PLAY FIELDNOTES
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Synthesis
Session 03
Session 02
Session 01
Session | 01 before playing
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"The goal [of this session] is to identify and reflect upon the assumptions and biases you, as an observer, are bringing into the experience, as catalyzed by the games’ promotional material, introductory screen, any other descriptive or suggestive information." - Game Log Assessment
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What will I like / dislike about it?​
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What will I find interesting about it/boring or tedious about it?
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What will I need to do in it?
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What will I need to learn within it?
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What will it be like / similar to (other games I have played)​
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I am excited and nervous to play Dead in Vinland. It has a lot of the traits I enjoy (story, resource management, survival, etc.) but it may also stress me out by forcing me to make many difficult decisions.
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Session | 02 solo playthrough
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Play the game on your own: familiarize yourself with the controls, mechanics and interface; get an initial understanding of the game’s narrative and its aesthetic. Your goal is to “get a feel” for what it is asking from you, in terms of: inputs, emotion, and attention.
Note: If you use outside help at any point, make a note of that. The effort here is not to do anything “correctly”, but to diligently record whatever you do as you try to get a ‘handle’ on the game.
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a) Descriptive Notes
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b) Analytic Notes
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c) Affective Notes
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Session Fieldnotes
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This game warns you at the start that it is meant to be HARD. It takes both careful attention to the needs of your family and planning for disasters before they happen.
Session | 03 video observation
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Watch an online video of your game, either via live-streaming (Twitch.tv) or conventional video (YouTube). Get a sense of how an expert plays that game: see how they understand and react to the game and how that differs from YOUR playthrough; see what it is like to watch the game not just as a viewer, but as a mass media spectator. Again, organize your account into three kinds of notes​
a) Descriptive Notes
I watched a Let's Play by WadeStar. They are playing with the new DLC (which gives you a dog after day 5). They have played the game before, so they're playing on a harder difficulty. They delve into the difficulty settings and explained how the Random Number Generation works: the default RNG is like rolling dice (ex. the die does not remember the previous roll, and can repeat the same number again); statistical RNG is like drawing from a deck of cards (ex. once you pull the three-of-club, it is no longer in the deck) which makes the game more predictable like a game of Ascension or Dominion; and lastly, Gaussian distribution, which averages the rolls (ex. it's like rolling 2 dice and then averaging the result). WadeStar goes with default + gaussian RNG because they want to tone down the extremities of rolls, both critical hits, and critical failures. I do find it odd they did not choose Statistical after discussing about the failings of default. I'll try Statistical + gaussian next time.
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WadeStar's early actions are much like the ones I did during the tutorial; repairing (especially the shelter). They admit they did not need to fix the workbench since they have nothing to make. Kari is set to explore and apparently you can pick her focus just like you set a specific task with the crafting workbench?! How did I not notice that!? She is sent to the plains. WadeStar then goes to check everyone's stats to see which are best at scavengers. They are very surprised that Blodeuwedd is good at Scavenging (I had her set to gather water for a while, so I guess I got that right) and puts her on Shipwreck harvesting duty. Eirik is put on the workbench and to build a logging camp (but thanks to a missclick he's actually working on a gathering camp--- oops!).
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Kari finds a wild wheat patch and uses the same characters that I did. WadeStar chooses not to hunt (I did) since they have no way to cook food. I wonder if you can go back to exploration spots? Even though the raw meat made my people a bit sick, I thought it was better than going hungry...). WadeStar goes back in the morning so that's a useful mechanic-- not everything has to be reacted to, I can plan for when I have better odds in the future.
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WadeStar goes through the night cycle much as I did. They use enough water to guarantee rehydration, as the game stats are merciless enough they don't want to risk the odds only maybe recovering. They also say "use it or lose it" when looking at the raw food.
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The next day, Moira is put on the new gathering camp and Blodeuwedd is moved to water collection because it is vital. Eirik starts working on the logging camp as WadeStar had intended at the start. They go back to some of the explored areas they had left untouched the day before. WadeStar mentions that are very important to get some more characters.
