Moirai (video game)

Last updated

Moirai
Moirai.jpg
Steam version header art
Designer(s) Chris Johnson
Artist(s) Brad Barrett
Composer(s) John Oestmann
Platform(s) Windows, OS X, Linux
ReleaseNovember 25, 2013
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Multiplayer

Moirai was a 2013 video game created by independent developers Chris Johnson, Brad Barrett and John Oestmann. Described by the developers as an experimental game, whilst gameplay at first appears to be a narrative single-player adventure game, completion of Moirai reveals to the player that their decisions influence the experience of the next person to play the game. Moirai received analysis and reflection from critics and academics for its innovative gameplay model and moral dimensions of play. Player engagement with Moirai was marked by a high level of trolling, and a hack of the game's database led the developers to discontinue the online portion of the game in June 2017. [1]

Contents

Plot

Moirai is set in a small village where the player is informed that a woman named Julia has gone missing. The player is tasked to investigate noises coming from a local cave beyond the village. They can explore the village and speak to her neighbors to learn about Julia's story. The player is given a lantern and a knife by a pair of lumberjacks to assist them with exploring the cave. Whilst walking through the cave, players encounter a blood-stained figure wielding a lantern and a knife. The player must ask them three questions: "Why do you have blood on your overalls?", "Why do you have a knife?", and "I heard moans, what have you done?". The player then is given the option to let the figure pass or attack them.

At the end of the cave, the player finds Julia. She tells the player that she came into the cave to end her life. Julia tells the player that her husband had found a golden nugget whilst mining in the cave, but buried the nugget and disappeared. Her son had come into the cave searching for his lost father, and also met the same fate. Julia asks the player assist her in ending her life. The player may choose to kill her, or refuse to do so and seek help. Regardless of the choice, the player will be covered in blood. Upon exiting the cave, players encounter a person, who is the stand-in for the next player who will play the game. Players are required to input a response to the same three questions asked of the blood-stained figure when they entered the game, revealing that the figure they met earlier was a stand-in for the previous person that had completed the game. [2] The game then ends, with the player being told that it is up to the next player of this game to choose their fate; players are invited to input their name and email address to receive the information on the outcome of the succeeding player's decision to kill or spare them. [2]

Development

Moirai was created as a collaboration between Australian developers Chris Johnson, Brad Barrett and John Oestmann. The lead developer, Chris Johnson, was a lecturer at the School of Computer Science at the University of Adelaide and a programmer in the visual effects industry, who had worked on prior projects including the puzzle game Expand. [3] Moirai was developed over a two-month period in 2013, originally intended as an entry for the 7 Day FPS Game Jam, until time constraints motivated the developers to consider a standalone release. [4] Johnson stated "we spent a few hours on it each week between jobs, study and other projects. It took us about two months to finish the game and we tested the game over a month long period". [2]

Chris Johnson stated that Moirai was conceived an experimental title, [5] inspired by his experience watching an interactive play A Game of You by Belgian theatre performance group Ontroerend Goed. [4] [6] Described as "a game in which the rules are bent and that only become apparent as you play", the audience is invited to make comments about the appearance of other audience members isolated behind a one-way mirror, that are later revealed to be shared with the person in question. [7] Other influences included the films of Alfred Hitchcock, whose narratives frequently involve "characters in scenes where they look guilty, and look like they're going to be framed", and the social deduction video games SpyParty and Hidden In Plain Sight. [6] The title of Moirai references the Moirai of Ancient Greek religion and mythology, whose personification of fate connects to the themes of player choice in the game. [8]

Release

Player interaction in Moirai is unfiltered, leading to bizarre and obscene responses. Moirai Screenshot.jpg
Player interaction in Moirai is unfiltered, leading to bizarre and obscene responses.

