April 14th: Looking for the mechanic in other media
Death Stranding introduces the idea of ‘Strand System’ that connects players, even though they can’t see each other.
The maker of the game, (explaining the reasoning behind Strand System): "If you look at the world right now, we are connected to the internet 24 hours a day. And that technology was supposed to be there to make us happy. However, what you see today is people anonymously fighting each other or discriminating against each other. Some people are getting tired of social media or the internet as a whole. But when you play Death Stranding, your connection with other people is entirely positive."
"Because there isn't anything negative," he continues. "It's all based on positive intent and positive feedback. You start to care for each other. If there was any point at which I was worried about the game, it would be whether or not this positivity would work. But looking at the feedback people are saying things like, 'Oh, I'm a bit nicer now!' When I saw that, I was really happy. So I'm proud of that."
This idea and the videos are really neatly summed up and thought through in this article:
We like the idea that a previous audience member can make the next person’s journey easier/leave something for them. Looking at the idea of giving all ‘asynchronous interaction’ a positive focus. So audiences are encouraged to help each other and work towards a shared goal. It’s positive, uplifting. They could all work towards a shared goal, each audience passing the baton to the next. It’s wholesome, modelling the benefits of work together to solve a problem.