Los fanáticos de Beyond Arcadia: Life Is Strange hablan del juego seis años después, parte 3
Beyond Arcadia es una serie de tres partes que traza el impacto que la aventura narrativa de Dontnod de 2015 tuvo en sus jugadores. Charlamos con numerosos fanáticos de todo el mundo para descubrir cómo el juego y su historia los afectaron, tanto durante el juego como en sus vidas personales.
– Haga clic aquí para la Parte 1
– Haga clic aquí para la Parte 2
Advertencia de spoiler : este artículo contiene spoilers importantes de la historia del Life Is Strange original y spoilers generales de la franquicia Life Is Strange .
Bella
Bella, de 25 años, más conocida como Madam Bella Cosplays, se describe a sí misma como una “cosplayer, YouTuber y gamer del Reino Unido”, que también es fanática de Life Is Strange .
Me cuenta su primera partida del juego. “Vi el juego completo a la venta en Xbox One y pensé en probarlo. Al instante me atrapó el misterio detrás de la desaparición de Rachel, y me encantan los juegos basados en elecciones. Cuando se reveló que Jefferson era el villano del juego, fue algo que no esperaba en absoluto, y solo recuerdo que me quedé en shock y pensé que tenía que hacer que mi hermana jugara este juego ”, dice.
Bella disfrazada de Max Caulfield de Life Is Strange.
Bella explica los aspectos del juego que hicieron que la experiencia fuera tan atractiva. “Hubo muchos temas dentro del juego que me impactaron emocionalmente. Mucho de lo que pasó Kate Marsh con el bullying y sus pensamientos suicidas. A pesar de su impopularidad, gran parte del lado de la enfermedad mental de Nathan Prescott también me golpeó emocionalmente, y realmente lo sentí como un personaje, ya que creo que Jefferson usó su grave enfermedad para manipularlo cuando necesitaba ayuda”.
Entonces, ¿qué efecto tuvo jugar Life Is Strange en la vida de Bella? “El juego me ha impactado principalmente de manera positiva. De hecho, conocí a mi pareja con quien he estado durante casi tres años a través de Life Is Strange y nuestro interés mutuo en Nathan Prescott como personaje. He tenido mucha suerte de hacer amigos a través de Life Is Strange y de tener algunas experiencias increíbles, como incluso haber sido invitado a visitar los estudios de Dontnod en Francia, además de tener a Alejandro del equipo de Dontnod haciendo una aparición regular en algunos de los eventos de Life . Son reuniones extrañas que organizaría en convenciones en Londres”.
Parece que el equipo de Dontnod defiende los temas de sus juegos a nivel de base, entonces.
“El primer juego aún ocupa un lugar muy especial en mi corazón y otros no se han comparado con él”, me dice Bella, pero ella no siente lo mismo por Before the Storm . “Muchas de las características de algunos de los personajes establecidos, como Chloe y Nathan, simplemente no me parecían correctas. También preferí que Rachel quedara más en manos de la interpretación de los fanáticos en lugar de que la exploraran como un personaje, ya que no me gustaba mucho en ese juego debido a la manipulación bastante tóxica que tenía con Chloe. Estoy seguro de que otros pueden estar en desacuerdo, pero sentí que Rachel parecía estar usando a Chloe hasta que apareció algo mejor”.
Life Is Strange 2 tampoco logró tocar la fibra sensible de ella, y Bella solo terminó jugando el primer episodio. “No conozco a nadie que haya visto matar a un miembro de su familia frente a ellos, o que haya huido y dormido en un bosque”, dice ella. “Como nunca jugué más allá de eso, no sé si mejoró. Simplemente no tenía esa conectividad que tenía el primero. Sentí que el primer juego tenía muchos personajes con los que la gente podía relacionarse, al igual que el escenario. Todos fueron a la escuela, después de todo, y muchos de los escenarios y escenarios que sentí realmente reflejaban mucho los escenarios de la vida real. Sin embargo, interpreté al Capitán Spirit y sentí que tenía una conexión más profunda conmigo, ya que tenía esa sensación nostálgica de volver a ser un niño, jugar y un padre abusivo o alcohólico es un escenario muy real con el que siento que más personas pueden conectarse. .”
En cuanto a la experiencia, Bella puede relacionarse con los eventos de Life Is Strange , y especialmente con lo que le sucede a Kate Marsh. “Fui acosada en la escuela y la forma en que capturaron su depresión se sintió muy real. Sentí que sus tendencias suicidas también eran identificables hasta cierto punto, y siento que el lado de la salud mental de su experiencia se manejó muy bien”. Pero también puede empatizar con Nathan. “Como mencioné anteriormente, también sentí una conexión con Nathan por su enfermedad mental. Era muy vulnerable, con una condición mental severa, y creo que eso hizo que Jefferson lo manipulara y lo usara más fácilmente. Y creo que para mí, que tengo una enfermedad mental, definitivamente sentí que retrataron esto bien, ya que a menudo las personas se aprovechan de las personas vulnerables y, en algunos casos, incluso empeoran su condición”.