Moirai was initially released for website download and Game Jolt on November 25, 2013, and for download on itch.io on February 20, 2014. The game was submitted to Steam Greenlight on July 31, 2015, [9] and released on Steam on 23 July, 2016. [10] Following its Steam release, Moirai received unexpected attention, with Chris Johnson saying that "the response from players completely exceeded our expectations". [4] Notable content creators on YouTube featured Moirai in playthrough videos, helping to boost the game's popularity, with the most popular videos by Markiplier and Jacksepticeye having 2.3 and 1.3 million views as of November 2022. [11] [12] Overall, Johnson estimates Moirai was downloaded at least 500,000 times, [13] with 10,581 total playthroughs recorded. [2]

Player interactions in Moirai were marked by a high degree of trolling and abuse. Over half (53%) of players included profanity in their responses to other players. [2] This behavior increased when Moirai launched on Steam in 2016, with Johnson struggling to manage the high demand of the game's servers and monitoring the database of player responses, which were emailed to him directly. [13] Johnson stated "I was surprised by (the surplus of toxic entries)...I think I was a little bit naive...Some of that comes because it's a free game and a lot of people who played it are kids. The other side...is people want to push the boundaries of the rules." [4]

In 2017, the Moirai server was subject to repeated attacks, including a script that flooded the game's database of player responses, requiring the developers to take down the system. [1] These efforts were later identified as the exploits of a single hacker. [13] Although the exploits were possible to fix, because the developers lacked the time, money and resources to address the many issues with the game, [4] an announcement was made on June 29, 2017 that Moirai would no longer be available on Steam and its servers would be discontinued. [1]

Reception

Reviews

Critics praised Moirai for its unique premise and gameplay, with many writers reflecting upon the moral implications presented by the player decisions and interactions in the game. Heather Alexandra of Kotaku praised the "complexity" of the moral dilemma presented in Moirai, stating "the slow realisation that you were dealing with another player all along creates a very particular sort of reflection that can't help but make you wonder how you were perceived in turn...Moirai wants you to reminds players that very few things are exactly as they seem." [8] Janine Hawkins of Vice praised the game's manipulation of player expectations, stating it "upended my presumptions and reminded me that games are constructed, and that construction can have a purpose beyond what's immediately obvious. We get used to mechanics that don't lie to us...games seldom take advantage of that." [14] Writing for The Boston Globe , Jesse Singal stated Moirai was "strange" and "compelling" and handled its themes around morality well, stating the game's twist had an enduring effect and made him think about the real-world consequences of his choices. [15] Shaun Prescott of PC Gamer praised how the game tested players' ability to react to a moral dilemma, particularly exploring "how you comport yourself when you think no-one's listening". [4] Writing for Rock Paper Shotgun , Porpentine Heartscape disagreed with the premise that Moirai was about a moral dilemma, stating the game explored the flaws of judgment and justice in creating varied outcomes based upon how well the player is able to advocate for themselves. [16]

Critics also noted Moirai possessed unexpected qualities as a horror game, [17] with Shaun Prescott of PC Gamer praising Moirai as one of the "most disturbing" and "weirdest" games on the PC. [4] Writing for CNET , Mark Serrels praised the "bizarre and unnerving" nature of the gameplay. [13] Janine Hawkins of Vice described Moirai as "wonderfully creepy", stating the game's "morbid intrigue" explained "why it has such a following among those who love unique and experimental games". [18]

Academic reception

Moirai received academic interest for its innovative qualities as an experimental game. The game was recognised for its emergent gameplay, as its narrative "is not pre-structured or pre-programmed", but emerges through unpredictable player decisions in a way that departs from storytelling techniques available in other mediums. [19] Game studies recognised several innovative elements in the game's emergent storytelling. For instance, Moirai features asynchronous interaction between players, meaning "expressions and choices are not experienced in real-time", [20] although players possess the ability to influence the experience of others after they finish the game. [21] Moirai also uses replay as a narrative device, requiring "multiple acts of play" across players to drive the ongoing chain of interactions that sustain the narrative. [22]

