Those of you who know me well will probably know that I love Japanese Role Playing Games (JRPGs). Games such as the Final Fantasy series, are really dear to me, as well as a few other well-known game series such as Kingdom Hearts, Monster Hunter and Pokémon (to some extent).
A while back I was reading the reviews for a game called Persona 5, and seeing really positive responses for it. A multi-hour, anime-esque RPG with Jazz-Rock music and a complex, dark narrative? Count me in! So, I picked it up on the Playstation 4 store (on a good summer deal, might I add!) and began to be absorbed into this weird and wonderful game!
The premise for the game is pretty complicated and difficult to explain in a paragraph - but I'm going to try to do it some form of justice! You play as a teenage high schooler who, along with his friends, have decided to take on the evil doers in their town; people who are abusive to students, criminals, cheats and are just all round bad people. You do this by defeating the person's twisted desires in their subconscious: prompting a confession to their terrible crimes in the real world. Daily tasks such as working out, studying, watching tv, etc. all build up your character stats to help with your fighting in this "other world". In summary, the real world is like a simulator where all the drama, story and mundane life reside, and the subconscious world is like a dungeon where the turn-based action (a standard JRPG trope) happens.
One element of the game that really excites my BA brain is the way it handles the abilities of your friends (or confidants as the game calls them). To gain special abilities for your confidants you need to spend time with them in the real world and help them with whatever they require, such as their research, confidence, advice, or even just a game of darts or a heart to heart chat. As you level up this relationship with each confidant will gain levels and abilities but also gives you an opportunity to learn more about each characters motives and their backgrounds. This reminds me a lot of what we do as BAs when it comes to working with Stakeholders.
When working on a project, I work closely with Stakeholders to understand their motivations for the change, capture their requirements and gain their trust by building a relationship with them. Like in Persona, I also focus on the relationships that are the most important at the time. For example, it is best to focus my time on those with high interest and high power on the Power-Interest Matrix (Key Stakeholders and those who are driving the project). These are the Stakeholders who are believed to be the most impacted by the change but also are the ones that can really help drive decisions for the project overall. Although I don't draw out a matrix in Persona (that's taking the Nerdy BA to another level!), I always focus on the characters who I think will give me the abilities which are important to me.
In my head, I can equate a Stakeholders trust to a "level-up" which can help obtain abilities such as "Honest Conversations", "Quick Sign Off", "Positive Support", "Open to Change", and many more useful skills. As you complete each project (or battle), the following projects become more seamless as you are already aware of each others strengths, weaknesses and ways of working. When you collaborate with the same Stakeholders over multiple projects, the likelihood of achieving success increases. Like in RPGs, the higher your characters levels and stats are, the more likely battles are going to be easier.
Would I recommend Persona 5 to everyone? No, I don't think I would as it's not the fast paced action which is common place in games this days. Saying that though, if you like games which showcase deep and interesting stories, a colourful cast of characters and a fun rock paper scissors battle system progression... Give it a go! Word of warning though, it's hard to explain what you are playing to your loved ones when they walk in while you are doing laundry in a game instead of the laundry piling up in the utility room!
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