"Art game" is not a term that many are familiar with. A game is usually a form of mere entertainment, fitting under the same umbrella as film, making art by "hiding" art. But art games--games with a specific persuasive goal--exist in abundance. They're usually small, but have a power unique to the medium. One of the major video game auteurs working today is Jason Rohrer. The man lives simply off of donations from his free downloadable games, and supports a wife and two children with a budget of $828 per month. His games are simple and no-budget, but few others have achieved the power and thematic complexity that Rohrer has.Rohrer has a portfolio of about 7 games, with another being released at the end of this month. Among these are Passage, Gravitation, and Between. Each game tends to last about 5 minutes. The games usually use the SDL library and incredibly simple pixel maps, giving the games a blatant "retro" look. The amazing thing about Rohrer, though, is his use of proven game mechanics to make a compelling, almost emergent story that is always slightly different but always compelling. In Passage, for example, the player has a top-down view of his character on a long, narrow path, interspersed with obstacles and treasure boxes. You can meet a girl if you walk in the right direction, but she always has to be at your side, meaning you can't pick up some treasures. You can pick them all up, but in the end--after time runs out (about 5 minutes)--you die alone.
Rohrer is one of the few to exemplify what I have hoped to see in games for a very long time: the power to move people. It's difficult to make a game--especially alone--and it doesn't help being a starry-eyed games student with gigantic ambitions. But Rohrer pulls games like these off with no budget and only a few months of work. It's truly inspiring to see how a small system can have an immense amount af meaning and emotion through play.