Moirai was also praised for exploiting ludonarrative dissonance by manipulating player expectations around the consequences of their decision-making, as players are not aware at first they are participating in a multiplayer game. [23] The revelation that these choices are not private exposes a "lack of safety" that "raises the question of how safe...choices in any game really are", given that "human experiments and interpersonal choices always entail risk". [23] However, others have critiqued that whilst Moirai can "(provide) players with the opportunity to exercise their creativity and formulate a unique reply", the open-ended and unfiltered player responses can break players' immersion with messages unrelated to the context of the game. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steam (service)</span> Video game digital distribution service

Steam is a video game digital distribution service and storefront managed by Valve Corporation. It was launched as a software client in September 2003 to provide game updates automatically for Valve's games and expanded to distributing third-party titles in late 2005. Steam offers various features, like game server matchmaking with Valve Anti-Cheat(VAC) measures, social networking, and game streaming services. Steam client's functionality include game update automation, cloud storage for game progress, and community features such as direct messaging, in-game overlay and a virtual collectable marketplace.

<i>Portal</i> (video game) 2007 video game

Portal is a 2007 puzzle platformer video game developed and published by Valve. It was released in a bundle, The Orange Box, for Windows, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and has been since ported to other systems, including Mac OS X, Linux, Android, and Nintendo Switch.

<i>Portal 2</i> 2011 video game

Portal 2 is a 2011 puzzle platformer video game developed by Valve for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The digital PC versions are distributed online by Valve's Steam service, while all retail editions are distributed by Electronic Arts. A port for the Nintendo Switch was released as part of the Portal: Companion Collection in June 2022.

<i>Alpha Protocol</i> 2010 action role-playing game

Alpha Protocol is a 2010 action role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Sega. The player assumes control of agent Michael Thorton, a new recruit at a clandestine United States agency called Alpha Protocol, which is given unlimited resources to conduct covert operations on behalf of the government. Thorton becomes a rogue agent and must unravel an international conspiracy to stop a war. Throughout the game, players must make many choices that affect the narrative. Played from a third-person perspective, players can confront enemies using firearms, gadgets, martial arts and stealth. The game features extensive customization and a dialogue stance system that allows players to select dialogues based on three different tones.

<i>The Stanley Parable</i> 2013 video game

The Stanley Parable is a 2013 story-based video game designed and written by developers Davey Wreden and William Pugh. The game carries themes such as choice in video games, the relationship between a game creator and player, and predestination/fate.

<i>Until Dawn</i> 2015 video game

Until Dawn is a 2015 interactive drama horror game developed by Supermassive Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players assume control of eight young adults who have to survive on Blackwood Mountain when their lives are threatened. The game features a butterfly effect system in which players must make choices that may change the story. All playable characters can survive or die, depending on the choices made. Players explore the environment from a third-person perspective and find clues that may help solve the mystery.

<i>Papers, Please</i> 2013 video game

Papers, Please is a puzzle simulation video game created by indie game developer Lucas Pope, developed and published through his production company, 3909 LLC. The game was released on August 8, 2013, for Microsoft Windows and OS X, for Linux on February 12, 2014, and for iOS on December 12, 2014. A port for the PlayStation Vita was announced in August 2014 and was then released on December 12, 2017. A new port for iOS as well as for Android was released in August 2022.

<i>Celeste</i> (video game) 2018 platform game

Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including Part of You, a personification of her self-doubt who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.

<i>Metro Exodus</i> 2019 video game

Metro Exodus is a 2019 first-person shooter game developed by 4A Games and published by Deep Silver. The game is the third installment in the Metro video game series, which is based on Dmitry Glukhovsky's novels. It is a sequel to Metro: Last Light and the book Metro 2035, and follows protagonist Artyom and his crew as they flee the Moscow Metro and set off with their allies on an intercontinental journey through Russia and parts of Kazakhstan on a locomotive called Aurora. The story takes place over a year, during which Artyom visits locations such as the Volga River and the Caspian Sea. The game improves on the gameplay mechanics of Last Light; it includes several miniature open world locations and has linear levels like earlier games in the series.

