Why weird games are important.

[clyde]

It has only been in the past year that I have started to notice that there are distribution-channels outside of Xbox, Sony, Nintendo, and Steam. At first I may have been pushing myself a little bit to give smaller games a chance, but at this point curation sites like Warpdoor and Freeindiegam.es and the larger hosts (such as Game Jolt, Newgrounds, and Itch.io) have become arguably more significant to me. I still love Titanfall, and Spelunky and I can't wait for the next Dragon Age, but the breadth of experience that is much easier to access from playing five or so freeware titles a week has really taken me by surprise and makes me say to myself on a regular basis "What if I hadn't fallen through the floor in Galah Galah? Would I still be consuming nothing but polished products!?"

 

But we already know that clyde is struck with a case of small-game fever, let's listen to someone else talk about it in a much more convincing way.

 

 

http://critical-proximity.com/2014/03/16/why-weird-games-are-important/

[Dosed]

I know this may be going against the entire point of this post, but do you think you could recommend a couple? I'd love to try some of these things out as I can't really afford to buy any new games for a while and I'd hate to be put off by picking a couple of unenjoyable games in a row. I've been playing a few beta type games recently like Tiny Wizard (not that it's particularly weird) and I played TRIHAYWBFRFYH a while a go, and really enjoyed the unusual experience. 

 

Is there any way you could give me a top 3 just to guide me in the right direction? 

[clyde]

I'm conflicted here because I want to recommend some of my favorites, but I recognize that you might not enjoy them and I would hate to sour you on this enormous pool of content.

But I'm a sucker, I'm going to do it anyway because what gamer is capable of not making recommendations when asked for them.

1. Cowboy Living by thecatamites.

This is the game that we are discussing in the 50 short-games games club this week. It's free, it's short, it's pretty easy (except the part where you have to shoot the desperado).

Go over to that thread for the link and here is hoping that you share your opinions about the game. There aren't many of us there and any contribution would make the discussion even more exciting. It's actually been great so far, but it feels a bit cloistered at the moment.

I think this is a great example because part of the point is that the way we value games is typically based on things that Stewart mentions in his essay here; the verdict of whether or not the game is good or bad, does the product meet the expectations we have as consumers. I suspect that there is a lot of potential here to see that the particular discussion a game enables is a way to value it.

https://www.idlethumbs.net/forums/topic/9515-50-short-games-by-thecatamites-game-club/page-2#entry307848

2. Galah Galah by Jake Clover

I'm recommending this one because this is the game that made me want to play more freeware. I had started to play a few games (I think I was looking at Live Free, Play Hard or Freeindiegam.es every once in a while). I had seen some positive words about Problem Attic but when I played it I found it frustrating and offering very little for my efforts, but Problem Attic had prepped me for the idea that "broken" could be interesting.

I think some of the screen-shots of Galah Galah caught my eye around that time and so I tried it out. At the beginning of the game I thought that the art was terrible and that the game was broken. I actually restarted it a few times. But then things happened in the game and I saw that I hold certain mechanical, aesthetic, and narrative expectations for games as objectively correct and I'm potentially missing out on experiences that I find very interesting. The same is true for DOTA but Galah Galah didn't require a massive time-commitment from me, it just required me to doubt my convictions and allow myself to be in a child-like state of wonderment. I've since played a few more Jake Clover games and I enjoy seeing how they inform each other. Playing his games feels more like listening to The Mountain Goats (not in tone) than going through the Mass Effect series. I linked it in the first post.

3. The Fabulous Screech by Jonas and Verena Kryratzes

I choose this game as my third because it demonstrates a relaxation of the narrative expectation differently than how Galah Galah does so (and in a way that I find just as valuable). I just happened across this one and it will never appear on my Game-of-the-Year list, but I enjoyed it. I was talking to a friend of mine about why I love college-radio. I was stating that there are some songs that I just want to hear once and then have them disappear. His response was one of understood agreement when he said "You can enjoy a song without having to put it on the soundtrack of your life."

http://wip.warpdoor.com/2014/06/16/the-fabulous-screech-jonas-kyratzes-verena-kyratzes/

These are three recommendations, but I'm not going to claim that they have some sort of cannonical quality. I think that part of the idea in Stewart's essay is that games don't have to be valued in those terms. It's like how we don't assess every sentence that we over-hear in public based on whether or not it's better than the current reigning champion for best-sentence-I've-overheard-in-public.

