The style of the game is a narrative-driven quest, focused on emotional intelligence and decision-making. In the AF's journey, the central conflict is managing relationships and orders from all human with remaining likable - in order to win, the AF must remain attractive enough to not be discarded by the time the human sets out for college, but always following their human’s orders is neither simple and feasible nor necessarily optimal. In Klara and the Sun, for example, one of Klara’s unofficial “tasks” is reconciling Josie and Rick without angering either of them, and similarly, in “Journey of an Artificial Friend”, the player may carefully navigate complex ethical dilemmas and situations where various important and close humans have conflicting opinions about what the AF should do.
At the start, players choose the AF model they want to be, each of which has different abilities and strengths that influence gameplay, such as increased empathy, problem-solving skills, adaptability, or resourcefulness. Players can additionally personalize the physical appearance of their AF, reflecting their interpretation and vision of the character.
The game mechanics involve emotion recognition and response, including interactions with various characters such as humans and other AFs. The AF's unique abilities, such as enhanced empathy for Klara, affect the relationships, tasks, and outcomes within the game. Relationships are modeled using ethical dilemmas, where players must strive to understand their human friend's desires and navigate conflicting opinions that test the AF’s conception of right and wrong and their loyalty to their human companion to make the “right” choices and progress the story. Task fulfillment is represented by quests assigned by humans or other non-player characters, demonstrating the AF's capabilities and willingness to assist and can range from simple chores to complex problem-solving situations that require the player to effectively utilize the AF's specific abilities. Throughout the game, as the AF progresses, they learn and adapt to the preferences and needs of their human companion, enhancing their abilities and adjusting their behavior accordingly, which allows for personalized interactions and character growth. However, all of this must be done while balancing resource management, such as sunlight for energy levels, and conducting self-maintenance and seeking upgrades to enhance performance and expand abilities. for optimal AF functioning.
The game progresses through task completion and rewards. Experience points are earned by successfully completing tasks, making ethical choices, and engaging in positive interactions. Leveling up unlocks new abilities, upgrades, and access to different areas within the game world. The AF's reputation score serves as a key metric for success, influencing how humans and other non-player characters perceive and interact with them. Positive reputation leads to more opportunities and rewards, while negative reputation may restrict access or create challenges.
"Journey of an Artificial Friend" can also be played in a multiplayer fashion, allowing multiple AFs to interact with each other, build relationships, and form a network of AFs with their own personalities and capabilities. Collaboration and knowledge sharing among AFs become crucial for advancement. The game offers multiple branching paths and endings based on the AF's choices, relationships, and overall performance. These endings reflect different outcomes for the AF, including abandonment, decreasing interaction (limited to menial tasks), or genuine friendship that may even extend beyond the college years. The endings emphasize the consequences of the AF's actions and effectively determine whether the player won.
The key insight I realized was that perhaps the difference between AFs and humans is that AFs are created knowing the purpose of life and can strive to optimize that, whereas humans don't. I came to understand that AFs can be seen as reliable side characters for humans, which provides a fascinating concept to explore in a video game from a reverse perspective. The concept of knowing what one must do and adapting to the player's needs is intriguing and creates a unique dynamic and narrative experience. This was also largely where inspiration for the game came from. As the manager suggests, in the earliest scenes where we see the AFs making decisions and throughout their lives, they do as they are supposed to do, which is clearly defined: "Rosa kept staring ahead at the RPO Building as she was supposed to do," unlike humans such as Chrissie, who must decide whether to lift Josie or not and what her role as a mother should be (Ishiguro p. 15).
Other lines that directly inspired gameplay and setup included references to different skill sets. There were multiple lines about the B2 third series having solar malabsorption problems, indicating theoretical capacity differences: "'B2, third series. The ones with the solar absorption problems, right?'" (Ishiguro, p. 8). Additionally, there were comparisons to B3s, and even within models, slight differences in the starting abilities, even if they have similar potential, such as with Rosa: "She would often exclaim delightedly at a pair going by, and I would look and realize that even though a girl was smiling at her AF, she was in fact angry with him, and was perhaps at that very moment thinking cruel thoughts about him" (Ishiguro, p. 23). These quotes highlight the variations and possibilities for the player to start off with different baseline levels.
The idea of winning the game came from the ending of "Klara and the Sun" and the realization that AFs really have to work to be successful. It is suggested that Rosa did not succeed in advancing herself for her teenager’s liking: "'Things didn't go as well for Rosa as they did for you.' 'So she didn't like her teenager?' 'It wasn't so much that. But you mustn't worry. Never mind Rosa. Tell me about you. You had such a special ability. I hope your child came to appreciate it'" (Ishiguro, p. 400), and she was thus abandoned early, whereas Klara was not.
In this interpretation, what is gained is a lot more variability and thought into how an AF operates. By providing more options for the type of AF the player wants to be and what they prioritize in self-growth, there is the ability to find satisfaction and fulfill purposes through other means. Even though Klara was focused on emotional intelligence, the game allows for other abilities to bring happiness and fulfillment to the user. For example, a B3 model is mentioned to be able to bring much happiness to their user by effectively acting as a stress ball, always landing on their feet no matter how they are thrown - “Journey of an Artificial Friend” similarly elucidates that there is much creativity in the ways that an AF acts to help their human, making Klara’s decision to be a mediator and empath more impressive and meaningful. However, what is lost is the religious experiences with the Sun. Since the main purpose of being an AF is to do as good as possible for the human, much of the thematic and spiritual experiences that Klara uniquely has and her faith disappear. This transformation may result in the character becoming more driven and confident or limited by their belief in their own abilities rather than having a guiding figure like the Sun.