still being you. So whichever way you skilled/played your PC, the game reacted accordingly and pushed in that direction or gave you extra information because you realised something because it’s your characters special trait.

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- Coelacanth@feddit.nu ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  White Mourning is unlocked from the scene after
  
  spoiler
  reading the letter in the hidden compartment in the ledger.
  
  Hopefully you didn’t miss it as it’s quite a big moment, although I know there are people who do miss it. DE is actually quite deranged in how many pivotal moments are completely missable - the Final Dream being the best example of both super important and super easy to miss.
  
  It could also be that you never internalised White Mourning and so never saw it’s bonus?
  
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  - Wrufieotnak@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Ah yes, I definitely saw it then but didn’t internalise it.
    
    And honestly, I’m mostly still stumped that the developers decided to make a certain dialogue at the end completely optional. That takes guts. And I’m so glad I got it. It cemented the game as my best emotional game ever. Right next to Outer Wilds.
    
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