My main suggestion would be to just browse freeware on one of the curation sites I linked in the first post when you are sitting in front of your computer and you don't have anything specific you want to play. I play a lot of games that don't stick, but even when that happens with freeware, I get a little taste of something different. You might even experiment with how different the experience is of interacting with the game's creator with a comment or tweet. Even when some of the games just feel like poorly implemented clones, there is a potential value-perspective that is directly opposed to the consumer-model we've grown used to. Stephen Murphy demonstrates this incredibly well in the third issue of The Arcade Review (not free), where he explains that many of the games made with RPG Maker 2003 are beside the point and that the real thing of value was the subculture and its rituals that grew around that game-engine and its particular idiosyncacies.

I'm currently very excited about starting to view computer-games as something more akin to music-culture, rather than walking around a shopping-mall looking for a pair of work-shoes. Thanks for the interest Dosed.

[Dosed]

Well I just tried Galah Galah for the first time. My thoughts are pretty unformed so I'll try to be as concise and clear as I can.

 

In terms of aesthetics I thought it was quite interesting. I definitely don't believe that looks make a game, and that's a pretty obvious thing to say, but this game is so out there, in terms of appearance, that I thought it would be worth mentioning. I've certainly never played anything that looks anything like this. It made me feel quite uncomfortable, but I also think that was coupled with the sound design. There was a scream in the shmup section that spooked me something fierce. The sound in general was pretty uncaring about the player's comfort or enjoyment. It reminded me a bit of the sudden cuts in Don Hertzfeldt's animations with their sudden harsh sounds. The early sections had this pretty oppressive tone that I found interesting. It's something that always fascinates me, but at the same time makes me empathise with real life instances of oppression that it knocks me for six. I really liked the changing of character and scene without explanation. It kind of does away with the need for context and I found myself piecing together what the hell was going on. I didn't get very far in that respect.

 

There were a few things I found a bit of a struggle. It literally took me 5 minutes to complete (once? In fact I don't know if it plays out differently if you choose different paths) so I feel like I can't judge it too harshly in certain areas. But I guess I'll give it a go. Games like this really do make me question "what is game?". There's no clear goal or reward apart from you finish the game and get to say "I finished it". it's clearly supposed to go against these rules of what a game is, but I'm not sure I enjoy it because of that. I don't need to be fed little shiny things to feel like I've "gotten" something from the game, but there's a few games I've played that do a similar thing and pull it off better. For example Thirty Flights of Loving doesn't give you a high score, but walking through the world is a joy and sections like the floating party reception are rewards in and of themselves. Maybe I do need a reward. Even if it is just aesthetic or audio. I'm not sure I was rewarded with anything for playing Galah Galah but I appreciated what it was trying to do. 

 

I'll try some more of these later, after I've done some more studying for my course.  

[clyde]

I am so excited that you played Galah Galah.

[dibs]

I don't think its quite what you are getting at clyde, but I found AntiChamber superb.

[clyde]

I don't think its quite what you are getting at clyde, but I found AntiChamber superb.

I got stuck in AntiChamber early on and I've been too intimidated by the need to remember my previous discoveries, that I haven't gone back in. I'll give it another go.

