[game_preservation] Today I Die is out!

[Henry Lowood]

Devin,

from my perspective, this is more a work of e-literature than a game.   
I'm not really seeing a ludic aspect here.

Henry

Devin Monnens wrote:

> 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 <mailto:stuart.feldhamer at gmail.com>> wrote:

>

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

>     appear? Did I “win”?

>

>      

>

>     Stuart

>

>      

>

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

>     <mailto:lowood at stanford.edu>]

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

>     *To:* stuart at feldhamer.com <mailto: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>

>     [mailto: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 <mailto: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 <http://www.deserthat.com>

>

>     The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

>

>      

>

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

>

>

>         

>

>      

>

>     _______________________________________________

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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 <mailto:lowood at stanford.edu>; 650-723-4602

>

>

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>

>

>

> -- 

> Devin Monnens

> www.deserthat.com <http://www.deserthat.com>

>

> The sleep of Reason produces monsters.

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

>

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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
lowood at stanford.edu; 650-723-4602

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