Introduction
In a group of 2, we are tasked to select a PlayStation 4 game which none of us have ever played before and take turns to play it. For this task, a PlayStation 4 was borrowed to us by our Institute though we can only play it for a limited time in a provided room.
In addition to this, we are also required to look into
Yerkes-Dodson Law and
Csikzentmihalyi’s Flow Model
to explain how the game has successfully helped to increase our performance
in game, whether by creating a state of flow and to what extent did it damage it
Yerkes-Dodson Law?
The law was first described in 1908 by psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodson. They discovered that mild electrical shocks could be used to motivate rats to complete a maze, but when the electrical shocks became too strong, the rats would scurry around in random directions to escape.
In psychology, this relationship between arousal levels and performance is known as the Yerkes-Dodson Law.
The Yerkes-Dodson law suggests
"elevated stress levels can improve performance up to a certain point."
At the point when stress becomes excessive, performance diminishes.
So...More stress is better?
The key thing to remember is that this can vary from one task to the next. Research in 2007 found that performance levels decrease earlier for complex tasks than for simple tasks even with the same levels of stress.
So...it depends on the task.
Ok, then what about the
Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow Model?
This theory was penned by the American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi which states that people are the happiest when they are in the state of flow/concentration or absorbed doing their activity. The idea is similar to being “in the zone” or “in the groove”. Where every action, movement, and thought follows unconsciously from the previous feeling, for example using skills to the highest when a person is involved wholly and emotionally.
The Flow can be achieved with nine component states including "challenge-skill balance, merging of action and awareness, clarity of goals, immediate and unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task at hand, paradox of control, transformation of time, loss of self-consciousness, and autotelic experience". To achieve this there must be a balance between task and skill of the performer, both matching and high.
Mihalyi also researched on the autotelic personality, that is where a person acts a performance in order to feel the essential or natural way rewarding than to achieve external goals. These individuals possessed the traits that can learn to enjoy situations that most people would find miserable. This is associated with the personality including curiosity, persistence, and humility.
Now onto the game itself
Death Stranding (2019)
What's the game about?
Death Stranding is an action game developed by Kojima Productions. It was released by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4 in November 2019 and is recently made available to be played on Windows.
The game is set in the United States following a cataclysmic event which caused destructive creatures to begin roaming the Earth. Players control Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with delivering supplies to isolated colonies and reconnecting them via a wireless communications network. The game feature likeness from various Hollywood A-listers such as Norman Reedus, Mads Mikkelsen, Léa Seydoux and Troy Baker, Tommie Earl Jenkins, Lindsay Wagner, in addition to the likenesses of film directors Guillermo del Toro and Nicolas Winding Refn as supporting characters.
A Journey to Reconnect
a Fractured Society
In the near future, mysterious explosions have rocked the planet, setting off a series of supernatural events known as the Death Stranding. With spectral creatures plaguing the landscape, and the planet on the verge of a mass extinction, it’s up to Sam Bridges to journey across the ravaged wasteland and save mankind from impending annihilation.
Players background
Alvin
plays games often on his pc
he played some games on ps4 before on his friends ps4
Not really familiar with ps controllers.
Always used headphone during gameplays
Rahmah
Rarely plays games, only played games on PC and phone applications
Never played games on ps4
Not familiar with ps controller
Always used headphone during gameplay
The environment for playing
In a medium sized room with an air conditioner. The room contained two PS4s stations with each set up on a row of tables. During the game play session, the room is dark as it is switched off to provide more immersive gaming experience. As this is a shared session, there are distractions from other students. A standard chair is provided with a medium sized monitor.
The theme
The theme was Surrealist where they used avant-grande in art and literature releasing the creativity of the creator. This game also has a futuristic theme where it is showing as if the world is in a post-apocalyptic like state. The story was initially strange for us as it got us to question what is going on when we first pick up the game.
The characters
Sam (Norman Reedus), a reputed deliveryman on an expedition across the continental United Cities. Amelie (Emily O'Brien) following in the footsteps of UCA president-to-be. Die-Hardman (Tommie Earl Jenkins) the head of an organization named Bridges, which also employs several allies he encounters throughout his journey. Deadman (Guillermo Del Toro) one of the allies employed by the Bridges. Heartman (Nicolas Winding Refn), an AED-reliant man whose heart stops every 21 minutes. Mama (Margaret Qualley), a young woman tethered to her beached infant daughter and confined to a Bridges compound. Fragile (Léa Seydoux) a young woman Sam befriended when his journey to the west. Homo Demens figurehead Higgs (Troy Baker) the protagonist along the journey. Cliff (Mads Mikkelsen) an enigmatic that Sam having arch-rivalry with.
The graphics
"Wow, just wow"
That's our first impression when we first play the game this game. The game was created so photorealistic that on the initial cutscene we were questioning whether or not the cutscenes are live action sequences or the game footage. We soon realized that it was indeed game footage when the protagonist appeared on the screen. The game is made using a proprietary game engine made for high resolution ps4 games. The environment is beautifully created, from the grass on the hills, the lake bubbles and sky with cinematic lens flaring whenever the camera is pointing at a bright light source. The game also features moving foliage which aids in making the environment more immersive. The characters are able to appear lifelike due to the complex process of setting up camera rigs for scanning and capturing the actor/actress faces and their expressions. There are multiple close up shots in the game which showcase the level of realism that the game is able to achieve. The graphics itself did an incredible job in drawing in players. Combined with its enigmatic storyline really keeps the player invested into the game.