Games at the level of scope, distribution and exposure like AntiChamber and Night In The Woods and Papers Please are an interesting part of Stewart's argument (or possibly just my interpretation of it). Take Night In The Woods for example. If I'm not mistaken, this game is funded through Kickstarter and looks like it will eventually be purchasable on Steam and the Humble Store and all that. This is fantastic that its happening. I am very much looking forward to playing Night In The Woods because it looks to offer something I can't find elsewhere that I will value. Not only that, but the method of funding is an exciting part of the game's development and I'm sure that it will have an effect on the my experience with it. This tier of "indie games" are what I think Stewart is referring to when he says "indies with capital". I don't think that he is dismissing those games, but I think he's trying to point out that the majority of published games-criticism and the broader consumer games-culture understands how to talk about those games; they understand the way to express why they are worth the consumer's money and time. This is not a problem. The problem is when these games are perceived as the most accessible tier of game as a worthwhile creative goal. I can't make a game at the level of AntiChamber, it requires technical know-how, time and or money, and a level of discipline that I neither have nor desire to attain. Not only is it not likely that I can make a game of that quality, but many others have their own personal situations in which it is not a likely potential. This, of course, doesn't mean that games like of AntiChamber's caliber shouldn't be bought, enjoyed, and appreciated; it just brings to mind that if games must be of that caliber in order to be worthy of being played and discussed, then the medium of games is going to continue to express far fewer perspectives than it is capable of.

If we can begin to see the medium of games as something more similar to a language than to a product (and not only considering the examples which reach the level of polish that qualify the game as a marketable product) then we open ourselves to the ability to appreciate games more like how we appreciate music. There is a cultural understanding that a little kid learning piano might not be a concert-pianist and we have the vernacular and value-system to understand that, but there seems to be a prevalent attitude that making games will only be worthwhile if you make Minecraft, getting a job at EA, or selling your game on Steam. I'm excited about the thinking, acting, and communities that provide alternative value-systems.

I'm still working all this out, so excuse any assertion of confidence I'm making. I think that this is an interesting subject and I appreciate y'all talking about it with me.

[feelthedarkness]

I dig a lot of what's come out of the eastern block, STALKER was a real awakening, which granted isn't weird, but non-standard in a way that made me look to other regional game. Ice Pick Lodge games have delivered some delightful weirdness.

 

Pathologic, The Void, and Cargo-The Quest for Gravity. They're all kind of janky.

[Dosed]

I just downloaded, from Warp Door, Remnants of a Beautiful Day by Soy Sauce. I'd definitely recommend it. It's pretty weird, but not the most bizarre thing I've ever played. But I'm just gonna spoiler myself a bit so I don't ruin anything for anyone. It'd be awesome if Clyde played this as something in his initial response to my first post rang true with my experience of this game. It only took me like 10 minutes to kind of play it... 

 

This is more of what I'd be interested in playing in terms of strangeness or non-traditional game type game-game 'em ups. The art style isn't jarring and it's pretty nice to look at. The opening was pretty clever with the home sign pointing the opposite way you had just came from. It was pretty poignant for me as I've just moved back into my family home, with intentions of moving countries, after 5 years of living on my own. I saw the sign had a little home symbol on it and initially headed back in that direction, but then decided to head out into the unknown. It's a pretty simple game, but I like having the ol' switcheroo pulled on me and I like the underground magical world vibe that was going on. I have to admit that I couldn't get passed the chase sequence as being chased and repetitive music tends to bring on panic attack-esque symptoms so I attempted it a few times but had to call it quits. I'm not even sure if you can get passed it. I wouldn't mind either way. I also haven't/didn't attempt to go back home at the beginning and it sort of reminded me of something you'd said Clyde about the college radio nature of these games. I have never personally encountered college radio, but thanks to American cultural osmosis/saturation/domination in the UK I think I get the metaphor. It's nice to just give these games one go and get a flavour for what else is out there.

[clyde]

I just downloaded, from Warp Door, Remnants of a Beautiful Day by Soy Sauce. I'd definitely recommend it. It's pretty weird, but not the most bizarre thing I've ever played. But I'm just gonna spoiler myself a bit so I don't ruin anything for anyone. It'd be awesome if Clyde played this as something in his initial response to my first post rang true with my experience of this game. It only took me like 10 minutes to kind of play it... 

