Time to Beat: 3 Hours
Depending on the critic, Fullbright became (in)famous for their 2013 game, Gone Home. Supporters praised it for addressing issues normally avoided in video games, while those who disliked it called it a “walking simulator” for the lack of gameplay and criticized its twist as deceptive.
Anyone who played Gone Home will find it impossible to unbiasedly evaluate Fullbright's second release, Tacoma.
The setting is 2088, on the Tacoma
Transfer Station between the Earth and the Moon. The player controls
Amy Ferrier, a woman hired to investigate the station for Venturis
Technology, the owner. Something occurred on the station rendering
it uncommunicative.
Tacoma initially appears devoid of
people. With no witnesses, Ferrier accesses the AR device. This
technology, which is connected to the station AI, ODIN, records the
position and sounds of every person on the station. With this
information Ferrier witnesses the key moments of the last three days,
searching for the system failure. Tacoma initially appears devoid of
people. The station is hub with three modules branching off from it;
personnel, biomedical, and engineering. The modules can only be
accessed in a predetermined order. Each hub is separated into two
sections, and each section include scenes. Each scene begins with a
title, but the name is only displayed for a few seconds. The
recording displays the position of the six station crew members, and
what they said. The player can control the scene with a play, pause,
rewind, and fast forward button. During each scene characters
display additional files. These include texts, emails, websites.
Often the data is corrupted, allowing only a partial view into the
crew member's personality.
Beyond acting as a witness, Tacoma
includes few opportunities for gameplay. The half-dozen puzzles are
limited in scope. It is unclear if they are required to advance the
game, or are purely optional. There are only four; find a key code,
carry an object, read some information, and find a special number.
During the exploration Ferrier visits
the bunks of the crew members. The administrator is EV St James, a
union activist, who is calm, levelheaded, and a guitar player, but
might be abusing sleeping pills. She loves operations manager, Clive
Siddiq, who is reserved and quiet. He has problems with finding a
job, because the three major solar system companies are upset with
him. There's Nat Kuroshenko, the spunky AI networker, whose access
to ODIN's programming has been limited by Venturis Technology, and
her spouse Roberta Williams, the ingenious mechanical engineer.
Andrew Dagyabis is a high-strung botanist, whose husband lives on
Earth with their adopted son. The latter is upset at his father's
distant work place. The medic, Sareh Hasmadi, is nervous, and feels
a lingering guilt and doubt over the death of a patient in 2085. The
player learns about the crew from their housing, their interactions,
their data, and their workspace. They come from diverse backgrounds,
and everyone communicates their crucial feelings with one person
off-station. They disagree often, but they share a mutual dislike
for Sergio Venturi, the CEO of Venturis Technology.
Amy Ferrier quickly discovers the source of the disturbance, and spends the rest of the game determining its ramifications. The day of the incident was Obsolescence Day, the one year anniversary of the crew on Tacoma Station. This year the celebrants felt odd, because the entire crew had been renewed, and unheard of event. As they were celebrating the station shuddered, and ODIN told the crew that orbital debris hit the station, destroying both the communication system and the oxygen system. With only fifty hours of oxygen remaining, and no rescue on the way, the crew had to configure their own solution. Ferrier slowly uncovers secrets, intrigue, and the final outcome.
It isn't easy. Venturis Technology
tells Amy to not look at all the records, but just record them. The
data is scrambled, and it looks like someone tried to wipe it.
In just three short hours Tacoma
pieces together a relevant backstory. Venturis Technology started
off as a company which specialized in artificial intelligence. They
invented eight AI systems, with a ninth to be deployed soon. Their
latest is for their current project, a series of space condos.
On Earth, current law, the Human Oversight Accord, mandates that every AI system needs to be overseen by two humans, or six if the mission lasts longer than a year. Viewing human oversight as an overly burdensome cost, Venturis tried to push its Orbital Workers Safety bill through the global congress. Unionized workers defeated it.
Tacoma features an anti corporate, pro-union message, and it also briefly considers the sentience of AI.
As for the world itself, it's easy to navigate. The station is small, and is built with a clear layout, straightforward tunnels, and signs. The visuals are acceptable, but a bit dull, with the highlight being the amorphous, brightly colored blobs of the characters.
In conclusion,
Tacoma is a short game that isn't unlike its predecessor Gone Home. The gameplay is limited to walking around an enclosed area. The characters are not quite solid, as fleshed out as a hologram can be. The story has some underdeveloped out ideas, and the mystery isn't too engaging. The ending produces its required twist, follow the reverse twist, but both aspects offer little reason for astonishment. Tacoma has no choices, minimal gameplay, and plenty of science fiction books develop similar themes for greater payoff. The resolution is abrupt, but the pieces are all there. Along with the crew and Venturis Technology, ODIN plays a significant part. In short, people who loved Gone Home may find reason enough to venture to Tacoma, but those who disliked the original will probably feel the trip unnecessary.
Recent:
The Presidential Events: September 2020 Part I of II
Relevant:
Kentucky Route Zero: Is it the Journey or the Ending that Matters, if they are Both Enigmatic?
Comments
Post a Comment