<i>Moon Hunters</i> 2016 video game

Moon Hunters is an action role-playing game developed and published by Kitfox Games. It was released on March 10, 2016 for Windows through the download service Steam, for Linux and OS X on April 1, for PlayStation 4 on July 19, 2016, Xbox One on July 19, 2017 and the Nintendo Switch on October 26, 2017. The game received mixed critical reception, which praised the game's unique gameplay, graphical style and storytelling, but criticized the short length and lack of combat depth.

<i>Frostpunk</i> 2018 video game

Frostpunk is a 2018 city-building survival game developed and published by 11 Bit Studios. Players take on the role of a leader in an alternate history late 19th century, in which they must build and maintain a city during a worldwide volcanic winter, managing resources, making choices on how to survive, and exploring the area outside their city for survivors, resources, or other useful items. The game features several scenarios to undertake, each with their own stories and different challenges. The main campaign adopts a three-act structure, requiring players to grapple with internal conflict and societal turmoil in a divided city, and surviving a great storm that threatens to overwhelm the city, making sacrifices and morally-grey ethical decisions along the way.

<i>The Last of Us Part I</i> 2022 video game

The Last of Us Part I is a 2022 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. A remake of the 2013 game The Last of Us, it features revised gameplay, including enhanced combat and exploration, and expanded accessibility options. Players control Joel, who is tasked with escorting the young Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States and defend her against cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated strain of the Cordyceps fungus. The game includes a remake of the 2014 expansion pack The Last of Us: Left Behind, which follows Ellie and her best friend Riley. The original game's online multiplayer mode is omitted.

<i>Noita</i> (video game) 2020 video game by Nolla Games

Noita is a platform roguelike game developed by Nolla Games. Players control a witch that can collect and cast spells in order to defeat enemies named after Finnish mythological creatures. The main game leads the player down a cave ending in a boss fight, although the game contains much more secret and supplementary content. It was released in early access for Microsoft Windows on 24 September 2019. Noita left early access as the 1.0 version was released on 15 October 2020.

<i>Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong</i> 2022 role-playing video game

Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong is a role-playing video game developed by Big Bad Wolf and published by Nacon. It was released in May 2022 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S and in September 2023 for Nintendo Switch. It is based on White Wolf Publishing's tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, and is a part of the larger World of Darkness series.

<i>The Longing</i> 2020 video game

The Longing is a 2020 point-and-click adventure game created by independent developer Studio Seufz. Set in an underground kingdom, the player controls the Shade, a creature tasked with watching over a sleeping king for 400 days. The Shade performs recreational activities, including reading and exploring, as it waits out the 400 days in real time. The in-game timer continues regardless of the player's actions but moves faster if the Shade performs certain actions inside its home, such as decorating the walls with drawings.

<i>Stray</i> (video game) 2022 video game

Stray is a 2022 adventure game developed by BlueTwelve Studio and published by Annapurna Interactive. The story follows a stray cat who falls into a walled city populated by robots, machines, and mutant bacteria, and sets out to return to the surface with the help of a drone companion, B-12. The game is presented through a third-person perspective. The player traverses the game world by leaping across platforms and climbing up obstacles, and can interact with the environment to open new paths. Using B-12, they can store items found throughout the world and hack into technology to solve puzzles. Throughout the game, the player must evade the antagonistic Zurks and Sentinels, which attempt to kill them.

<i>It Takes Two</i> (video game) 2021 video game

It Takes Two is a 2021 cooperative action-adventure game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in March 2021, and was released for Nintendo Switch in November 2022.

<i>Wildermyth</i> 2021 video game

Wildermyth is a tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Worldwalker Games. First released in 2019, the game was released in full in June 2021 for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is set to be released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in October 2024. The game received generally positive reviews upon release, with praise mostly directed at the game's use of procedural generation for storytelling.

<i>Thirsty Suitors</i> 2023 video game

Thirsty Suitors is an adventure video game developed by Outerloop Games and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game is about a young woman, Jala, who returns to her hometown for her sister's wedding and must navigate her relationships with her family and former paramours. The game was released on November 2, 2023, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Ports to Android and iOS published by Netflix is in development.

