The users outside knowledge is the "spectator" aspect of being a spectactor, but still goes through the actor's experience of discovering his brothers death.
We agree with the idea of the player acting as the "spect-actor" in the game "c ya laterrrrr" and believe, like Boal said, that it fosters the player to think more deeply about the experience presented.
We also acknowledge that the user must use critical thinking skills to decipher the death of the brother.
Real games are difficult, goes this argument: you can die in them; you can take “real” actions (i.e., shooting and loot collecting, not walking or investigating). Real game heroes are powerful and effective. An ugly corollary to this argument, advanced by some, was that “real games” shouldn’t be about the disenfranchised. Game stories shouldn’t be about women or queer people
To many critics, “real games” require difficulty, interactivity, and are not meant to be deep and meaningful. In general, a game can be defined as an activity that incites emotions, bringing some sort of diversion or amusement, which is why its weird that some people have redefined games as something that requires “real” action, interactivity, and agency. Nowadays, I feel people are a lot more looser with their definition of a “game” as so many things follow on the category of games, from puzzle games to the typical action games and more.
Critics have drawn different conclusions about the role of Gone Home as (and alongside other) queer media.
The game Gone Home includes an example of a queer relationship, yet does not make it the main emphasis of the game, as it includes story lines of other characters in Katie’s family, too. The lack of concentration on the queer relationship has brought mixed opinions by critics, which some liking it, and others disliking it. I personally thought the presence of a variety of storylines of each member of the family helped the player be further immersed in the perspective of Katie as it felt a lot more real when each character in the story had their own story and journey they were going through. It also helped sell the separation the family was experiencing, which I felt was also an important part of the storyline of the game.
One of the consistent pleasures of the journey story in every time and every medium is the unfolding of solutions to seemingly impossible situations. We watch each new situation along the road and wonder how the hero will escape a beating or a hanging or a forced marriage or jailing.
Journey stories are often interesting because it involves the main character overcoming a seemingly impossible problem. I found this interesting because it helps lead into why we find agency in games, which is related to the joy we experience when a hero in a story overcomes an difficult situation.