“Definitivamente creo que el juego abrió la conciencia sobre las enfermedades mentales y lo graves que pueden ser, y también sobre el impacto del acoso y cómo las acciones pueden tener consecuencias”, dice Bella.
Again, Dontnod clearly put a lot of thoughtfulness into its game, and Bella thinks so too in the way they created such a bespoke, all-inclusive experience. “I think the game being so open to the player’s choice, with Dontnod saying there is no official canon, was a great way to have the game, as it meant there was no right or wrong way to play it. How you shaped Max as a character was the player’s choice, and I did like how mysterious some of the characters or situations were, as it left a lot to the fans’ imaginations. I think a lot of games could learn from that, instead of milking a franchise until there’s nothing left, and, ultimately, people are potentially left disappointed [when] things aren’t as they wanted.”
A very astute observation.
Mai
Co-admin and manager of the dedicated social network and website Life Is Strange Fans, Mai is from Argentina. A creative, she tells me a bit about her background. “I am a 2D artist/concept artist working for a local videogames studio, and I also make art and write for several personal projects.”
In a similar way to other fans of the game, she didn’t know what she was letting herself in for and stumbled into the experience. “I played Life Is Strange the day it came out, honestly, out of boredom. I didn’t have much to do back then and the story seemed different and interesting, so I decided to give it a try.”
“I played episode one, and as it progressed I found myself enjoying it a lot and having some sort of connection with what the characters were going through on a personal level,” Mai tells me.
“Eventually, I reached the end of episode one, with that iconic scene of the snowflakes falling from the sky and the promise of more, and by then I was totally hooked on the story. I wanted more and more of what I had just experienced. Naturally, waiting months to continue the story weighed heavy on me. I remember some of my friends and colleagues playing it too, and there wasn’t a day we didn’t talk about the game, even if the conversations ended being about the same things. We were all very excited to see where the story would go.”
Other fans have expressed similar sentiments, and it seems that Life Is Strange was a sleeper hit for Dontnod, with those who knew about the game before or around release not expecting the level of character and world depth that was ultimately delivered.
And this is what appealed to Mai.
“I think that despite the stereotypes that have a very prominent presence through the game, the fact that the characters were so relatable in [a] unique way was what hooked me. Real struggles, real problems depicted by a game, jumping head-on into issues or situations that, generally speaking, are not talked about enough in real life, like bullying, teen suicide, mental health issues, loss and grief, was what made the game unique for each player. I personally felt compelled to keep playing as soon as more episodes were available.”
But what does Life Is Strange mean to Mai? “The game holds a very special place in my heart for several reasons. On a personal level, it helped me do a bit of introspection. I learned things about myself by experiencing the story and the game. It connected me to people in a different way. [I] made several good friends along the years in the fandom, and I do believe Life Is Strange made me grow as a person, too.”
Mai’s statement is interesting because there are those that think video games are for antisocial basement dwellers. Clearly, it’s the opposite. But it doesn’t stop there, as Life Is Strange triggered introspection in Mai. “I keep recommending everyone to play it, to find out what the game helps them see, about themselves or life itself,” she says.
“Also, as an artist and writer, it has triggered a torrent of creativity that I’ve experienced very few times with other media. This need to write or draw or do anything creative was one of the best things the game and the community itself awoke in me. Overall, my experience with the community has been positive. There have been some issues of course, it is the internet after all. But generally speaking I find Life Is Strange fans to be understanding, kind to each other and always willing to help out others in their struggle.”
Six years on from the release of the first episode of Life Is Strange, Mai ponders her feelings towards the game for me. “I feel pretty much the same about the game. With time, I started to see its flaws, of course, once you can look at it from the outside. In any case, it doesn’t diminish at all what Dontnod has accomplished with it. I hold it in a very special place, because playing it, experiencing it, interacting with the community and, most importantly, after understanding why these characters and story resonated with me so much, it has been a before and after in my life.”
I ask Mai her opinion on how the subsequent games in the series compare to the original, and her take on Before the Storm is scathing. “I found Before the Storm rushed, lacking the spirit of the original game and actually ignoring essential bits of the original story in favour of telling the story they wanted to tell, [rather] than adding to the universe. I only played it two times and decided I didn’t like it at all, for these and many other reasons. It was unfortunate because I would have loved to see things from Chloe’s perspective, but this attempt felt off,” she says.
