Necessary Games

Why are we playing computer games?

Jordan Magnuson — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:18:21 +0000

Why are we playing computer games, if not in hope of beauty laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Can the interactive artist isolate and vivify all in experience that most deeply engages our intellects and our hearts? Can the programmer-creator renew our hope for the interactive medium? Why are we playing computer games if not in hope that the creator will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so we may feel again their majesty and power?

What do we ever know that is higher than that power which, from time to time, seizes our lives, and reveals us startlingly to ourselves as creatures set down here bewildered? Why does death so catch us by surprise, and why love? We still and always want waking.

(Adapted from Annie Dillard’s The Writing Life)

5 Colors Pandora

Jordan Magnuson — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:22:06 +0000

An exploration game about colors and their consequences. Not particularly long, but a bit more difficult than my usual offerings. Hints are included in the download, and a complete video playthrough is available on YouTube (thanks Ortoslon).

5 Colors Pandora was originally made for Ludum Dare 16, where it came in 9th (out of 121 entries)… it was later entered into the 6th Gamer Maker Competition, where it made the final 15 (out of 275 entries).

Discussion and Reactions: TIGForums, Ludum Dare, YoYo Games, IndieGames.com.

Some kind words:

One word: GENIUS! (Atomic, LD Feedback).

Absolutely brilliant… I liked this game so much that, when I accidentally quit the game by hitting escape trying to pause when I got a phone call near the very end, I played it all the way through again just to finish (Philomory, LD Feedback).

Astonishing (Sos, LD Feedback).

Unique and intriguing (Frimkron, LD Feedback).

Deceptively deep (SonnyBone, LD Feedback).

The best game I have seen in this competition so far in every aspect (Risko, LD Feedback).

[One of] a selection of games released in 2010 which I absolutely loved (Terry Cavanagh, Distractionware.com).

On the flip side:

Meh. Nice atmosphere, but lots of backtracking and the ending… pff (Anonymous, IndieGames.com comments).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Walk or Die

Jordan Magnuson — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 02:33:18 +0000

More poem than game, Walk or Die is a study in the most minimalistic interaction I could think of. Does it deserve to be called “interactive” at all? You decide.

Walk or Die was made for the TIGSource “A Game By Its Cover” competition; you can see the cart that inspired it here.

Discuss at the Notgames Forums, FlashPunk Forums, or TIGForums.

Some kinds words:

Nice! (Michaël Samyn, Tale of Tales).

I played it for at least ten minutes, while walking on my treadmill :D… I really like it (axcho, Notgames Forums).

It made me think about a lot of things for the 20 minutes I held the spacebar down. Mostly about mortality and solitude (Albert L., NG Comments).

Thirty… minutes… addicted. Something about this was just so… tranquil (Reetva, TIGForums).

On the flip side:

This game is exactly what I expected it to be. Which is kind of disappointing, really (Soulliard, TIGForums).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Loneliness

Jordan Magnuson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:33:53 +0000

An experimental, minimalistic microgame about loneliness, made for the Korean middle school students I taught for a year.

Loneliness was an official selection of the Extra Credits Innovation Awards 2011, in the category of Narrative Delivery.

Discussion and Reactions: Ludum Dare, Notgames Forums, TIGForums, FlashPunk Forums, Newgrounds, Kongregate, Twitter, IndieGames.com.

Some kind words:

Affected me the first time, and even more strongly the second (Gregory Weir, game designer).

Made me really really really really really really really really really sad inside (Elspeth, NG Comments).

Worth every second (PlayIndieGames.Wordpress.com).

I can’t say that this game makes me feel particularly lonely, or particularly sad. But what it does do (very well, I think), is force me to make a decision: will I continue to engage, even though I KNOW it’s fruitless, or will I give up? And that question, I think, is profound. Because that IS what loneliness feels like: a never ending pattern of rejection. A hopeless state which will not change. And the only choices are to despair (to move, alone, into the dark), or to continue to pour out energy in what we believe (what we feel we KNOW) to be a pointless endeavor. What I loved about the game was that it demonstrated that, despite my knowledge of futility, I couldn’t choose isolation (AmelMag, NG Comments).

On the flip side:

Ye gods, it’s not emo sixth form poetry these days is it, it’s dreadful indie games (Kate S, Twitter).

So grauenhaft wie das und seine anderen Spiele programmiert sind, glaube ich eher dass er diese “schlichte” Aufmachung leider nur wählt weil er es nicht besser kann (Besucher2778, Spreeblick.com).

The meta-game reason for it aside; it does have nice music and visuals, but you can’t use ‘minimalist’ as an excuse for not having any real content. There’d be many ways to take some time and actually give it a point beyond the meta-game point to it. Games can have meanings and messages beyond just being a ‘game,’ but a game must have some sort of rules and goals to it to fulfill its primary purpose as a game. Without that, it doesn’t matter the reasoning or point to it, it’ll just be dull (Pyrewraith, Kongregate).

Lame as fuck (Greg, IndieGames.com comments).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Being There

Jordan Magnuson — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 06:57:15 +0000

An extremely experimental little work of interactive fiction with pictures, about existence and Korea. Being There requires that you download and install a free Glulx interpreter.

For Windows: download WinGlulxe
For Mac OS X: download Zoom
For Linux: download Glulxe for Linux

Once you’ve installed a Glulx interpreter, go ahead and download Being There. You’ll need to unzip it, then open it with the Glulx interpreter.

Discuss at the Notgames Forums, TIGForums, or the IFDB.

Some kind words:

An Ode to Joy… the joy of living, the joy of experiencing and acting—that is what this game is about (Victor Gijsbers, celebrated author of De Baron and Fate).

