Chelsea Aure
Professor Nicholas O’Brien
HAR-495: Beyond Triple-A
Final Paper: The Grieving Process in Triple-A & Non-Triple-A Games
16 December 2016
T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S
Introduction……………………………………………………………………….3
That Dragon, Cancer………………………………………………………………5 Brothers……………………………………………………………………………7
Compare & Contrast Conclusion Personal Anecdote Image References Works Cited
Introduction
Dealing with loss is never easy, but everyone goes through it in life. Writers, artists, screenwriters, and game developers, too, go through loss and may choose to address grief as a theme in their respective art form. For example, in loving memory of someone special to them, writers may write poetry, a memoir, or a book, artists may paint a picture or create a collage of memories, screenwriters may write a movie script based on a true story, and game designers may develop a game. Loss can come in many ways: death of a loved one, death of a friend, and even death of a pet. Sometimes death is given a timeline (prognosis of living with a disease), other times suddenly (heart attack, accidents, murder, suicide, etc.) When someone goes through loss, the grieving process takes place. The grieving process has five stages: denial and isolation, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (SOURCE). In denial and isolation, feelings of shock, numbness, and disbelief take place, and the grieving person tends to deny that death or loss actually took place. The next stage of grief is anger, and can be witnessed in different ways. Anger can be towards family, friends, God or a higher power, the world, and yourself. This stage is fueled by guilt that something could’ve been done to prevent the loved one from dying. No matter how irrational the stage of anger can be, it “is a natural response to loss”. The stage of bargaining takes place when the griever tries to bargain with God or a higher power to “do anything” to keep/bring back the deceased here on Earth. Bargaining helps the griever focus on the past so that he or she does not have to feel the pains of the present moment. At some point, the stages of grief may turn into depression, bringing upon feelings of emptiness and sadness. The experience and feelings of depression leads up to the final stage of acceptance. Acceptance does not mean that we will forget our loved one; it means that the memory of the lost loved one will be with the griever, and that the griever is ready to try and move on–– “to accommodate to this world without [the] loved one” (SOURCE). Though it seems to be standard to go through these five stages in order, the grieving process does not always happen in order, nor does every grieving person have to go through each stage. There is also “no set ‘time limit’ for the emotions of grief” (SOURCE). The grieving process more so guides those who are mourning understand where they are in terms of bereavement. Just as the five stages of grieving is a guide to those going through loss, art forms such as books, paintings, movies, and games can help those going through a tough time. These art forms with the theme of grief tend to be empathetic and somewhat therapeutic to those going through loss. Though movies, paintings, and books can move the feelings of a person going through the grieving process, games have a different way of connecting with the grieving person. Games allow the person to play through the motions of life before death occurs within the game; this can simulate what it is like to go through loss for those who have not experienced loss in real life yet. Games cannot provide the same support as psychological counseling, but they can provide perspective and simulate what the player is going through. Games are helpful in the sense that they can provide insight into what loss is like so that the player can understand the suffering of another. Games can also be an outlet for anger and confusion for those grieving for a lost loved one. Two very powerful games that focus on the theme of grief are That Dragon, Cancer and Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. That Dragon, Cancer is a non-Triple-A games that is about grief and loss, whereas Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons is a Triple-A game that is about family, and that touches on grief and loss as well. Because games are goal-oriented compared to other art forms, the two games That Dragon, Cancer and Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons can help assist (the) player(s) get through the grieving process in a healthy manner.