Before the Storm was, of course, developed by Deck Nine, as opposed to Dontnod itself.
Mai continues to explain why this entry didn’t hit the spot. “Rachel lost all her mystery, Elliot was an unnecessary add-on that was pretty unbelievable and the entire plot seemed like bits and pieces glued in haste to be delivered without making any sense. At some point in the story, the focus shifted from one predominant topic, Chloe’s grief due her father’s passing and Max leaving town, to being manipulated into committing a federal crime in less than three days by a girl she barely knew. Unrealistic at best; a hot mess at worst.”
Life Is Strange 2, however, struck a more relatable tone for Mai, with its themes of discrimination and intrafamilial relationships. “It had its differences in essence with the first game for obvious reasons. The setting and the situation was completely different. Yet, in its own way, it managed to convey something very powerful,” she tells me.
“The bond between siblings is something that is not usually presented in games, and Sean and Daniel made a very believable and relatable pair. I have a younger sibling, so I deeply relate to Sean and his struggles. It is also the only game I’ve seen that bravely tackles the rampant racism and systemic issues that are a discussion topic nowadays. I related a lot to the brothers because I am Latin American, too. Representation was beautifully done in this story and highlighted political/life situations that many of us see happen all over the world, especially in America. We need more games like Life Is Strange 2; that’s basically the bottom line from me.”
Relatability to its characters, events and settings seems to be the keystone of why Life Is Strange fans remain so invested in the series. Mai explains her experience with this to me. “I find many events in Life Is Strange very relatable. Depression and anxiety being two very deep concepts. Anger, too. I personally relate a lot to Chloe. Depression and loss can manifest in a million different ways. Chloe’s way to deal with it is being angry and I saw myself in her on many occasions.”
Mai also feels the game caused her to introspect on her life. “I also related in some fashion to Kate, despite her having a very different personality. One of her lines resonated with me so much that it actually gave me pause and made me wonder why does this strike me like this? Is it something wrong with me, too?. The line was ‘I’m in a nightmare and I can’t wake up, unless I put myself to sleep.’ Anyone who has suffered from chronic depression has thought exactly that at least once through their time enduring it, but sometimes we need an exterior source to make us realise we are actually in need for help.”
Life Is Strange deals heavily with sexuality, and this also aided Mai. “In terms of gender, sexual orientation and such, it helped me understand and accept myself. I had a very long journey coming to terms with my own ‘tag’, and honestly I still am not fond of it. Love is love, and that’s the bottom line. I am very thankful for Life Is Strange and other media representing LGBT+ people, whatever tag applies. Seeing yourself represented in the media is a game changer for many of us. It’s powerful.”
Mai’s story is compelling, and it’s one that shows the power of video games as art; as an experience that appeals on a deeper, primeval level.
“As an artist, storyteller and game developer, I admire deeply what Dontnod has accomplished with their two games, and with the franchise as a whole. They are the prime example of how powerful videogames can be to tell a story, create bonds with people and prove it’s an adult medium that can respectfully tackle heavy and taboo topics in today’s society. They created two wonderful experiences in their own unique way that have helped a lot of people around the world in different ways.”
And Mai leaves me with some insightful wisdom that should be heard by more.
“[Dontnod] took a risk by representing people whose voices are not heard as much as they should be in mainstream media, whether it is people of colour, Latin people, LGBT+, struggling people, bullying victims. I’m going to repeat myself here, but we need more games like these. We need more games like Life Is Strange.”
Nanna
“I live in a small village in Germany with my mum, and I turned 18 in February,” Nanna tells me at the start of our interview. “I’m still going to school until next year to do my A-levels.” She also tells me that she’s a “huge nerd” and loves story-based games, as well as cosplay. Life Is Strange meant so much to Nanna that she even plans to get a tattoo “as soon as possible, due to the huge impact it had on me and my life.”
Like others I’ve spoken to, Nanna’s first experience with the game came when she watched a YouTube video of someone playing the game back in 2015. “Back then I was only 13, almost 14, and at that time I honestly had no idea how much this game would mean to me today. I just thought that the graphical style, game mechanics and the story were pretty neat.”
When she bought a PlayStation 4 the subsequent year, 2016, Nanna finally got her hands on the game for herself and discovered that she could relate to a lot of what was taking place on-screen. “The moment that stuck with me the most when I first experienced the game was probably the whole storyline with Kate. I myself felt suicidal back then, and therefore that struck a nerve, and I saw myself in some of the things she said.”
The community that sprung up around Life Is Strange also helped her deal with real-world issues. “The experience with the community has been very positive. It was great seeing so many people come together and share their experiences. I saw that there were a lot of people like me that also could relate to Kate, and that honestly made me feel a lot better and helped me get through a bad time.”
