Civilization, Stanley Parable, Trauma
I've had a Civilization itch for a few weeks now, so I played some Civ 5 (Harun al-Rachid, cultural victory achieved in 1967). I had a realization, after I was done and I realized that I'd been playing pretty much all day, that I used to finish 2-3 games of Civ II in a week, but now a similar length of game is just way too long for the time I have to spare. Strange how things change.
So, last night, I went back to Civilization Revolution, which I love for it's ability to deliver a Civilization experience which is fun, fast, and wraps a surprising amount of complexity into a seemingly-simple package. I finished two games by the time I went to bed.
Later, I played a Half-life mod called The Stanley Parable, which had come up on both the EXP Podcast and something Amy was listening to. The mod, taking about 10 minutes to play each time, but with several possible outcomes, explores the relationship between the player and narrator/story direction in a video game. I thought it was pretty clever, and certainly worth a few minutes of your time. I found myself replaying it over and over to try different options.
I also played Trauma, a game about a woman who's recovering from a car accident in which she also lost her parents. In recovery, she keeps having the same dreams which can be explored and resolved in different, dream-logic type ways. Loved the visual style - the game's world is made up of dozens of photographs that the character moves between, and it uses camera tricks like long exposures and streaking to give the setting a dream-like quality. Also quite enjoyed the way the story is told - game takes place after events have already happened, and you spend your time re-assembling the story and trying to find resolution for the protagonist. Different dreams explore different aspects of our protagonist's life. I'd definitely say you should click, and give it a try.
So, last night, I went back to Civilization Revolution, which I love for it's ability to deliver a Civilization experience which is fun, fast, and wraps a surprising amount of complexity into a seemingly-simple package. I finished two games by the time I went to bed.
Later, I played a Half-life mod called The Stanley Parable, which had come up on both the EXP Podcast and something Amy was listening to. The mod, taking about 10 minutes to play each time, but with several possible outcomes, explores the relationship between the player and narrator/story direction in a video game. I thought it was pretty clever, and certainly worth a few minutes of your time. I found myself replaying it over and over to try different options.
I also played Trauma, a game about a woman who's recovering from a car accident in which she also lost her parents. In recovery, she keeps having the same dreams which can be explored and resolved in different, dream-logic type ways. Loved the visual style - the game's world is made up of dozens of photographs that the character moves between, and it uses camera tricks like long exposures and streaking to give the setting a dream-like quality. Also quite enjoyed the way the story is told - game takes place after events have already happened, and you spend your time re-assembling the story and trying to find resolution for the protagonist. Different dreams explore different aspects of our protagonist's life. I'd definitely say you should click, and give it a try.