Revisiting The Last of Us: The Introduction

This Tuesday in the Malaysian Media and Culture class, I have learned a new term - catharsis. It is a term coined by Greek philosopher, Aristotle to signify the feeling of relieve felt by the audience members when they finish watching a play or more generally after consuming an entertainment product.

Of course, being an entertainment product, relieving stress and providing a place of escape for the audience is what it was supposed to do, right? Dr. Carmen especially pointed out about how video games can be an excellent provider of catharsis. Its interactive form gives the player a sense of control and achievement unparalleled in any other media (as well as in real life), which explains why games can be so addicting at times.

But in the coming posts, we are going to examine a counter example. A video game released by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2013, from developer Naughty Dog, the creative mind behind Crash Bandicoot, Jax & Daxter and the Uncharted series.

*Please note that from this point onward, this post will be full of spoiler, so if you intend to experience this game for yourself, this is where you should stop reading and go play the game for yourself, or at least watch the playthrough on Youtube.*

The Last of Us is a survival horror game that tells the story of Joel and Ellie. First, let me provide some background information regarding Joel, Ellie and the world they live in.

In the world of The Last of Us, a Cordyceps virus outbreak occurred in 2013. Taking the world by surprise, scientist worldwide tried to develop a vaccine, but all of their attempt are in vain as the disease is simply spreading at an uncontrollable rate. Once bitten by an infected, a person will become delirious as the Cordyceps fungi begin attacking the host's brain, hijack it, and within two days, the victims will become hyperaggresive and incapable of rational thought, effectively turning into a runner (an early stage infected).

Cars stuck in a traffic jam.as everybody is trying to leave the city during the outbreak.

Eventually the situation has gotten so out of control that government are no longer able to function. As government was disbanded in the United States, the Federal Disaster Response Agency (FEDRA) took over the responsibility to secure the all the quarantine zones. With no one to supervise their work and hold them responsible, quarantine zones held by FEDRA become increasingly oppressive and life quality inside the quarantine zone worsen.

People queuing up for rat meat due to the lack of food supplies

As people become more and more desperate, they start to turn toward illegal activities to improve their livelihood, starting their own underground trade system, trading FEDRA food ration ticket for various goods and services. Some people also joined Firefly, a militia formed to demand the restoration of all branch of government. Viewed by the FEDRA as a threat to security, a civil war soon started between the two faction.

Joel

A battle hardened smuggler in his late 40's, Joel lost her daughter during the Cordyceps Outbreak 20 years prior to the main game event. This incident has made him an aloof and distant person.

During the event of the game, he and another fellow smuggler named Tess met the leader of Firefly, a woman named Marlene. In order to get their weapons back, they agreed to smuggled Ellie out of the Boston Quarantine Zone to the Massachusetts State House.

Ellie

Ellie is not your ordinary 14-year-old teenager. Born years after the outbreak and grew up within the Boston Quarantine Zone, the cutthroat world of post-outbreak is the only one she'll ever know, and because of this, she is endlessly fascinated by the way people live before the outbreak.

In an unfortunate incident, she and her friend, Riley were attacked and bitten by infected runners. Given up, both of them decided to do nothing and wait for their death, but her's never came. It was later discovered that Ellie have developed a natural immunity against the Cordyceps virus.

The story of this game revolves around Joel and Ellie's journey across America and it focus on the evolution of their relationship. Next week, we will examine the story of The Last of Us and see how catharsis (or the lack of it) in this game will serve to enhance the gameplay experience for the player.

P/S: And by the way, Cordyceps fungi is a real virus, but as of now it is only capable of hijacking insect's brain as evidence by the video below.