{"id":5464,"date":"2019-03-06T08:15:09","date_gmt":"2019-03-06T06:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/playlab.uta.fi\/?p=5464"},"modified":"2019-03-06T08:15:09","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T06:15:09","slug":"nausea-neurodiving-artistic-statement-vs-player-enjoyment-in-observer-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/nausea-neurodiving-artistic-statement-vs-player-enjoyment-in-observer-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Nausea & Neurodiving \u2013 Artistic Statement vs. Player Enjoyment in ‘Observer’ and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"
Observer <\/em><\/strong>connects with the player on an uncomfortable <\/strong>meta-level. But does that really suit a video game?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I played Observer <\/em>a while ago. I crawled through its cyberpunk hellscape in a few sessions with some friends, and it was quite a ride to say the least. Having no experience with Layers of Fear<\/em>, the previous game from Observer<\/em>\u2019s developers Bloober Team, I went into the game with zero expectations \u2013 save for the general cyberpunk aesthetic of 2084 Krakow. It turns out Observer<\/em> was not a great game per se, but rather an interesting yet often unpleasant experience.<\/p>\n

The game revolves around Daniel Lazarski, an observer \u2013 a government detective tasked with diving into the minds of people unwilling or unable to share critical information. Throughout Observer<\/em>, he travels through various subconscious environments inside the minds of Krakow\u2019s mentally scarred denizens. Outside these surreal sequences, the game incorporates Condemned<\/em>-like investigation with different vision modes for scanning the crime scenes. Both are made possible with cybernetic enhancements \u2013 a part of daily life for Daniel and most of the world around him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Holograms.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All this takes a toll on our gruff protagonist. Mind-diving and using the vision modes is very taxing to the mind and the body, and the symptoms manifest as visual static, among other cues. As a result, Daniel is dependent on synchrozine, a drug that dampens the drawbacks of the enhancements. To keep these side-effects at bay, he needs to take one pill after another on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

Aside from the side-effects themselves, just using the cybernetics is already visually quite exhausting. Two of the three vision modes scan the environment every few seconds, distorting and wobbling the screen temporarily each time. The vision modes are also draining to look at even without the scanning, especially with the pixelation effect in the electronics-focused EM mode. This, coupled with the different psychedelic landscapes explored through other people\u2019s minds, made playing Observer<\/em> feel like a marathon for the eyes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
EM Vision.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Near the end of our playthrough, we had an intriguing realization: we, as players<\/strong>, were just as addicted to the synchrozine pills as Daniel. We didn\u2019t pay attention to the effects of the game\u2019s visuals until we had already played through a large portion of it, but at that point they were very tangible. My head ached almost constantly, and I felt physically ill in ways I never had while playing a video game. This was, to varying degrees, true for everyone present (although, playing the game with a video projector and a big screen might\u2019ve been a factor). We essentially craved the synchrozine beyond the fourth wall. This created a meta-level of sorts in the game \u2013 especially because, in a way, we were ourselves diving into Daniel\u2019s head. Taking the pills had an unpleasant temporary motion blur effect as well, but it was only a minor problem in comparison.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Taking synchrozine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Besides being an interesting meta-experience and a unique commentary on addiction, this discomfort also exemplifies an interesting conflict: the value of an artistic statement against the enjoyment of players. I can\u2019t help thinking that all this meta-content may very well have been intentional, but as a game, Observer<\/em> stopped being an enjoyable experience largely due to the actual, real, physical discomfort.<\/p>\n

This discussion ties in with the question of \u201care games art\u201d, because in art, a statement made is often valued more than the audience enjoying the piece. If games are not art, and are instead considered entertainment, shouldn\u2019t they be primarily enjoyable? If games are art, how does interactivity fit in here \u2013 the player needs to be motivated to play the game to its end, right? That is, unless quitting the game prematurely is in itself a valid, perhaps even \u201ccanon\u201d experience. This is sometimes said about Dark Souls<\/em>. Then again, there are also things like interactive art installations without a definitive end goal for the audience to reach or progress through.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Bio-vision.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How about gamified experiences that are unpleasant or painful by definition \u2013 how do they relate to the \u201cart or entertainment\u201d question? More specifically, how do they relate to the role enjoyment plays in entertainment? Things like the PainStation<\/em>, a twisted version of Pong that inflicts real pain on its players. A time I played Trivial Pursuit<\/em> with extra rules involving an electronic shock roulette machine. Hell, even BDSM! Art or not? Enjoyable or not? The answer and its implications most likely depend on the person answering the question.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t try to give any answers here, since even just scratching the surface would be subjective at best. But perhaps playing Observer <\/em>really was worth it, despite actual \u201cfun\u201d being far from it in the end. After all, it sparked this whole thought process and remains an experience that I\u2019m glad I had.<\/p>\n

——————–<\/p>\n

Platforms:<\/strong> Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch
\nDeveloper:<\/strong> Bloober Team
\nPublisher:<\/strong> Aspyr
\nRelease Date:<\/strong> 15 August 2017
\nPEGI Rating:<\/strong> 16<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Observer connects with the player on an uncomfortable meta-level. But does that really suit a video game?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":5466,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[556,1039,975,388,1038,966],"class_list":["post-5464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-english","tag-games-as-art","tag-meta","tag-pc","tag-player-enjoyment","tag-player-experience","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}