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Cue Bjorn's arrival. WadeStar chooses to have Eirik speak, and he STILL gets axed by Bjorn. However, unlike my playthrough, Eirik loses 5 relationship points with Kari; on mine, Blodeuwedd GAINED 5 points with both Kari and Moira. Their approach to combat is similar to mine, though they choose to take Kari instead of Moira for the fight with the thugs (they do briefly talk about Moira's strengths, but end up going with the others anyway). They do end up choosing Moira for the fight with Bjorn in hopes that her ability will help with the forced-loss injuries. I Checked the comments section and "Toutoufe TheToutoufe" mentions that you CAN enter a fight with only one person, so I could have fought Bjorn with only Eirlik and thus would have only had one injured family member so early in the game!
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WadeStar implies that successfully gathering from explored sites helps mitigate depression. That might have saved Moira in my game. I just noticed that characters can be dropped on the hut-- could they restore their fortitude here without needing to build a napping place? Oh no! Blodeuewedd just got depressed while collecting water. WadeStar is freaking out about this and they're examining the stats thinking it has something to do with that. In doing so though, they did imply that the character traits vary game-to-game, so that adds replayability. Their unpotable water isn't full, so it wasn't that some was getting wasted. Perhaps it's from doing the same action for too long?
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They go through the night cycle like before, though they choose a different dialog choice than I did, on the one hand, they lost relationship points while I gained, BUT Eirik gained a buff while I got a debuff. Then they wrap up the video.
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Reference:
WadeStar. (2018, September 22). Dead in Vinland Let's PLay | Extreme Conditions Plus Vallhund DLC [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/pehh44aXzqQ?list=PLeN2w4mIzUWUu754qrUKgHvVlVj8UrQFG.
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b) Analytic Notes
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CHALLENGE
Choosing a Difficulty setting
Human Error: accidentally picking the wrong choice
STRATEGY
WadeStar chose a setting that toned down what they did not like about the default settings but did not change how the game was meant to behave.
WadeStar did not restart and instead rolled with it. They were able to use Moira to gather. While this set them back on wood (needed for building and fire) it did help them get fruit which caused less illness than raw fish/meat.
Chance for rewards now, or be patient for better success later?
At exploration sites, WideStar consistently chose to hold off on attempting the skill checks unless their reward was something they needed ASAP. They did not let greed cloud their judgment. Success could also lead to less depression in characters.
An impossible fight with Bjorn
"Toutoufe TheToutoufe" suggests that after you win the fight with the thugs, only take one family member into the fight with Bjorn so that you have fewer injuries.
WadeStar focused on the survival of their family and did not get into topics of race or class. Gender was addressed in how they responded/acted with characters. They did not hesitate to have Eirik take the lead during the conflict with Bjorn, and also chose more aggressive "macho" dialog options. When Blodeuwedd and Moira argued, they joked about the sisters squabbling (which, while I also saw it as sibling-rivalry, interpreted in a very different tone). Regarding the violence encountered in the episode I watched, WadeStar was not overly brash as they wanted their family to survive, so they still chose their actions carefully and did not neglect acting defensively.
c) Affective Notes
WadeStar used their previous experience playing Dead in Vinland to guide their actions; they had beaten the game previously but claimed to have not done well. Generally, WadesStar was strategic and methodical, however, they did have panicked outbursts when something wrong/unexpected happens, such as when they accidentally built the Gathering Camp prematurely, or when Blodeuwedd got depressed gathering water. Though WadeStar stayed in an excited state for a while, they were very quick to investigate WHY the unexpected had occurred. They were very happy when characters managed to succeed in skill checks, and glum-but-accepting when they failed. Since they had played the game before, they knew what to expect from Bjorn and made due.
