Prompt 2: Drawing on Doris Rusch's account of games as expressive media, describe how the abstract rules simulate some real world system.
“The Vill” is quite the village, with cute little heart people, and houses full of moving and talking cherries. It’s not exactly real life or matching the real world but there are real world problems and life-like interactions. We step in to this role of surviving an earthquake, and while it’s not the only option, I as a player walked into the first house I could find. This house may have not been the best choice though, as like the family in many mansions in the real world may not welcome me, I was also not welcome in this mansion. The cherries present would tell me I shouldn’t be there and in certain parts of the room would send me to other parts of the building. I definitely did not feel welcome, even though it was during a hurricane.
I took my leave but the shaking continued, so I tried for another house, not unlike I would if I was scared in this actual situation. You can imagine my disappointment when the next house was locked and abandoned. To be honest, the dialogue almost sarcastically saying “what a shame” matches how I feel, as I would be a little scared to go in such a house ever, let alone in an earthquake.
The final house was full of my neighbors, who had such nice things to say, and I was able to properly explore the house. Even if some places are abandoned, some are off limits, there are often people happy to look out for you and provide you with somewhere safe, I guess it just takes some extra time to look sometimes. Overall, while the village has some quirks and some of the circumstances are not realistic, I find that it reminds me of my experiences in a small neighborhood composed of a variety of people.