This War of Mine
A survival game where you play civilians enduring a city under siege.
Where This War of Mine comes up2 episodes and tests
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testWhy Spec Ops: The Line Mattered
Gcreator of Game Maker's Toolkit testThe Power of Invisible ChoicesThis War of Mine puts players in the role of civilians surviving a siege, not soldiers, and builds its mechanics around the experience of war rather than a power fantasy. Even small acts carry weight: stealing from an elderly couple is done slowly and by hand, which makes players feel more complicit than a menu pick would. For app builders, let the core interaction itself carry the emotional point.
- Pick a selfish option
- Guilt stays abstract
- Slowly rob an elderly couple
- Labor pulls player into guilt
By hand feels worse: player feels complicit
From Mark Brown, Game Maker's Toolkit
What was said about This War of Mine
This War of Mine builds its mechanics around surviving a siege as a civilian. The game puts you in the role of a citizen enduring a city under siege instead of a soldier. Its mechanics are built around the experience of war, not a power fantasy.
Game Maker's Toolkit cites it as one example of making the theme something the player does, alongside Papers, Please and Darkest Dungeon.
Stealing by hand in This War of Mine makes players feel complicit. The player slowly and manually steals from an elderly couple. Doing the act by hand feels worse than picking a selfish option from a menu.
The labor of the action pulls the player into the guilt instead of leaving it abstract. Mark Brown: "it makes you, the player, feel even more complicit in these awful actions."
Why Spec Ops: The Line Mattered
Makes you a citizen surviving a siege instead of a soldier, building mechanics around the experience of war.
This War of Mine builds its mechanics around surviving a siege as a civilian. The game puts you in the role of a citizen enduring a city under siege instead of a soldier. Its mechanics are built around the experience of war, not a power fantasy.
Game Maker's Toolkit cites it as one example of making the theme something the player does, alongside Papers, Please and Darkest Dungeon.
The Power of Invisible Choices
Stealing from an elderly couple by hand, slowly and manually, makes the player feel more complicit than picking it from a menu.
Stealing by hand in This War of Mine makes players feel complicit. The player slowly and manually steals from an elderly couple. Doing the act by hand feels worse than picking a selfish option from a menu.
The labor of the action pulls the player into the guilt instead of leaving it abstract. Mark Brown: "it makes you, the player, feel even more complicit in these awful actions."
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