Adam Smith, in The Theory of Moral Sentiments:
“Let us suppose that the great empire of China, with all its myriads of inhabitants, was suddenly swallowed up by an earthquake, and let us consider how a man of humanity in Europe, who had no sort of connection with that part of the world, would be affected upon receiving intelligence of this dreadful calamity. He would, I imagine, first of all, express very strongly his sorrow for the misfortune of that unhappy people, he would make many melancholy reflections upon the precariousness of human life, and the vanity of all the labours of man, which could thus be annihilated in a moment. He would too, perhaps, if he was a man of speculation, enter into many reasonings concerning the effects which this disaster might produce upon the commerce of Europe, and the trade and business of the world in general. And when all this fine philosophy was over, when all these humane sentiments had been once fairly expressed, he would pursue his business or his pleasure, take his repose or his diversion, with the same ease and tranquillity, as if no such accident had happened. The most frivolous disaster which could befall himself would occasion a more real disturbance. If he was to lose his little finger to-morrow, he would not sleep to-night; but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the ruin of a hundred millions of his brethren, and the destruction of that immense multitude seems plainly an object less interesting to him, than this paltry misfortune of his own.”
Regardless of the critiques one could have for Adam Smith’s philosophy (such as the ones at the core of this very game), this is a concept I think about a lot, how only the noblest and fewest of us are as driven by real tragedy as by personal issues. The unfortunate fact is that most of us would have to lose a finger before we would raise one, and at the risk of revealing myself as a part of the morally inert masses, this is what made Umurangi Generation a total miss for me. The premise seems simple, just walk around and fulfill requests for certain photos, but the real appeal is in the tragic story that’s being told in the background. There’s no direct presentation of a plot, just location after location full of details to soak in about what’s happening to this world. The environmental design and the progression of this quiet narrative are handled well, but even in the worst circumstances depicted, my little finger is still firmly on my hand. Without any personal stake or investment in what’s going on, I have a hard time caring about any of it. My friends in this story may be in terrible trouble, but they aren’t my friends, they’re the stationary and silent 3D models that have just been labeled as such. The world may be going through horrible things, but this isn’t a world I know, and I haven't been given the time or the reasons to have any connection to it. The mechanics of the core photography widen the gap between me and the world even further by introducing layer after layer of abstraction, whether that be through a time limit to take all the photos, scattering tiny little collectibles to find, or having to use very specific lenses for each shot, constantly reminding me that this is all artificial. I imagine that the game works best for the people who can draw parallels between the world of the game and the world they see around them, and thus connect to it with the same sense of reality, but as someone unable to do so, I went through it, finished it, and took my repose and diversion with the same ease and tranquillity as if it had never happened.
Addendum: This was another game taken from my suggestions list from user Cold_Comfort. Apologies for sounding fairly negative, but if a game’s unique, I would say it’s worth a look just by default, and this one certainly qualifies. I also want to give a shoutout to the developer, who actually said hi on Twitter even when I was poking fun at the game. They mentioned they used to be an armchair game critic just like me back in the day, so it was wonderful to have some assurance that I may make something worthwhile some day.
“Let us suppose that the great empire of China, with all its myriads of inhabitants, was suddenly swallowed up by an earthquake, and let us consider how a man of humanity in Europe, who had no sort of connection with that part of the world, would be affected upon receiving intelligence of this dreadful calamity. He would, I imagine, first of all, express very strongly his sorrow for the misfortune of that unhappy people, he would make many melancholy reflections upon the precariousness of human life, and the vanity of all the labours of man, which could thus be annihilated in a moment. He would too, perhaps, if he was a man of speculation, enter into many reasonings concerning the effects which this disaster might produce upon the commerce of Europe, and the trade and business of the world in general. And when all this fine philosophy was over, when all these humane sentiments had been once fairly expressed, he would pursue his business or his pleasure, take his repose or his diversion, with the same ease and tranquillity, as if no such accident had happened. The most frivolous disaster which could befall himself would occasion a more real disturbance. If he was to lose his little finger to-morrow, he would not sleep to-night; but, provided he never saw them, he will snore with the most profound security over the ruin of a hundred millions of his brethren, and the destruction of that immense multitude seems plainly an object less interesting to him, than this paltry misfortune of his own.”
Regardless of the critiques one could have for Adam Smith’s philosophy (such as the ones at the core of this very game), this is a concept I think about a lot, how only the noblest and fewest of us are as driven by real tragedy as by personal issues. The unfortunate fact is that most of us would have to lose a finger before we would raise one, and at the risk of revealing myself as a part of the morally inert masses, this is what made Umurangi Generation a total miss for me. The premise seems simple, just walk around and fulfill requests for certain photos, but the real appeal is in the tragic story that’s being told in the background. There’s no direct presentation of a plot, just location after location full of details to soak in about what’s happening to this world. The environmental design and the progression of this quiet narrative are handled well, but even in the worst circumstances depicted, my little finger is still firmly on my hand. Without any personal stake or investment in what’s going on, I have a hard time caring about any of it. My friends in this story may be in terrible trouble, but they aren’t my friends, they’re the stationary and silent 3D models that have just been labeled as such. The world may be going through horrible things, but this isn’t a world I know, and I haven't been given the time or the reasons to have any connection to it. The mechanics of the core photography widen the gap between me and the world even further by introducing layer after layer of abstraction, whether that be through a time limit to take all the photos, scattering tiny little collectibles to find, or having to use very specific lenses for each shot, constantly reminding me that this is all artificial. I imagine that the game works best for the people who can draw parallels between the world of the game and the world they see around them, and thus connect to it with the same sense of reality, but as someone unable to do so, I went through it, finished it, and took my repose and diversion with the same ease and tranquillity as if it had never happened.
Addendum: This was another game taken from my suggestions list from user Cold_Comfort. Apologies for sounding fairly negative, but if a game’s unique, I would say it’s worth a look just by default, and this one certainly qualifies. I also want to give a shoutout to the developer, who actually said hi on Twitter even when I was poking fun at the game. They mentioned they used to be an armchair game critic just like me back in the day, so it was wonderful to have some assurance that I may make something worthwhile some day.