Bientôt l’été

Play Journal 2013-02-20: Do Not Want

Bientôt l’été – This journal is not supposed to be a place for full-fledged reviews, so I’ll keep it short and instead refer to an actual review by Chris Bateman [SPOILER ALERT on that link btw]. Throughout playing the game (yes, it’s a game. Fuck off.) I find myself thinking how wonderful and amazing it is that someone’s made this. You wouldn’t experience this in any other medium in the same way or to the same extent. It’s the same thought that races through me when I read the Illuminatus trilogy. I can hardly believe that thing was written, but of course it was actually written and not made as a TV series or a film. Who would ever have allowed that to happen (OK, maybe it would have been cleared today, when the conspiracy thriller is always much more believable than what is actually going on)? Who would have funded such a strange projec? I guess it boils down to independence. Tale of Tales are able to make these sorts of works because they shelter themselves (in a deliberate and thought through way) from much of the games industry (so, maybe it’s not a game? So what? Fuck off). The only drawback was that I had to rely on a simulated partner to play. I’ll try to set up a game with a partner in the future.
BTW, I took some pictures while I was in the game. They’re at the bottom of the post. [SPOILER ALERT on the pictures as well]

Activate The Three Artifacts And Then Leave – I don’t know where I read about this (could be something in connection to Antichamber or maybe something about the title being similar to You Have To Burn The Rope) or when I downloaded it, but on a whim, while waiting for Steam stuff to download and install, I finally tried it out today. Only trying it out for ten minutes didn’t get me far. I didn’t manage to find the three artifacts (or leave), but I’ll give it a fair shot soon enough. Having spent so much time in the Antichamber lately left me less impressed than I may have been had I not been there.

Spaceship With A Mace – This game is going to be part of our event on Friday at Inkonst, so I thought I’d check it out. It’s very good, but I wonder what it’s like with four people instead of only two. I’ll find out tomorrow, I hope. Really liked the different settings and the fact that they were clearly visible (the heavy mace, for instance, was super big and nasty looking)

BaraBariBall – Sparred a bit with V. I think I’m getting a hang of the movement in this game, which, of course, is key. It’s also nice discovering the little tricks for oneself, and BBB has a couple of those,

Tennnes – This one is strange and fun. But the difference in experience (me having played it a couple of times before, V having never played) really made all the difference.

Hotline Miami – Played it for a couple of minutes just to show it to V. I need to finish this one, but I noticed how slacking off in Hotline Miami means you have a lot to make up for when returning to it later. I barely stepped inside the door to start my impromptu demonstration before I was promptly slaughtered. Good fun.