<i>Broken Roads</i> (video game) 2024 video game

Broken Roads is a 2024 video game by independent developer Drop Bear Bytes and published by Versus Evil. Described as a post-apocalyptic computer role-playing game, Broken Roads is set in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The game has been compared to non-traditional dialogue-based role-playing games, such as Disco Elysium, in featuring a mechanic described the 'Moral Compass', that responds to moral choices made by the player. The game was released on April 10, 2024, for Windows, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Johnson, Chris (29 June 2017). "Thank You and Farewell". Steam. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnson, Chris (20 January 2014). "Moirai Postmortem". Chris Johnson. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Chris (7 August 2017). "About". Chris Johnson. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Prescott, Shaun (13 July 2017). "Moirai was one of the PC's most disturbing games, and now it's gone forever". PC Gamer . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "Moirai asked the tough questions". Kill Screen . 3 December 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-12-31.
  6. 1 2 Rougeau, Michael (16 January 2014). "Making 'Moirai', a Game About Suicide and Other People". Animal New York. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  7. ↑ Llewellyn-Smith, Caspar (13 March 2013). "A Game of You - Review". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  8. 1 2 Alexandra, Heather (8 June 2017). "Moirai is an Adventure Game With a Killer Twist". Kotaku . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Steam Greenlight :: Moirai". Steam . Archived from the original on 16 November 2019.
  10. ↑ "Moirai". SteamDB. 23 July 2016. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  11. ↑ Markiplier (3 August 2016). "I CAN'T EVEN... Moirai". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  12. ↑ Jacksepticeye (25 August 2016). "WAIT FOR IT - Moirai". YouTube. Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Serrels, Mark (5 April 2018). "His video game was hacked and destroyed for the 'lulz'". CNET . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  14. ↑ Hawkins, Janine (28 October 2016). "Solve a Creepy Small Town Mystery in Moirai". Vice . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  15. ↑ Singal, Jesse (22 September 2016). "A game that challenges your moral code". The Boston Globe . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  16. ↑ Heartscape, Porpentine Charity (1 December 2013). "Live Free Play Hard: Flowers to Womans, Guns to Mans". Rock Paper Shotgun . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  17. ↑ Wilds, Anastasia (22 December 2021). "10 Best Horror Games that Don't Seem Like Horror Games at First". Screen Rant . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  18. ↑ Hawkins, Janine (6 July 2017). "A Bunch of Dicks Ruined This Wonderfully Creepy Indie Game". Vice . Archived from the original on 5 November 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  19. ↑ Jagoda, Patrick (2018). "Digital Games and Narrative". The Cambridge Companion to Narrative Theory. Cambridge University Press. pp. 231–247. ISBN   9781108639149. Archived from the original on 2022-11-05. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  20. ↑ Neto, Abel; Cardoso, Pedro; Carvalhais, Miguel (November 2020). "Asynchronous Interactions Between Players and Game World". In Martins, Nuno; Brandao, Daniel (eds.). Advances in Design and Digital Communication. Springer Series in Design and Innovation. Vol. 12. Springer. pp. 148–156. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-61671-7_14. ISBN   978-3-030-61670-0. S2CID   226317128.
  21. ↑ Spawforth, Callum; Gibbins, Nicholas; Millard, David E. (2018). "StoryMINE: A System for Multiplayer Interactive Narrative Experiences" (PDF). Interactive Storytelling. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 11318. pp. 534–543. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-04028-4_62. ISBN   978-3-030-04027-7. Archived from the original on 2022-11-05. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  22. 1 2 Imbierowicz, Eleonora Teresa (2020). "The Future, the Crisis, and the Future of Replay Story" (PDF). Studia Humanistyczne. 20 (2): 85–95. doi:10.7494/human.2021.20.2.85. S2CID   238084926. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-05. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  23. 1 2 Jagoda, Patrick (2020). Experimental Games: Critique, Play and Design in the Age of Gamification. University of Chicago Press. pp. 136–139. ISBN   9780226630038.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.