“For me, the first game will always be something special,” Nanna says when I ask what makes the original so unique compared to the rest of the franchise. “Overall, I was able to relate more to some of the characters and what they were going through. That said, I still loved Life Is Strange 2, but just for other reasons. I loved the story, the characters and the topics it addressed, even though I couldn’t fully relate to Daniel and Sean’s situation. What I could relate to is the feeling of loss and how you have to keep going no matter what happens in order to protect those you love.” Nanna goes on to share that she thinks Before the Storm was a good way for players to glimpse Chloe’s motivations going into the original and what she had to go through.
Courage and catharsis are other things that Dontnod has given Nanna through Life Is Strange. “My father suddenly died when I was 15 in 2017, only a few weeks before Before the Storm was released. And when I started Before the Storm and rewatched a let’s play of Life Is Strange beforehand, I could see myself in Chloe 100%. She was kind of suppressing her feelings, shutting herself off from the world, wanting to be left alone. That was the same thing I did when I was going through that loss. I felt just as alone as she did, and I could understand why she acted the way she did; why she was kind of harsh to other people.”
This only continued when the bonus episode of Before the Storm was released. “I felt super emotional again. Seeing Chloe during her last happy moments reminded me of how the situation was when my dad died. She seemed so innocent while playing with Max, and suddenly her carefree childhood was over and she had to grow up too fast, and that was the same with me. I think that that is the biggest aspect in which Life Is Strange has impacted me and my life, and because of that, the first one and the bonus episode in Before the Storm will always be something special for me.”
Powerful stuff. But the franchise not only gave her this catharsis and connection, but it gave her the courage to speak out, too. “The way the first game handled Max’s sexuality, and that topic in general, kind of helped me find the courage to come out to my mum as bisexual back in 2016.”
Vanessa
23-year-old Vanessa is a transgender woman from western Ohio.
“I first played the game after my friend showed me the game on his PC when it first came out,” Vanessa says after I ask her about her initial Life Is Strange experience. “I was still in the closet for a lot of things I didn’t even know yet until playing Life Is Strange, so the emotional impact from the game was rather impactful for me. I played the game all at once when I got my hands on it. What grabbed me at first was the relationship Max and Chloe had, until more and more of the story was introduced with the heavier material near the end, then relating to the tragedy of the characters and wanting to fix it became precedent.”
Vanessa is another person whom Life Is Strange has managed to affect in substantial ways. “I have changed for the better after playing Life Is Strange. I used to be a super-angry teenager before the game, but now I have good control over my emotions and have become a better person because of it. I have picked up photography again thanks to the game, but I can never find a functioning classic Polaroid camera. The Life Is Strange community is a very wonderful place where I have met very wonderful people. It’s just that the friendships were never lasting. Online friendships barely work for me.”
Talking about the themes of each game in the series, Vanessa gives me her thoughts. “I still replay the [original] game to this day and am actually doing another run through so I can note down problematic scenes for a streamers run through for pride month.”
“Before the Storm and Life Is Strange 2 feel different in their approaches but are still good in their own way,” she continues. “Before the Storm is a reflection on how a person can change your life for the better and then be gone the next day. It’s an important message about [the] loss of love and how to deal with grief, though Chloe doesn’t deal with it in the most helpful way. Life Is Strange 2 is also good for its approach to not only familial bonds but also the state of America and the xenophobia that plagues a majority of [the country], despite the brothers being naturally born in America.”
Vanessa empathises with Chloe’s character and the way she deals with grief over both her father and Rachel. “I have lost a lot of people in my life and I have acted rebelliously because of it,” she says.
“I’m in a better space now thanks to friends still being there for me, like how Max was for Chloe. I have also transitioned because of this game because it made me realise that I didn’t have a crush on Chloe’s character, but rather I wanted to be like Chloe’s character at the end of the game. I have been doing so for about three years openly, two years before that behind doors.”
The reach of the franchise is clearly very real, and it’s great to bring experiences such as this to light. We so often hear how video games create violence, but not how they facilitate acceptance and healing.
And Vanessa has a final message for those that feel marginalised.
“I just want every LGBTQ person that reads this interview to know that what they feel for their sexuality, gender, and/or romantic attraction is 100% valid, no matter how much it changes as they figure out who they are and who they want to be.”
Eira
My next interviewee is named Eira, and I ask her to tell me about herself. “I am a 24-year-old transgender girl from Norway,” she says. “I stream on Twitch and am currently planning on starting to study as a paramedic. I’ve also been working as a security guard for the last year.”
One point of contention between video game creators, publishers and their audience is whether letting content creators make videos of your game reduces sales, especially in story-based games. In case you haven’t seen enough evidence so far, Eira was also someone who ended up buying the game because she watched someone play it.
