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Deconstructeam's New Game "Virtue and a Sledgehammer" Explores Identity and Belonging
Key points
- Protagonist Pratelle destroys her robot-populated hometown with a sledgehammer.
- The game explores themes of identity and not belonging in a traditional Spanish town.
- The narrative includes a personal family story, not just transhumanism.
- Players uncover Pratelle's story by breaking glass statues containing memories.
Gameplay and Premise
"Virtue and a Sledgehammer" features a protagonist named Pratelle who wields a large sledgehammer to demolish her hometown. The town's inhabitants are robots, which are digital representations of her former neighbors. Players navigate through shops and homes, destroying structures and encountering these robot villagers.
Themes of Identity and Belonging
The game delves into themes of identity and the feeling of not belonging, particularly through Pratelle's character. Game director Jordi de Paco notes that Pratelle, perceived by some testers as male despite being designed as a queer woman, embodies someone who doesn't fit into her community. This setting, based on traditional Spanish towns, highlights cultural resistance to diverse identities, prompting questions about identity through confusion and anger among the robot villagers.
Narrative and Story Development
The core narrative revolves around Pratelle's personal story, which players uncover by breaking glass statues that contain memory fragments. A key plot point suggests Pratelle's sister transformed everyone into robots. De Paco clarifies that the game is not a critique of digitization but rather a family story about a "sometimes embarrassing teenager," using the futuristic setting as a metaphor for feelings of alienation.
Evolution from Prototype
Initially, a 2024 prototype featured a stereotypical transhumanism story. Feedback indicated these themes were stale, leading Deconstructeam to shift the focus. The developers decided to use the setting metaphorically to explore the feeling of not belonging, which they found created a powerful contrast with the game's destructive aesthetics and robot encounters.
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Reporting from
Deconstructeam is developing "Virtue and a Sledgehammer," a new game where the protagonist, Pratelle, uses a sledgehammer to destroy her hometown, which is populated by robots representing her former neighbors. The game explores themes of not belonging and identity within a culturally traditional setting, contrasting futuristic elements with a personal family story.