Hypothetical Game Case Study: Returning to the City

In the game pictured on the previous page, you play the hero, the man re-entering the city. You find they've built a huge statue to you, and it, like the city itself, is in flames.

The city built a statue to you because the people there loved you. Previously in the game, they hid you and sheltered you when they found you heroically tried to liberate them from the dictator of the neighboring country, who had conquered them and oppressed them for the last 20 years.

And after you assassinated that dictator, you became their hero, and they built the statue (which you never knew about until just now).

After you killed the dictator, you didn't return to this city. Instead, the game had you do missions elsewhere in the country. What you didn't know, and what at this point in the game you're learning for the first time, is that the dictator's son took over where his father had left off. To punish this city for the aid they had earlier extended to you (at your request), the son destroyed the city and killed many of the people you knew and cared about.

Jarvis is the man who stands here waiting for you. You met him and fought him earlier in the game. He was the previous dictator's bodyguard. However, the ruthlessness of the dictator's son disgusts him. Inspired by your own integrity, he has switched sides and now will help you in your effort to kill the son.

Jarvis has a spotted past because, before changing sides, he had killed some innocent people at the dictator's request. But you're in an emotionally complex situation (see Chapter 2.15) in that you'll need his help if you're to be victorious.

In summary, there have been some very emotionally complex consequences to your actions. A city you liked was destroyed; people you cared about were killed; and an evil man has been motivated by you to switch sides and now will help you accomplish great good. You will be left wiser and deeper. This is how the Character Arc of Attaining Wisdom can be a First-Person Deepening Technique.