Blue Gate

Looting

19:34

After a slow, stealthy approach through many different arc drones and turrets I finally manage to get into the underground security branch which promises high tier loot. I take my time looting through the different containers scattered throughout the room. While looting an open suitcase on the ground I start to hear what sounds like fighting and walking outside. Distinctly, another raiders fighting and walking nearby.

Inspection

19:26

After cutting short my looting session I investigate the sounds I just heard outside. Slowly making my way towards the door seemingly leading to the source of the sound. For a second I debate opening the door, the sound and movement of it will surely reveal my position to the raider outside. I decide for opening the door anyways and am instantly greeted with the sight of the other raider. Part of me was not expecting to confront the raider so quickly and directly, I suspected they may be a bit further still. That doesn’t matter however as I am now face to face with a potential fatal threat.

Eye to eye

19:21

Clearly the other raider was as shocked, if not more than I was as we both peek back and forth from our cover. I try to be friendly with the other raider by saying “don’t shoot” and flashing my flashlight around the door in an attempt to make non-aggressive contact. My attempts are cut short by the response of a grenade flying through the door opening I was using for cover. An unmistakable answer: none of that friendly shit.

Friendly grenade :)

18:59

Since a grenade has just made it’s way to laying cosily beside me behind my cover, I make a run for it. Would rather not get blown up. I take this as an opportunity to reposition properly as well and I make my way up a staircase with a good sightline of the doorway. Hopefully his uncertainty as to my location will allow me to get the jump on him when he inevitably decides to engage further.

Hold the angle

18:54

I hold my weapon out ready to fire once he enters my crosshairs. After a few seconds he decides to peek out from behind the wall, I let out a bullet unfortunately it hits the railing of the stairs right in front of me. Now my position is also clear to my opponent. This doesn’t stop them from doing the same thing again however, and when he peaks this time I make sure the bullet passes over the railing and hits the raider. Got his ass

Push

18:50

After hitting them with my Ferro, a marksman rifle that packs quite a punch, I quickly decide to follow up and push down the stairs. I hope to catch him off-guard with lower health, and no time to heal, or ideally I catch him in the middle of healing. In moments such as these there is not time to second guess, its either you push, or you stay and risk them getting away or recouping fully.

Retreat

18:42

I might have gotten a bit too greedy running down and pushing like that. After I got down there was no sight of the raider, so I attempted to throw an explosive around the corner. I had been outsmarted however, as the raider had rotated to a different entrance and opened fire catching my off-guard. Immediately I turn back to the staircase and dodge roll to it as fast as I can. The main priority is to get to some semblance of safety or cover. They got my ass.

A bandage a day

18:26

I manage to get some distance between me and the aggressor, after getting up the stairs and turning a few corners. The hits I took really brought me to the brink of death and I attempt to take some time to heal. The raider however, knows all of this as well of course and is sprinting after me at full speed, weapons ready to finish me off.

Last effort

18:19

Barely any health is regained, and I hear the raiders footsteps nearing, so I try to reposition again. Or more so just run away, I don’t know if you could call that repositioning. It’s of no use though as the raider had gotten much too close already and running away is not going to work. As a final attempt I turn around weapons ready for a final engagement. My only hope is to catch them offguard and kill them before they have the time to respond. Likely though, I am dead.

B10

18:17

Yup I died. I manage to get a few shots off into the enemy player but it was not merely enough to kill them. The raider simply switched to their weapon and finishes off the little sliver of health I have left.

I find myself fascinated by the stickers I see placed around the game, usually covering the surfaces of lockers and similar objects. Such tiny details—yet someone must have gone through and designed the symbols on each of them.

Playing on low graphic settings reveals an extra layer: the crafting of abstraction algorithms to reduce texture sizes. It also partially reveals what the creators must have found most important, by showing which elements remain in high definition, such as higher-quality rust textures overlapping a pixelated concrete floor.

I expand my view of the game while using a tool that practically reduces how much I can see, by zooming in closer and blacking out half the screen.

#pacifist

I walk around and start noticing posters. I start seeing logos, brand names, and infographics, all of which 99% of the player base will never look at twice.

The binocular UI also inherently provides a frame for the images. It changes their context, making them feel much more photographic.