That Dragon, Cancer
That Dragon, Cancer is a video game based on a true story that shows grief and loss in such an honest way. The game is based on the experiences that Ryan and Amy Green went through after their son Joel was diagnosed with terminal childhood cancer. It is a point-and-click style adventure game where the player gets to explore the raw emotions the Green’s went through, and where the player gets to see the mental and emotional strength the Green’s had to put up. This game really touches the emotions of the players since the player gets to see first hand what it was like going through each stage of Joel’s terminal cancer. Even if the player has never had a friend or loved one going through cancer, this game provides an empathetic approach towards the subjects of loss and cancer through linear game play and storytelling. That Dragon, Cancer is excellent at simulating emotions through the game play, despite ever showing facial expressions from each character in the game. This is important because …The game also shows the parents’ strong faith throughout the game, as seen through Amy humming church hymns to Joel, and writing a journal entry to find God’s grace throughout the hard time she is going through (IMAGE REFERENCE). Sometimes when there is nothing medicine or technology can do to help with illness, turning to faith helps loved ones cope with what is to come, and the grief that comes with it. The stages of grief are not explicitly mentioned, but rather, are seen in scenes throughout the game. When in the room hearing the final prognosis of Joel’s cancer in the chapter, I’m Sorry Guys, It’s Not Good, the stages of denial and isolation can be seen, and accurately depicts the shock of hearing that Joel’s cancer is terminal (IMAGE REFERENCE). Sometime later in the game during the Drowning chapter when Ryan is drowning and Amy is in a boat with Joel with no oars (IMAGE REFERENCE), their fighting demonstrates the grieving stage of anger. The player may feel strong emotions of sadness for the Green family as he or she goes through Ryan and Kate’s emotional rollercoaster ride as Joel’s illness progresses. Seeing the grieving process take place in a sincere way can help a grieving player know that they are not alone and can help a non-grieving person understand what a grieving person may be going through. Additionally, seeing the end of the game as acceptance of death and afterlife can be a sign of hope for a player going through loss. It gives hope to the grieving player by that they letting him or her know the pain is not forever if they eventually learn to accept death and that their loved one is in a better place. Though That Dragon, Cancer does a good job at simulating what it is like to watch a loved one die from terminal illness, the point of view can be confusing at times. Throughout the game, the player is just an outsider looking in as the game is a point-and-click style adventure game, but the angles and point of views from which some of the scenes were shot can confuse players. For example, it can be misconstrued by the player that the game is seen through the eyes of a random duck at the very beginning of the game (IMAGE REFERENCE) and during the Drowning chapter when Ryan is in the water (IMAGE REFERENCE). Additionally, its play style can be confusing at times. Some parts dig deep into emotions of the player– like listening to a heart-wrenching voicemail from Amy to Ryan, and all of a sudden, a mini game (like go karts) takes place at the hospital (IMAGE REFERENCE). At the very least, the game could have a little bit more structure when it comes to these mini games. However, it seems as if this choice of play style was executed to illustrate the highs and lows of emotions during terminal illness. The one mini-game within That Dragon, Cancer that made actually sense and seemed to have a direct purpose in the game was when Joel’s brothers asked the parents to tell them a bedtime story. This mini-game takes place in the chapter Joel, the Baby Knight, and the storyline of the mini-game tells how Joel was a warrior fighting the dragon that was called cancer; this is where the game gets its name, as a side note. Unfortunately, no matter how hard Joel fought against the dragon and no matter how much he got help from other people within his fight in the game, the game would not end until Joel “ran out of lives” and died from the dragon’s fire (IMAGE REFERENCE). This mini-game demonstrates the stage of acceptance and how the Ryan and Amy accepted that Joel’s cancer was terminal and that no matter how hard he fought and no matter how many treatments he went through, his body would inevitably succumb to the cancer. The game also shows how the parents had to gently break the news to Joel’s siblings. Ryan and Amy use strong examples of faith and God when telling the bedtime story of Joel, the Baby Knight to their children in hopes that they, too, would bravely accept Joel’s death when the time comes.
Brothers
Another game that touches upon death and family matters is the game Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons developed by Starbreeze Studios and published by 505Games. The game Brothers is an adventure game presented from a third-person view. In the beginning, it starts off with one of the brothers, Naiee, showing respect at his mother’s tombstone and flashes back to how he could not save her from drowning because he doesn’t know how to swim. Later on, the player learns that the father is sick, and that Naiee and his older brother, Naia, must find the fountain of youth to save the father from dying. Unfortunately, as Naia and Naiee approach the fountain of youth, Naia gets killed in the process. Naiee tries to save him with the water from the fountain of youth, but it is too late. At that point, Naiee had to complete the journey after putting his older Brother to rest.
Compare & Contrast Brothers and Dragon Cancer Conclusion Personal Anecdote Image References Works Cited