"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.
I have to say that with this post you completely blew my stereotypical views of both games and game designers. When I think video games, I think shoot ‘em up blood and gore violence type where the only effect on the player is to either a) feel macho or b) be impressed by ultra-cool graphics. Sure, I’ve played Mario Kart and my share of Crash Bandicoot games, none of which involve the violence previously mentioned, but they fail to provide any sort of emotion or real purpose other than to entertain. I was sure that movies were the one form of entertainment to truly move the audience (see my post on Andrew Stanton’s Wall-E), but in playing Gravitation for myself I began to connect with the tiny pixilated character. He had so much ambition to achieve his goals (represented by the stars) that he gave up playing ball with his daughter. This act did not come without consequences, however, as the more he rejected time with his “family”, the more closed the POV on the game began, and soon enough even the music changed to somber. You had no choice, as the player, but to return to the family life, and that theme in and of itself speaks volumes about Jason Rohrer’s own personal viewpoint about the aspirations in life taking over what is most important: family relationships. I consider true art to be when an artist is able to put his/her own stamp on the work, whether it is morally imbued or reminiscent of their own experience, and Jason Rohrer has definitely achieved that. I wish you the best of luck as a “starry-eyed game student with gigantic ambitions”, hoping you’ll find your own way to make this medium much more meaningful.
ReplyDeleteCrazy! Haha. Not exactly the ideal life but inspiring non-the less! Happiness is whats important anyway. I think this is a super creatively approach to art and something we, as artists, should all take note of. You don’t have to construct art through such a conservative and idealistic process that is so accepted in life today. Go outside the confines and just create! I had never heard of this guy before but once I read this post and googled him I really got into his work. I’d be stoked if I could find one of his games to play!
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ReplyDeleteTruly, Jason Rohrer is hitting on some key things in the art of interactive communication. Until now, I had only heard of The Passage, well, in passing (sorry - couldn’t resist). After having played it, I can honestly say it had an effect on me. Oddly enough, I wasn’t greatly moved by the mere fact that my “wife” died. Rather, it was the sudden realization that my avatar had been slowly inching its way across the game screen. Throughout that entire time, my character was not only moving in relation to the world, but also slowly in relation to the screen as time passed. It was at that moment of realization that I realized my true path was a metaphor represented by the game screen. The fact that the screen is narrow and reminiscent of a path seems to back this up. As time passed, I moved across this “path” regardless of the direction I was walking. Indeed, it seems the true “passage” the title refers to is not a journey of space, but of time.
ReplyDeleteSo, then, the game seems to ask the player how to spend this time. Does he walk forward, exploring the ever-changing horizontal axis? Does he venture downward to collect items? In my play-through, I spent much more time exploring the horizontal axis, thinking that the game’s intended “passage” was in this direction. It turned out, however, that my choice to press onward did not significantly change the outcome of the game; my wife still died of old age, and I soon after. The game seems to be saying something about what it means to have a “life journey” – that it is not a physical journey to find material success, but rather a temporal journey in which we grow old with the ones we love.
I’m glad you posted this, Bryant. As long as you keep studying games like these, I know you will do great things in the area of emotionally compelling game design.
I think this is super cool. It's an unassailable work as far as choice and consequence go. I guess objectively it's a simple branching of the storyline because you're choosing the outcome. On the other hand, there's a depth of theme that comes from the game not overtly aiming you towards a specific path.
ReplyDeleteI also think the charm and effectiveness lie in the game's simplicity. I say this with a great deal of respect for small-form works in all artistic genres. As a musician, I tend to write songs and other short works because I can't wrap my head around all the intricacies of a symphony, for example. However, I would be interested to see some examples of this kind of art game on a large level. I'm guessing the economics of the industry probably prohibit this for the same reason the economics of the music industry don't exactly encourage the epic symphony. But there are benefactors that help art music get made; could there be something similar in the game world?