The music + sound effects
As the game is opting for cinematic-like experience, it also features music score. The score is noticeable as we make our way towards the hills, the second time we heard music score was when travelling in game. We do not remember which exact music was used. Although if recalled correctly, the game briefly displays the music information on screen in the way which matches the futuristic UI employed in the game. The first music that we remember hearing is “Don’t be so serious” by Low roar. The music style gives an indie film vibe which is used to set the mood for the scene. The music makes up for its lack of catchy beats and danceable tune which are common in pop music with audio effects such as reverb and synths to sound unique and interesting and in our opinion fit well with the game play.
The game mechanics
As we did not know anything about this game, we are amazed by the game mechanics that Death Stranding have. The first game mechanics that we notice is the ‘Character balance’ mechanic. We notice this when controlling the protagonist in the prologue level. When the protagonist is sprinting towards an incline or stone, he is off-balanced and if the player does not activate ‘balance’ control, the protagonist will fall on the ground. The protagonist's balance is much more important when traversing shallow rivers. Having good balance allowed us to resist the water current and be able to move through the rivers. The game indicated to us that if we lose balance when in rivers, we can be washed off by the water current
This mechanic also tied in to the protagonist's task. Throughout our gameplay, the protagonist is required to pick up and deliver items. The items can be carried on either hands or carried on the protagonist back. Another mechanic that is connected to this mechanic is ‘item weight’. There are instances where we are stacking up items, when we picked up the item, it showed us the total weight of the items. When the weight carried was approaching its limit, we started to move much slower. The protagonist owned a portable scanner. When we click to activate the scanner, it scans the terrain and will show relevant information on our screen. Such information are terrain hazard, waypoint and dropped item location with distance measured in meters.
When the character encounters mishaps the ps controller automatically vibrates, for example the vibration level of the controller increases when the character encounters the enemies or even as falling down from the hill. This triggers the sense of touch of the player at the same time warning the player that something is wrong and gives some sense of awareness of the environment while playing the game.
Game play that we experience
As none of us know anything about the game, we dive in clueless. The game did a great job of explaining the controls as the player progressed. Despite being a newbie to this game, the game progressed pretty smoothly. One of the most memorable features of the game is the cinematics. The game starts off with a cinematic cutscene which looks photo realistic. The story is presented in a way which does not not provide the entire details on what is happening, and the player slowly obtains pieces of the story as the play. This keeps the player engaged due to the eagerness to know more. The game starts off with a prologue which hid itself as a tutorial level. The players are given a simple task. As the player finishes this task, they are greeted with another cinematic in which introduces a new character along with foreshadowing on the monsters that the player will encounter. This along with the stunning scenery help to draw players in to keep playing, effectively creating a state of flow.
The gameplay feels quite fresh although it does start to wear the user out for forcing the player to walk long distances to perform a task. Due to the limited time, this started to become a negative factor of the game.
Rahmah took over to play when Alvin decided to take a break from the game, The task is relatively simple although there are obstacles that are encountered, for example hiking safely on a mountain, finding directions and the need to always manually modify the camera angle to see the path better.
Once the destination is reached, the players are shown a cutscene. Where the main character is performing the task. After that the enemies are introduced. This is the first time where the player has to face off with the enemies (the previous encounter only required the player to stand still to avoid the enemy).
As the games come to the climax when the main character encounters the enemies the player is having a panic moment trying to avoid and fight off the enemies. During this time, the panic emotions started to take over causing higher anxiety and concentration level increase. Because of the lack of skills, during the running away scene the player is heightened in arousal and heightened attention more on the game even though the player kept on damaging the performance such as the character tripped over and fell down the mountain making the BB stressed and slowed down during the mountain climbing. This also means that the emotions given are unconsciously and automatically triggering the reptilian brain for the survival instinct, that is to survive from the monster and make the BB stop crying so the monster wouldn’t come.
End
https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-yerkes-dodson-law-2796027
Calabrese EJ. Neuroscience and hormesis: Overview and general findings. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2008;38(4):249-252. doi:10.1080/10408440801981957
Yerkes RM, Dodson JD. The relation of strength of stimulus to rapidity of habit-formation. Journal of Comparative Neurology and Psychology. 1908;18(5):459–482. Reprinted by Classics in the History of Psychology. An internet resource. Christopher D. Green, York University, Toronto, Ontario
Diamond DM, et al. (2007). "The Temporal Dynamics Model of Emotional Memory Processing: A Synthesis on the Neurobiological Basis of Stress-Induced Amnesia, Flashbulb and Traumatic Memories, and the Yerkes-Dodson Law". Neural Plasticity: 33. doi:10.1155/2007/60803. PMID 17641736\
https://www.toolshero.com/psychology/flow-model-csikszentmihalyi/
https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/7/20943611/death-stranding-explainer-kojima-ps4-actors-konami-reedus-guillermo-del-toro
https://www.pushsquare.com/guides/death-stranding-all-cast-and-voice-actors
The https://www.businessinsider.com/death-stranding-characters-vs-real-life-actors-2019-5music and sounds
https://www.reddit.com/r/DeathStranding/comments/dfycnq/the_graphics_in_death_stranding_are_incredible/f36tnb0/
