A few decades ago the masses believed video games were a waste of time for lackadaisical youths to pacify themselves while ignoring their responsibilities as both kids and young adults. As more and more people started understanding the benefits of gaming so too did the perception of what a video game is and, most importantly, the benefits gaming can bestow on a person’s life changed. Hi, my name is James Bullock and I am a gamer who has spent the better part of his existence testing the laws of physics, exploring the vastness of a world ruined, and been a champion inside various arenas courtesy of digitized worlds both driven by reality and created through pure unbelievable ingenuity unlike anything seen by human eyes. And as a gamer I’ve discovered something else video games provide: life lessons. Today I examine the prime example of the power of community courtesy of “Death Stranding”.
Community Creates Bridges
After years of working on what would become one of the most celebrated franchises in gaming history known as “Metal Gear Solid”, Hideo Kojima found himself handcuffed creatively by both the series greatly associated with him and the publisher in Konami. The relationship between Kojima & Konami came to an unceremonious end that saw the final (thus far) numbered entry in the “MGS” franchise be released in an obvious unfinished form while Hideo found himself unemployed. Kojima wasn’t deterred, founding his own game studio and his first potential masterpiece featuring a familiar face as the lead that would do his best to fix a broken United States.
Kojima asks the player controlling Sam Porter Bridges (Norman Reedus) in this single player experience to deliver very important packages to various colonies holed up underground after the realms of the living & dead collided to create cataclysmic effects on the world including the arrival of “Beached Things” (BTs). Though there’s no official second player option so someone can join in and do everything in their power to keep Sam from falling head over heels after his backpack’s been loaded comically high, “Death Stranding” is actually a multiplayer experience that encourages community both in-game & beyond.
The player through Sam is able to bring communities into the “Chiral Network” and opens up more options to see what other players who are connected to the game’s server has laid down & established. Players can support their fellow Porters by leaving equipment & items for others to help them in their journey. Early in the game climbing an arduous mountainside is easier thanks to a player leaving a ladder or rope instead of repacking said items. Just like the tools available to the player is more extensive later in the game so are the things other gamers will leave behind that can make traversal both easier & more exhilarating like actual roads and zip-lines. Players have the ability to leave likes to thank those who went out of their way to be friendly to people they’ll never meet and maybe even encourage someone else to pay it forward.
“Death Standing” isn’t just a unique “action adventure” experience, it’s a testament to the power of community. When more people understand that selflessness benefits everyone more bridges are built even if said physical bridges have terminals that play various lo-fi tunes and all Conan O’Brien drinks is Monster Energy.
Have you learned any major life lessons from playing “Death Stranding” or any video game for that matter? Leave them in the comments below and, as always, thanks for reading.