I really enjoyed it. Evoked a strong feeling of nostalgia—memories of chilly autumn days at the park and such. The photos were lovely. I loved all of the different interactions you programmed in—it was quite compelling just exploring this mysterious, kind of magical world. Made me feel like I was a kid again (Adam, TIGForums).

I have played through it five times so far. The pictures seem alive and the actions are awesome… It felt like I was there. I just wish it wasn’t so short (Brendan Magnuson, my brother).

A touching travelogue… a love letter to Korea (Peter, IFDB).

On the flip side:

In the end, it really doesn’t say very much about either existence or Korea (Felix Larsson, IFDB).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Freedom Bridge

Jordan Magnuson — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:20:27 +0000

A very small notgame about Freedom Bridge, in Korea. Takes about two minutes to play through.

Freedom Bridge was recently showcased by Extra Credits as one of twenty-seven “most interesting games of recent years that you might not have tried (or heard of).”

Discussion and Reactions: Notgames Forums, TIGForums, Flashpunk Forums, Newgrounds, Kongregate, Twitter.

Some kind words:

One of the most intense interactive experiences I’ve ever had. I went on and watched some short documentaries about Korea afterwards in order to process the tension it had left me with (Mitsche, FlashPunk Forums).

I’ve listened to countless NPR stories and read dozens of New York Times pieces on the complicated situation between North and South Korea, but nothing emotionally immobilized me the same way that Jordan Magnuson’s Freedom Bridge did (Patrick Klepek, EGMi issue 241.5, page 5).

One of the best video games I’ve played all year (Fraser McMillan, Resolution Magazine).

An excellent demonstration of how you can use the medium to really have an impact (Brooks Harrel, college student with a ‘starving artist’ passion for game design).

Short, to the point, and beautiful (benedict, FlashPunk Blog).

Very much worth the quick playthrough! (GameSetWatch).

I often take issue with games this short and message-centric, but it was very effective (Bryan Suchenski).

Here, despite being the barest representation possible, is something far more deeply affecting than the biggest budget “emotional experience” being crafted today (Eolirin, Raph Koster’s Blog).

Best flash game ever? (multiple posts on Twitter).

On the flip side:

Sorry, but I have a hard time calling this a game. The supposed interaction was so limited as to be meaningless (BigJonno, Resolution Magazine comments).

You know, a game doesn’t become good or moving just because a poignant message is flashed at the end (Desper, Resolution Magazine comments).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Country Connect!

Jordan Magnuson — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:39:33 +0000

A game of world travel inspired by the 10 Days board games and aimed at casual game players. It was designed with netbooks in mind, for Intel’s Atom Developer Challenge. It was chosen by Intel as the best education & reference application of the contest.

The game was made in Python, which means that Mac and Linux builds should be possible. If you have a Mac or Linux machine, and would be interested in helping me test the game for your platform, please let me know.

Discuss at the TIGSource Forums.

Some kind words:

Before you know it you are immersed in a knowledge of world geography. It’s almost like cheating, the education is so easy and fun here (Intel App Developer Blog).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Terrorist Killer

Jordan Magnuson — Tue, 25 May 2010 04:52:00 +0000

A short political game about terrorism and the war on terror. Originally made for the Kokoromi one-button challenge.

I’m afraid it may be a bit heavy-handed, but then again, so is life.

Terrorist Killer was an official selection of the Extra Credits Innovation Awards 2011, in the category of Positive Impact.

Discuss at TIGForums.

Some kind words:

A very effective use of the medium… The brutal simplicity of it is precisely what makes it powerful (Jonas Kyratzes, artist and game designer).

A game that makes a point without forgetting that it has to be a game (PC Gamer).

On the flip side:

Meh. Tasteless game. So if you need to butcher countless innocents to stop the “OMG TERRORISTS”, how exactly are you any better than them? (Diasp0ra, PC Gamer).

Read more and download at NecessaryGames.com.

Exploring Emotion and Aesthetics with A Boy and His Blob and Lucidity

Jordan Magnuson — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 06:12:28 +0000

Most of the games that I’ve ever played—and I’d venture to say most of the games we’ve ever created—are lacking in emotional depth. Many people have made this observation, and it’s coming to border on cliché. You probably don’t want to hear it any more. But if we want to make better games we’ve got to try and address these clichéd complaints that keep hitting us in the face, rather than just point out how clichéd they are. Over the last couple of months I’ve played two games that have impressed me with their emotional landscapes, so I thought I’d take some time to reflect on them. One of the games I think is great, and both, I believe, are important, for what they try to be and do.

The Games in Question

The games in question are A Boy and His Blob, by WayForward Technologies, and Lucidity, by the LucasArts Workshop. Each game offers some variation on puzzle-based, platformesque gameplay, and each presents a luscious, hand-painted graphical style, central to its charm. Just take a look at these screenshots:

Civilization: The Good Kind of Addicted

Jordan Magnuson — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:50:46 +0000

Civilization is one of those games that has been hallowed nearly time out of mind. Sid Meier was, after all, the second person in history to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame. So do I really need to write an article on the series? I don’t know, but I want to. I want to write about Civilization, because I recently played the latest iterations of the game after many years away^¹ and was struck by the formula’s greatness yet again. I played a lot of Civ II back in the day; enough to know, like anyone else who’s ever touched a Civ game, that the things are seriously addictive. But back when I used to play Civ II I didn’t really give that fact much thought (at least not as much as my parents may have): I just knew that I liked the game, and kept coming back to it. This time around, as “one more turn” syndrome hit me once again with the force of a ton of morphine, it made me think. About games, about addiction, about what’s worth doing in life.