Viewing entries tagged
creative
It's not often that I get excited on release day for a game, but after playing the excellent FAR: Lone Sails back in 2018, the news of its sequel immediately filled me with anticipation. The first game was a beautifully explorative and ambient puzzle adventure that gripped me from start to finish, and even from early trailers I could tell that this second instalment would be more of the same.
Sometimes it's hard to remember that video games have the potential to make a statement and be an actual piece of art, especially when faced with the latest big blockbuster that fits the marketable template. Much like all art, the different and unique work is often relegated to niche corners of obscurity without ever being given the attention they deserve. However, for those of us who like to seek out what's hiding in the shadows, there are many rewarding experiences waiting.
I've always been a fan of publishers and developers who work with a theme and focus on their own little niche. Not only does it mean you know what you're going to get from them, but it creates an identity for something that would otherwise be a faceless company. Lately, I've been seeing Annapurna Interactive's name come up in the credits for a number of neat little games with a quirky twist, so when I checked out I Am Dead, I was pleased to discover more of the same.
Sometimes when I sit down to write these blog posts, I wonder to myself what kind of point I might want to make about the game in question. Often I have something I want to say, so I just ramble on until I think I've said it, but then there are those special cases where I don't really feel like I have a lot to say, but I still want to ramble on a bit because I had such a good time after all.
Are all games art? Or are art games actually games? How much art makes a game art instead of a game? At what point does a game with great art become nothing like a game, leaving only the art? What if the art is split between visuals and music, while the game focuses on generic elements, overshadowed by the art? When does a game become art, or when does art become a game? After all, games are an artform, but they rarely contain beautiful art.
I often ask myself "how much game is enough game?", and I often come up with the same answer. In fact I don't think it's limited to games, but if you're trying to tell a story or deliver an experience, it needs to be as long as it needs to be. Can you make the point within an hour, or over a couple of pages? Maybe you need a rolling epic to clearly provide the perspective needed to appreciate a fable. Either way, I often find myself thinking that a game might have overstayed its welcome in one way or another.
It wasn't so long ago that I delved into Remedy Entertainment's odd sci-fi experience, Quantum Break, which now seems like an interesting experiment along the way to much better things. In fact it seems like they studio have learned a lot of useful lessons from some of the key successes and failures from this troubled entry in their development history.
As time goes on, I find myself being repeatedly surprised at how much I enjoy shorter games that showcase a complete vision. It's happening so much that I really need to start expecting it as the norm, instead of the exception. Gone are the days when a huge open-world epic appeals to me more than a tightly polished experience that hits every nail on the head.
Welcome back to the land of beautifully realised, small-scale, narrative gaming excellence. I'll never ceased to be amazed at how a great little game can stick with you far beyond an average big game. Then again, we all know that sometimes good things really do come in small packages.
Remember the good old days when the dream of kickstarting a niche game meant that you'd be supporting independent developers working on their passion projects? I do. It was years ago, before the big budget meltdowns and financial mis-management that lead to Kickstarter being a synonym for scam. Although, before I burned out on crowd funding big ideas from small game makers, I backed a local Australian family working on a game about delivering pizza, and bullying.
