Research Logs: Preparing to Write--Reflection on "Everyday the Same Dream" Game

How do they structure their argument?

“Everyday the Same Dream” makes an argument about the choices of people and how each choice affects that person’s life. In the game, you have the choice of going through your day as usual or making changes in your daily routine. Either way, in the end, regardless of which path you decided to follow, the same outcome occurs: you jump off the roof of the building. The makers of this game structure this argument effectively in the way that they allow the player to make the choices for him/herself. Additionally, the argument can be seen through its organization and rhetoric that’s employed.

What rhetorical devices do they rely on to portray their point?

Of course, “Everyday the Same Dream” displays lots of visual rhetoric (it’s a game for crying out loud!). The world of the game is entirely gray, dull, and repentant. It’s the same routine slightly skewed each time the person wakes-up until he (the player) decides to change the routine of getting ready and being late into jumping off the roof and then watching himself jump off the roof. There are lots of pathos used because the way the game is set-up makes you feel a certain way. When you see the color gray, you think, “Wow! This is boring,” when you pet the cow you want to laugh; or when you die by jumping off a roof you are suddenly astonished or horrified. Those are just two types of rhetoric the game implies.

What aspects of their argument are effective? What areas are not as effective?

The gamers made their argument effective because despite what any player chooses to do, all the players end-up dying the same way. Maybe their argument was a little ineffective because it’s more of a universal accepted theme the way we do things on a daily basis which differs from person to person.

Finally, how does this inform the organization of your own paper?

The simplicity of the game (only having to use the space bar and the arrow keys) makes the argument, by far, more effective and easily understood for its players. This tells me that I need to write my paper not just in an organized manner, but in a way that my audience understands the general concepts of my argument very easily and clearly.