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Our focuses aligned in our approach to the game. However, because WadeStar understood the game mechanics better than me, they were able to fine-tune their actions (such using enough water to guarantee rehydration rather than gambling with less, and deciding exactly where Kari would explore). They also assigned tasks based on character traits in addition to their skill level, which may have been why they accumulated far less depression than I did. I too was surprised when Blodeuwedd became depressed while collecting water; at first, I thought the water had reached capacity but that was not the case. WadeStar was likewise puzzled by this.
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I enjoyed watching WadeStar play. They reaffirmed I had played well when they made similar choices, and they showed that you can recover from mistakes. Their affective responses also made it more engaging, and I often found myself saying "Oh nooo" along with their panicked reactions, creating a pseudo-socialization that reminded me of taking turns playing a game with a friend on the same computer; even when it wasn't your turn, you still reacted together to what was going on. I appreciated their explanation of the different mechanics, and I am hopeful that I can use this to improve my chances of getting past Day 6 the next time I play.
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Session Fieldnotes
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WadeStar demonstrated that you must understand the underlying game mechanics to succeed in Dead in Vinland.
Research Synthesis
Dead in Vinland is a brutal survival game that relies on learning from your mistakes. You begin with a small family and if any of them perish (due to exhaustion, starvation, illness, injury, or depression) it’s Game Over. Each playthrough is slightly different and adapting to these shifts helps you perceive and understand the underlying game mechanics. The game reminds you of what you need to survive, through regular dialogue between characters and unpleasant consequences when you do not meet everyone’s needs. Topics such as gender, sexuality, race, class, and violence come up naturally as the story progresses.
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Dead in Vinland presents gender in a traditional way. The family includes Blodeuwedd, her sister (Moira), husband (Eirik), and daughter (Kari). Some of their traits and attributes reflect their genders. For example, Blodeuwedd has the “stay at home mum” trait and Eirik has the most strength points. However, the game does break these norms with Kari, who is described as very athletic and takes a hit to depression whenever her parents encourage her to be more “girl-like”. You always have the option of who leads the family; however, this can lead to sexist reactions from other characters, such as when Bjorn called my-Eirik a coward because Blodeuwedd spoke first in their encounter. To my knowledge, Dead in Vinland has no trans characters. As the game has many characters from around the globe, I am curious if they will ever introduce a Two-Spirit in downloadable content (DLC). Until then, it seems the cast is binary.
Sexuality appears very heteronormative in this game. The relationship system implies romance between characters is a possibility. Moira makes many jokes about sex and wanting a strong man in her life, so I assume you could pair her with one of the men recruited into the camp. Again, breaking with the “norm” of the rest of the characters, I predict that Kari, given her anti-feminine personality and the history of romance-storylines in other games, may be paired with a female character*; I do not know if there is a homosexual-male pairing to balance this.
I thought the game would only include European characters since you play a Viking family. Then I encountered a “Wild Girl” who belongs to the Beothuk tribe, the Indigenous people of Newfoundland. Through dialogue, I learned that she is afraid of a man she calls “Aich-mud-yim [the] Black Man”. I do not know yet if she is referring to the melanin in his skin or the colour of his heart. In the screenshots provided by Steam for the game’s DLC it shows what appears to be a Malian, a Persian, and even a Japanese character.
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Class and violence are tied together in Dead in Vinland. Soon after arrival, the family is confronted by Bjorn. He clearly rules the mysterious island through force, and you must pay tribute to avoid confronting him again before you are ready (an animosity system). However, doing so often means needing to press further away from camp, which leads to fighting with his thugs. The game encourages survival, not violence. Blodeuwedd’s biography states “She favors diplomatic approach and gentle solutions, but threaten her family and you’ll see fire in her eyes. And her axe in yours.”
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*After 25 hours of playing, I can confirm that Kari can indeed romance the "Wild Girl" shortly after they swear sisterhood (a relationship progression you do not see with many male characters in video games).
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References:
CCCP. (2018). Dead in Vinland [Computer video game]. Tourcoing: Dear Villagers.