Labor of Love
There's something I've been thinking about for a while. Have you ever experienced a moment of deep admiration? Have you ever stood there mouth wide open? I had a few instances of that in my life that I'll cherish forever. From a work of art, to nature, to a simple product. Today, I wanted to briefly discuss Clair Obscure: Expedition 33.
Expedition 33 is a video game celebrating what worked well a few decades ago in the RPG scene. A true labor of love. I don't play games that much anymore but a few gameplay videos and the hype brought me to it. Since the start, I couldn't put it down. For some context, I grew up with FFVII and FFVIII (although for some reason I played the VIII before the VII). Ever since, I missed the turn-based combat system and a story to get attached to. My hopes went up with Baldur's Gate 3 and went full blossom with Clair Obscure.
I've been doing an exercise during my playthrough to really understand WHY I found this game a great work of art. I recommend everyone to make an effort in distilling the reason why you truly enjoy something (e.g. a book, a movie). Little by little you'll be able to identify the underlying elements of what you greatness looks like to you. In my case, I also discovered things this game was NOT doing that I really appreciated.
The combat system is fun, but why? Turn-based systems allow you to take your time to strategize and not rely purely on reflexes and muscle memory. Knowing the order in which characters and monsters play, gives you the chance to think through your next actions. They also really nailed the dodge/parrying system. They found a way to combine active combat with turn-based exchanges. You are engaged in every fight, for every single turn, including the opponent's one. The parrying/dodging mechanism is not too harsh and you can get by even if you're not great at it (at least I did!).
The story is a true journey. As it unfolds, you start to understand that some things don't add up as smoothly as you thought (by design). You are made to believe so and so are the bad guys and you end up not being so sure who is on the wrong side of the story half-way through. It is not overly complex, you can follow along easily and it is up to you to expand further by exploring the world. To top it off, there's a strong moral choice you need to make. This opens up the conversation with other players on which decision they made and why. It forces you to stop and think not only about the game but also about human nature. I enjoy a story that puts you in a position of dilemma without giving you a straight answer (because a straight answer does not exist).
I completed the game obtaining all the achievements. To my surprise, there was no real grinding. What I mean is, I never felt the need to do the same thing over and over just to get the achievement. There's enough unique fights that you can end up at max level never really getting bored. Even the hardest challenges didn't take more than 20 minutes of attempts to pass.
Thoughts
I wish everyone the opportunity to experience pure awe for something. I still remember admiring Leonardo Da Vinci's paintings at a museum when I was a kid. And stood there wishing one day I could create something that's a clear labor of love like the one I was witnessing. Nowadays you can often tell the difference between a work done out of passion vs one done out of greed (to be fair, the distinction is not always that clear cut).
Can you think about something you were very passionate about when you were a kid? Have you found a way to bring that feeling back? Is there a chance for you to go back to it?