I’ve played pass the “red stage” of the game so far and have been greatly enjoying it. Gris, while being similar to a 2D side scrolling plat-former, differs in having 3D aspects of games such as needing to turn around to progress or having scenes with staircases on a different z plane than the original pathway.
If I hadn’t been told prior to playing the game that this game was related to the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief, I would not have found the connection through my first run. However, once aware, it’s quite clear with the different stages, mechanics, and background music choice as the game progresses.
I will use the first colored stage as an example of how this is shown. First the whole background changes to red. This color often relates to extreme or strong emotions, such as excitement or anger. Aside from the visual, the gameplay and sound aspects also connect to this more extreme emotion. The level is filled with high winds that prevents the player from moving in places without cover, and the new ability of turning in to a block allows players to go against that wind or destroy obstacles violently.
Life involves trauma; however, how people choose to let that trauma affect them matters and how healing occurs. Gris and Gone Home are about learning to heal from traumatic events and acceptance of oneself and others; the games are about finding love and acceptance in the darkest places, such as the underwater trench or the hidden pathways of a seemingly-abandoned home.
Writing this essay, I chose to write the thesis and final paragraph first. However, I included information that I did not want as my last paragraph, so I copied it out and applied it to my first two paragraphs. There are three main parts to see, the two compare and contrast paragraphs and the final thesis and conclusion section. In each part of the compare and contrast paragraphs, I chose to compare my two main ideas. Writing this essay, I recognized the true nature of Gone Home and Terry’s important role in the story. He is such an essential piece of the entire game, and it is somewhat disappointing that I and many others overlooked him during our playthrough.
My first impression of the game was that it had beautiful visual and audio that accompanied the players as they played through the game. I though the game was very successful in expressing ideas with the shifting scenery and style of music as you moved through the different stages.
The game starts off the main character singing, then the world collapsing and her falling down into a colorless world. The girl seems weak in the beginning, but as you progress through the game and collecting little “fragments,” you start learning different abilities and will need to use them to keep progressing and eventually complete the game.
Throughout the game, there are different challenges where you either had to grab “fragments” in a tricky spot or there’s obstacles blocking the way. The player will need to overcome the challenges with simple controls and unlock new stages with the world changing color, representing the different stages of grief. While the game is in the form of a 2D side scrolling plat-former, it does contain elements that are not straight up 2D where players will need to move in both directions to go up or down a path. The side scrolling form of this game represents how people might go through the different stages of grief, but the aspect where players might need to move backwards to progress or collect “secret” fragments shows how the stages are not simply a linear progression, and the girl in this case moves back and forth between them to overcome her challenges.
As I started to play through Gris, I had a minimal idea of the objective and meanings behind all the colors. Gris is a beautiful 2D side-scrolling platformer; the art style and soundtrack are pleasant stimulation as I play. I found out that I need to collect spheres of light that followed me (Gris) around as I explore the map. The beginning sequence showed Gris’s main character, having her world crumbling around her, and all the colors faded to white. I was left to walk onward slowly with the character’s head looking downward.
Anger: Minutes 5-45
Once Gris stumbled across the hand, she was standing on; she had an outburst with caused the color pallet of the game to swap from white and black to mainly red. The world became a desert with reoccurring sandstorms of Gris’s anger overwhelming me and throwing me back. The only option for me to move forward (to the right) was to hide from the storms of anger, or make myself heavy and slowly pushing my way through it. This stage was relatively easy and was my least favorite to play through. At this point, I had a tiny idea of what was going on, but I enjoyed the little puzzles. I noticed that when I needed to reach for the light, I had to crush a rock that had a creature inside. Upon destroying the rock, the animal ran away from me; Gris’s anger hurt someone else. When I found the hand again, the primary color changed to green.
Bargaining: Minutes 46-90
At this stage of the game, I began to fall in love with it. Walking left through the forest, I made a friend. Mini-Me liked apples; therefore, I fed him apples (obviously). This stage showcased mainly green with hints of red, demonstrating bargaining with leftover anger. The location was filled with climbing changing trees that either changed on their own or when I jumped. Upon completing the side stage and returning towards the core, I was met with an ability to glide. This allowed me to trek upward and have a run-in with the darkness I let escape when I fell into the white room. Making it to the stop, I had another run-in with the hand, which changed the primary color to blue, where Gris was depressed, an overwhelming feeling.
Depression: Minutes 91-145
Playing through this stage was probably the most enjoyable. It featured an overwhelming blue color and minimal displays of green and red. The puzzles and swimming features solidified my enjoyment of the game. I got to explore the underground cavern of Gris’s world. I had a rough time with the freezing mechanism and using it to my advantage; however, I figured it out and got to travel through the water. Again, I discovered the hand. Gris tried to sing, but she was unsuccessful. The color yellow was added to the pallet; however, yellow was not the primary color; this was only the start of her acceptance.
Acceptance: Minutes 146-220
This stage started rough. The darkness chased Gris through the deep where only small amounts of yellow light guided the way. At first, I thought I had escaped until I got chased again. I was saved by a red turtle, which means my anger guided me and saved me from the darkness. Back at the core, I explored upward. This stage showcased all the colors working together, but not harmoniously. When I finally got to singing ability, I ran around the map seeing all the plants I could uncover. I enjoyed turning the world feature, which allowed the expansion of the map and new ideas for solving the puzzles. Upon reaching the top, I was met with a stellar view where yellow was the most prominent colors: Gris was recovering.
