Blog Assignment 2

The game I choose is an adventure role-playing game (RPG) called Tales of the Abyss that was developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco. The game takes place in a world called Auldrant where the world is composed of different types of fonons. Ages ago, a new type of fonon was discovered — the Seventh Fonon. Its discovery threw humanity into chaos, for if one could use the Seventh Fonon, one could learn the future. Wars over the Seventh Fonon raged across the lands, ending only when the miasma — a poison from within the planet — covered the entire world.

A fonist skilled in prophecy, Yulia, saw thousands of years into the future and foresaw a way to seal away the miasma. With the guidance of her prophecies, humanity sealed the miasma deep within the planet.

Over two thousand years passed and the world is ruled by Yulia's prophecy, known as the Score. People believe in the coming “unprecedented prosperity” promised in the Score, never straying from the path set forth in the Score, which will lead them to that prosperity. They look to the Score as revealed by the Order of Lorelei, the religion Yulia founded, and hold that the greatest virtue is to follow the Score faithfully.

Yulia's Score tells of a young man who is necessary in order to bring “unprecedented prosperity.” His name is Luke fon Fabre, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. The kingdom’s enemy, the Malkuth Empire, kidnapped him as a child. Since his return he has been confined to his family's manor for his own safety. He has no idea of the evil that now draws close.[1]

According to Wolf’s The Medium of the Video Game, the characteristics that define a video game are conflict, rules, player ability and valued outcome. The conflict in Abyss is centered on the main character, Luke fon Fabre. In the beginning he is transported with another Seven Fonist away from his home and he has to find his way back. After that Luke discovers things he didn’t know about his teacher and the world he lives in which sets up a narrative for the game as well character exposition. The rules of the game vary depending on the situation, such as when you are battling you have different items that you can only use for certain instances and you have a battle gauge that shows you when you can use special moves. Although the events in Abyss are predetermined, player ability is still there. For instance in the game you are prompted questions and choosing the answer helps determine how the situation will play out. The valued outcome is whether or not you are able to survive the game play before you reach the end of the game.

The game focuses a lot on realism, starting with the characters and world map. Abyss has the most realistic character models to date in the series as well as detailed expressions. In this game the player is allowed to explore the world freely. The world map is 3-D and you can see the different geographic climates in each territory. But while this game has a lot of realistic characteristics, sometimes it is not successful within the medium. For instance, in the world map Luke seems disproportioned to the environment around him. Also, in the beginning of the game time doesn’t seem to affect the time as in the real world. As you travel through the environment day and night aren’t defined. The only time that it is defined is when it is used to help move the plot along. For instance, one scene in the game where the party splits up and one party has to travel from Kimlasca to Malkuth while both nations are fighting is when we see them take a break and ‘rest’ for the night as it gets dark.

[1] http://tales.namco.com/abyss/