For this analysis I chose to analyse the indie game Where the Goats Ares by Memory of God.
In this game you play the role of Tikvah an elderly woman who runs a small homestead. As you play the game you watch her struggle trying to maintain her way of life as the world falls apart around her.
In the game you have the following items: milk bucket, water pail, stick, and egg basket. Theres also multiple actions you can do. You can milk the goats with the bucket, make goat cheese with the milk-filled bucket, trade cheese for straw or more goats, harvest eggs with the egg basket, water the plant with the water pail, play wth the stick, or pray (no item necessary)
In day one of the game everything is normal. Every day I followed the same pattern. I would first go milk the goats and make cheese. While the cheese was cooking I wiuld go to the well to get water to water the plant. By the time I finished watering the plant the tradesman would arrive and I could trade the cheese to him to get hay for my goats. Before I went to bed for the night I would go to the chicken coop to get eggs and bring them into the house with me.
When the tradesman comes you get your first letter. These letters come usually every day and describe what your family is going through.
Nothing notable happens on day 2. You do get a letter though.
On day 3 you get one single crow which forshadows the ending of the game. You also get a letter.
Nothing notable happens on day 4. You do get a letter though.
During the day nothing notable happens during the day. At night though a heard of wild goats comes through. I tried to catch them hoping I could score some extra goats for myself but you cannot interact with them.
Nothing notable happens on day 6. You do get a letter though.
On day 7 the tradesman did not show up so there was no mail. Everything else was normal though
All of the chickens have died overnight. Tikvahs only source of food is the eggs so she can no longer eat. There is also a 6th letter delivered today.
Today alot of crows appeared on the farm. They arent harming anything. No mail is
On day 10 you still have alot of crows on the farm. You also run out of water in the well and can no longer water the plant. Tradesman comes later in the day and brings the 8th letter
On day 11 multiple things happen. First, the tradesman comes but has nothing to trade with you. He does have mail though and deliveres the 9th letter. The goats are also no longer producing milk and you get a screen popup when interacting with the goats that says they are weak
Today all your goats die. You can interact with them to bury them. Tikvah is much slower than usual. Burying the goats takes all day. No mail is delivered.
Today is the final day in the game. The storm has arrived and all your items have blown away. The only thing left to interact with is the prayer shrine. I spent the day at the prayer shrine feeling so bad for Tikvah
Overall I really enjoyed playing the game. My full playthrough took about 1 hour. The game is very sad though you WILL cry. As you progress through the game you watch Tikvah get slower and slower. Every day she struggles more and more to get her tasks done. When the goats die it is super sad as the player because the goats truely are Tikvahs only friends in the game. Below is a kumu chart I created to show how everything in the game links together.