[game_preservation] Today I Die is out!

[Devin Monnens]

Today I Die is a game presentation of a poem. The format of how the game
progresses resembles puzzle games, but I don't think the focus is so much on
how to 'win' the game as it is how you react to it. The final state of the
game (four lines of text and a background) is merely one part of the poem,
much as different scenes are to a film. One result of the puzzle-like form
of the game I feel is that you can have a more intimate analysis of each
part of the poem, almost as if the format makes it easier to contemplate
what each word means and how it affects the text.

If the game has a multiple-ending format like I Wish I Were the Moon or I
Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colors, a result of this seems to be that
it makes it easier to think about how to find all the endings as a goal in
itself. Though of course finding each ending can give you a sense of
surprise and discovery at the unexpected outcome. Achieving the goal and
figuring out how to solve the problem is something that games are pretty
good at, but as a result that's often how we first begin to approach a game.
(Interestingly, if your computer runs very slow, Majesty of Colors gives you
a completely different experience than if it runs at full speed!).

Ultimately though, there's no 'right' way to respond to the game, just as
there's really no 'right' way to play a game, read a book, or look at a
painting (as much as 'connoisseurship' might suggest). As a result, maybe
it's more about what you're looking for or looking to get out of the work
than what the author or critic 'wants' you to get.

On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 8:28 PM, Stuart Feldhamer <stuart.feldhamer at gmail.com

> wrote:



>  Well, I gave it another chance, and got a 4th line of text to appear? Did

> I “win”?

>

>

>

> Stuart

>

>

>

> *From:* Henry Lowood [mailto:lowood at stanford.edu]

> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:17 PM

> *To:* stuart at feldhamer.com; IGDA Game Preservation SIG

> *Subject:* Re: [game_preservation] Today I Die is out!

>

>

>

> I hate to admit it, but I'm with Stuart on this.  Henry

>

> Stuart Feldhamer wrote:

>

> Uh…. I don’t get it.

>

>

>

> Stuart

>

>

>

> *From:* game_preservation-bounces at igda.org [

> mailto:game_preservation-bounces at igda.org<game_preservation-bounces at igda.org>]

> *On Behalf Of *Devin Monnens

> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 06, 2009 1:47 PM

> *Cc:* women_dev at igda.org; IGDA Game Preservation SIG

> *Subject:* [game_preservation] Today I Die is out!

>

>

>

> Sorry this is a little off-topic (aside from the games part). Daniel

> Benmergui has finally released Today I Die. Go and play it RIGHT NOW.

>

> http://ludomancy.com/games/today.html

>

> --

> Devin Monnens

> www.deserthat.com

>

> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>

>

>

> ------------------------------

>

>

>

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>

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>

>

>

>

>  --

>

> Henry Lowood

>

> Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections;

>

>      Film & Media Collections

>

> HRG, Green Library

>

> 557 Escondido Mall, Stanford University Libraries

>

> Stanford CA 94305-6004 USA

>

> http://www.stanford.edu/~lowood <http://www.stanford.edu/%7Elowood>

>

> lowood at stanford.edu; 650-723-4602

>

>

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-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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