Ending: Minutes 221-240
When I thought I was beating the game, I was met with darkness again. This darkness took all the color from the world and swallowed me with it. The screen was covered in black. When I reached the top, the world was white and black, like at the start of the game. However, this did not stop me from making my way back up to the hand to sing once again. The color was brought back to the world, and I made my way to the light pathway. That is where my gaming experience of Gris ended.
Ending Thoughts:
Gris was a game I was not expecting. It ended in such a beautiful not that I went straight to Youtube to watch a video about it. Knowing the competition was organized by the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief allowed me to focus on changing colors during my playthrough. I enjoyed noticing the hints of colors in new settings, such as the red in the bargaining stage. It demonstrated that there is no straightforward cycle of grief and that it is mixed together. Getting to learn more about the five stages of grief through Gris puts a perspective to what others are going through, especially the overwhelming feeling of depression that overtakes all other emotions. As I progressed, I noticed what affect the colors had on the layout. Red was dominant because it was the first color we experienced. Green allowed red to enter in the stage because anger does not just go away. Unlike the other colors, blue covered the entire screen when it was discovered. Finally, when yellow was introduced, it only took up the game’s background for a few moments. The way yellow was added demonstrated that acceptance does not just “click;” acceptance takes time and energy. I believe the developers chose to make a platform game to explain grief’s complicated feelings through 2D steps. Grief is not filled with simple, chronological stages. It is a mix of emotions that is not merely five stages. Gris is not a platformer like grief is not just stages, because you can expand on it and demonstrate let the other types of genres and stages influence and shape the experience.
As the moment I opened this game, the initial impression it gave it me was just one word: beauty. Yes, the arts, the color, the design of the character are so delicate that make me think I was watching a movie rather than playing a video game. It brings me not just the mindset to plat a simple game, but to feel the complex and unknown emotions the girl in the game has.
As I began moving with Gris and jumped and moved forward, I was a little bit confused what was the goal of the play, since most games I experienced before had clear purposes and standpoints. However, there was nothing I could do other than moving forward. As I kept walking, the scene was filled with red blood gradually, feeling with a depressed atmosphere, echoing with the overall artistic sadness and depression. It also made me notice that the meaning of Gris’s name that it originates from Spanish, meaning gray, somewhat symbolizing painfulness and sorrow that she went through. A sense of empathy immediately rise from my inner heart; therefore, I substitute myself as Gris to experience the rest of the story.
Then I fell from high in clouds, falling into a large scale of desserts. The color around me was no longer red, green, blue, and yellow; instead, it was only grey and white. Everything was full of depression, anger, and denial. It might be an event that Gris can never forget in her entire life or a heart knot she could never compromise with herself.
But this game is not only about emotions and story, though. As I moved along, there were various settings, space, buildings, and even underwater space. One thing that is quite unique is that Gris has to turn to square to avoid the danger in the upcoming sand storm. Many challenging but engaging skills were gradually unlocking as the game went on. As a gamer, I had to utilize different knowledge in physics to solve a variety of puzzles.
Here is a very artistic and impressive picture from the beginning of the game, which leaves me a great view on the sounding, picturing, designing effects of the game:
As the moment I opened this game, the initial impression it gave it me was just one word: beauty. Yes, the arts, the color, the design of the character are so delicate that make me think I was watching a movie rather than playing a video game. It brings me not just the mindset to plat a simple game, but to feel the complex and unknown emotions the girl in the game has.
As I began moving with Gris and jumped and moved forward, I was a little bit confused what was the goal of the play, since most games I experienced before had clear purposes and standpoints. However, there was nothing I could do other than moving forward. As I kept walking, the scene was filled with red blood gradually, feeling with a depressed atmosphere, echoing with the overall artistic sadness and depression. It also made me notice that the meaning of Gris’s name that it originates from Spanish, meaning gray, somewhat symbolizing painfulness and sorrow that she went through. A sense of empathy immediately rise from my inner heart; therefore, I substitute myself as Gris to experience the rest of the story.
Then I fell from high in clouds, falling into a large scale of desserts. The color around me was no longer red, green, blue, and yellow; instead, it was only grey and white. Everything was full of depression, anger, and denial. It might be an event that Gris can never forget in her entire life or a heart knot she could never compromise with herself.
But this game is not only about emotions and story, though. As I moved along, there were various settings, space, buildings, and even underwater space. One thing that is quite unique is that Gris has to turn to square to avoid the danger in the upcoming sand storm. Many challenging but engaging skills were gradually unlocking as the game went on. As a gamer, I had to utilize different knowledge in physics to solve a variety of puzzles.
Here is a very artistic and impressive picture from the beginning of the game, which leaves me a great view on the sounding, picturing, designing effects of the game:
As you play Gris, I’d like you to liveblog your experience just as you did with Gone Home: pause once you’ve gotten a little ways in and are starting to have a feel for how the game works and write a post where you describe what you’ve noticed so far. The game is organized by the Kübler-Ross model of the five stages of grief, so as you go through the different stages, keep pausing periodically to make note of new developments — especially how you see those five stages reflected in game play.
You might also think about the structure of the game. As I mentioned in class last week, Gris is a 2D side-scrolling platformer, but is it really? What rules of the genre have they broken or bent? Why do you think the game developers chose to make a platform game, or chose to make something that looks like a platformer but isn’t really one? What are they trying to persuade you of with those choices?
