The Only Game To Ever Draw A True Emotional Response Out Of Me |
 |
by the hammer of Kevin Alexander! |
|
We’re probably a bit late to the party on this one but I was listening to the new GFW Radio (or The Brodeo) when they immediately jump into a discussion on Braid and other games that might make you think or be considered “art”. One of them caught my ear and I looked it up today: Jason Rohrer’s Passage. Hopefully some of you have played it already but for those of you who haven’t PLEASE go download and play this game right now (it’s available for PC, Mac and Unix Source) then come back here and let’s get to some discussion in the comments.
What’s this emotional response? Hit the jump to find out but please play the game first.
This game broke my heart. It’s so real and the ending is so definite and you can do absolutely nothing to stop it. The first time I played it I simply walked to the right the entire time. Though I read the instructions I didn’t think to go exploring in my life, I just simply went through it with my spouse and didn’t stop to enjoy the scenery. This echoed all too familiar for my comfort and that made me think about all that has happened in the past couple of years. Then about all that’s happened before that as well.
When my spouse died I immediately started to walk backwards hoping that there was some Braid-like structure where I could reverse time to bring her back. Only thing that happened is I moved slower and still moved closer to my death, all that was behind me now a blur. It was quite the stunning experience.
The second time I tried to play it I wanted to explore but I couldn’t bring myself to complete the five minutes before I just escaped out of the game, not wanting to experience the inevitable again.
I’m not writing this or reacting to this game in a way that I think I’m supposed to just because it’s “arty”, this is a real response coming from me. I’ve never had any form of interactive entertainment draw this kind of response out of me. I can see myself thinking about it for days to come now. Passage is special, it’s a game that’s completely open to any interpretation you’d like and I’d love to hear what you all might think about it.
6 Responses to “The Only Game To Ever Draw A True Emotional Response Out Of Me”
Leave a Reply
Ryan Hewson on 14 Aug 2008 at 3:48 pm #
Here is what I experienced.
***SPOILERZ***
The first time I played it, I immediately started wandering around. Realized that there were obstacles and that I need to move continually from left to right. Also noticed the fades, as the registration point for your guy started moving, also left to right. So I sort of meandered my way through the abstract maze and listened to the music, and just noted the effects. The psychedelic pixelswirl that was initially at the right side (the “future”) started making its way to the left side (the “past”). Also noticed the guy getting older, which is no easy task with such a brutally low resolution. I died at something like 260 points.
The second time I played it, I found the wife character, and I ran straight from left to right with no obstacles. I didn’t move down the screen. She aged too, and she died before the main character did. Of course I noticed that he immediately became hunched over and moved much more slowly but I made him preservere to the end. With the wife character attached (they move as one), I noticed the score goes up twice as fast.
The third time I played it, I tried mixing my experiences from the first two. I found the wife and then started exploring. This is much harder with the two characters as they control in tandem and are much bigger on-screen; i.e. not as able to negotiate the obstacles. I did find some multicoloured boxes which turned into stars, then disappeared. I’m not sure what those were supposed to be (they added 100 points to the score). In the end, the wife died first as she did the second time, and the main guy found one more star-box on his own before dying himself.
It’s a fascinating little experiment, almost like a low-rez haiku about linearity and life, but I was more perplexed than anything.
Kevin Alexander on 14 Aug 2008 at 4:07 pm #
I was very surprised at how my emotional reaction to the game was so strong which is what compelled me to spread this around.
When you try to explore with your spouse it’s like she’s in your way, but sometimes you’re in her way as well. The slight effects that he’s able to pull off in the game are extremely effective, with the whole past/present/future thing. It also mimics your vision and thoughts of the past and future and the clarity with which you see them.
The first time through I was watching the characters and about half way through I started thinking to myself “are they actually getting OLDER?” Then to read his statement about the game and how they’re modeled after him and his wife just about killed me. Especially when he said he was waiting for the “right time” to show her.
Utopaline (ADD BOY) on 14 Aug 2008 at 4:43 pm #
WOW, I have to totally agree with your statement. I was getting a bit bored and upset with the game until I noticed that my character started to age..WOW. I guess that the point is your going to “Pass” so you might as well explore every aspect of your life that you can. Like you I just walked to the right, and was surprisingly shocked when my partner died. Second time around, I thought that finding some magical potion or something would keep them alive, and well…nope, still died, but had a bit more fun the second time around. Just remember, we don’t get that second chance, and we need to explore every aspect of our lives and potential to make our time here really count. Thank you for giving this game the time and exposure it deserves
OTU
Kevin Alexander on 14 Aug 2008 at 5:07 pm #
It’s funny, not having a second chance in living your life but the game giving you a chance to do that never occurred to me. The outcome is always the same though…
Utopaline (ADD BOY) on 14 Aug 2008 at 5:10 pm #
and all of our outcomes will eventually be the same…..except me, I’m immortal
Forever Live UTO
Neuromante on 14 Aug 2008 at 6:39 pm #
Got a strange feeling while playing, most for the music. Didn’t realize all the past and future thing, but I did realize about “having a girlfriend” blocked most of the paths, so I go straight ahead with her.
Didn’t notice much of the scenery, just go right “to see what’s there, looks like the scenery it’s changing”, got shocked when I notice the characters were aging (incredibly fast in my oppinion) and really shocked when the “wife” dies. Then I just go forward, noticing that I was getting older and older, and slower and slower.
Gotta think about it. Thanks for posting the game, really.
(And sorry for my bad english)