The Art Game Revolution

More and more developers are turning to art-focused and unorthodox methods of game creation. These games stray away from “the Blockbuster” norms, the “safe haven” game genres and aspects that make up the commercial industry. Furthermore, indie games are booming in popularity - and not just casual flash games - but games that explore “risk and messiness” - games such as the ones Jason Nelson has produced. All of the games that he’s created have little or no relation to mainstream games - he claims to “leap outside the boundaries” of game creation. He believes that “people would be willing to tolerate the weirdness if it speaks to them in a way”. I think he’s got a good point. I liked his “this is how you will die” game - not necessarily because I’m a morbid person, but because it’s just quirky and interesting. It’s simple, not time-consuming and entertains me for as long as I need it to. Reading all the randomized excerpts that sequence my supposed death has a certain element of fun to it.

Other indie games draw from casual or mainstream game concepts, but add a twist to them that makes them exceptional in their own way. They certainly do not have the same level of uniqueness that Jason Nelson’s games have, but they are still gems of a sort.

The only one that really has no ancestor of any sort is the game: “Alarmingly These are Not Lovesick Zombies”. All I can say is wow…what? Honestly, I didn’t really like it. It seems like some sort of shooter game that just crams nonsensical images and garble all over the screen after certain amounts of “kills”. The only interesting thing the game provided was small video clips that were supposed to be “insider info” on the game industry. Which, in fact, just seemed stupid - perhaps accurate, but presented in a way that made me not want to watch it. So, all in all, the game didn’t really do much for me.

I liked the platformers. “Dadaists Gone Wild” and “Psychosomnium” were fun and different. They made me think - well, not so much “Dadaists Gone Wild”, but it still arranged obstacles in a manner that took some interpretation. Switching “good” elements to “bad” elements was a good twist. I also liked the power-ups that really kept me on my toes while playing through the worlds. It was fun, different and fast-paced. “Psychosomnium” had me slamming my fists into my keyboard for a while. It was damn confusing! Eventually I found my way through some of a tricks but it really made my cranium toil. The best part was that these “secrets” around many of the obstacles were simple, yet with no visible clues to lead you there it really came from one’s own interpretation of the surroundings to figure out what to do.

“Rararacer” was definitely cool. It was like the voice in the background was saying exactly what I was saying in my mind during certain instances of game-play. Also, the youTube interface was different. It made me feel like I wasn’t really playing a game, but watching a video - or perhaps making the video myself. The concept was fun and turned a very mundane game into something intriguing.