 

This is more of what I'd be interested in playing in terms of strangeness or non-traditional game type game-game 'em ups. The art style isn't jarring and it's pretty nice to look at. The opening was pretty clever with the home sign pointing the opposite way you had just came from. It was pretty poignant for me as I've just moved back into my family home, with intentions of moving countries, after 5 years of living on my own. I saw the sign had a little home symbol on it and initially headed back in that direction, but then decided to head out into the unknown. It's a pretty simple game, but I like having the ol' switcheroo pulled on me and I like the underground magical world vibe that was going on. I have to admit that I couldn't get passed the chase sequence as being chased and repetitive music tends to bring on panic attack-esque symptoms so I attempted it a few times but had to call it quits. I'm not even sure if you can get passed it. I wouldn't mind either way. I also haven't/didn't attempt to go back home at the beginning and it sort of reminded me of something you'd said Clyde about the college radio nature of these games. I have never personally encountered college radio, but thanks to American cultural osmosis/saturation/domination in the UK I think I get the metaphor. It's nice to just give these games one go and get a flavour for what else is out there.

 

I would love to, but I get an error.

 

 

___________________________________________

ERROR in

action number 1

of Create Event

for object bass_control:

 

Error defining an external function.

 

 

Unfortunately there is no obvious way to contact the developer to figure out how to fix the problem. Seems to me that an ability to comment on itch.io pages or atleast a "contact" link would be useful for these occassions. 

 

Edit: feeling hopeless, I went ahead and read your spoiler. I enjoyed it.

[SuperBiasedMan]

I have now played Cowboy Living, Galah Galah, Remnants of a Beautiful Day and the Fabulous Screech in the last while. They all really showed what it is that I want weird games, it's because they do things that just don't get properly picked up in the games 'with capital' where the overall goal is to be sold to an audience. Even if it's not a very money making endeavour, the general idea of the games with capital is to appeal to people and relate to games they're already familiar with.

 

All the games I just played include less appealing elements to them. Most obviously Galah Galah is jarring, difficult and unclear. But that's because the games are busy focusing on totally different things. It's almost like playing an experiment, and when I'm recurringly picking up a game and only playing it for a little while before I 'get' it, having something being so far removed from my understanding gives me a lot more than game that's "X meets Y".

 

 

Note, it's not that games with capital are bad of course, I've played a LOT of Spelunky and TF2, but when games borrow so heavily from one another as they do, there's only a small amount that's 'new' in each iteration, and it feels less worthwhile to go after all of them compared to a series of weird games where the design philosophy wasn't about building on the gaming industry foundation, but just doing what the designer felt like for that game. (not that there's going to be no influence, but intentionally structuring a game around existing design philosophy is different to being subconsciously having it affect you)

[clyde]

I am so excited that you played Galah Galah.

[gamesthatexist]

Nice thread. The game that introduced me to alternative channels was Cart Life around 2012. It's sort of famous now, but this was before it had been covered by any major sites besides RPS, before it had won the IGF, before it was on Steam, so it felt really mysterious and strange. I saw Cart Life on a post on Electron Dance. The post and the game inspired me to look for similar smaller freeware games and blog about them. I have since realized that Cart Life was actually pretty elaborate in its construction. This was before Free Indie Games even, so sites like auntiepixelante and Play This Thing (which doesn't seem to be online anymore) helped me find stuff. So yeah...I recommend Cart Life as a nice entry point to video games that offer alternative experiences.

 

I also want to recommend La La Land. It's a free series of five short games with recurring themes and a consistent protagonist. Of the La La Land series, Anna Anthropy has written,

 

in the way that static might draw attention to the pauses in a phone conversation, la la land emphasizes those vast between-spaces in the dialogue between player and game

[SuperBiasedMan]

It pains me that Cart Life was described as "Awesome but not for everyone."

I actually didn't get round to trying it yet but I'm downloading it now.

 

 

I am so excited that you played Galah Galah.

 

It was really amazing, I was genuinely so thrown by how to deal with the experience, it felt like it kept changing the rules on me in different ways each time.