Heads up! Spoilers like you wouldn't believe for Every day the same dream.
Today I woke up. Hit the flashing alarm. Got dressed. Turned off the blaring TV and walked past my wife. Entered the elevator, then my car. Slogged through traffic to get to the office. Got yelled at by the boss. Sat among my coworkers at my cubicle. Worked. Woke up. Started another day.
Today I took a detour and met a strange man who took me to a silent graveyard where I realized how not unlike death my life was. Today I went to work in nothing but underwear in stark defiance of the unyielding muted world around me. The woman in the elevator promises I'm getting closer. Today I stopped and held a leaf, marveling at its perfect solitary beauty. Today I became friends with a cow.
Today the woman in the elevator told me there was one last step. Today I realized my final act. Today I marched past rows of cubicles filled with purpose. Today I stepped out onto the ledge.
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Today I watched a man fall to his death.
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No more "today"s, I promise. I just finished Every Day the Same Dream and wanted to write something about it while it was still fresh. Mind you, that also means I probably haven't given this the though it deserves. For the uninitiated, the game is played by living through a day in the life of a cubicle worker over and over again. Unchallenged, it unfolds as a depressingly boring routine, but the player can explore deviations from the norm.
Something that surprised me was how attached I became to the things in my monotonous day. From my blinking alarm clock to the wife who was always up and looking to make sure I got out the door to my overbearing boss, there was definitely something comforting about the rut. Even so, it wasn't long before I'd be silently screaming for anything to break up the routine if I did get stuck.
The points of relief from the grind were decidedly rewarding. Strutting down the street in nothing but my underoos and patting an undoubtedly bemused cow both put a smile on my face while watching the single leaf fall and standing in the desolate graveyard prompted me to stop and reflect on the bleak beauty.
Jumping off the ledge was my final act and its presentation was impeccable. Standing alone before the empty cityscape had me feeling desperate and unwilling to face any more drudgery. At the end, there was nothing more for me despite what beauty I'd seen. I don't want to trivialize
suicide by any means, but I can't help but call this a poignant scene.
The crux of the game comes after all of the exploration has been completed. The world of the final day is absent of any life beyond the protagonist and the player can do nothing except walk through the familiar but empty haunts of the life now well known. Ultimately, the ledge is reached again and there the protagonist is witness to someone who looks identical to himself jumping off.
The game's commentary isn't wholly original, but the delivery is effective. I was never explicitly forced to commit suicide but faced with a continuation of the life I'd seen it was the choice I made. That said, I can't reconcile myself with the ending. While I'm used to being confused, that doesn't change that I don't know what interpretation to make. Were we watching the second-last man on earth leap in an exaggeration where the point was that the search for escape is unavoidable? Was the protagonist reviewing the essence of his life and justifying his decision based on that? Was the author simply bent on screwing with us?
I don't have the answer. Maybe I'd feel differently if I did, but I think that lack of closure brought down the game for me. It's still interesting, though personally, I'm left more unsatisfied than shaken. Of course, maybe that's the point, in some terribly meta moved? Man, I am not smart enough for indie games. Still, I think it's worth a look. It's a grey world punctuated by motes of finite charm and beyond all else it serves as a good reminder to appreciate everything special in life.
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I did a blog on this game a while back, where I tried to interpret it a little bit if you're interested in some other thoughts on the game. I'm glad other people care enough to write about it, instead of just writing it off as a pretentious indie game.
Not true. It is a failing in the game for not effectively communicating its message. As brilliant as the game is, the finale does not do the past 15 minutes of gameplay justice, and I don't think the excuse of 'not being smart enough' is acceptable. Narrative need not be dependant on asking the player what they think it means, that should just be a personal decision if you feel like you want to explore the experience. Hidden meaning can (and in my opinion, should) be implied, reflecting what the player has done, without being so nebulous that you are never able to learn the intended lesson or experience the intended meaning.
I read your blog and LK404's after I had posted mine only because I wanted my reflection to be free of external influence. I definitely appreciated your take, especially that final point about you having moved past suicide. And yeah, I felt it was important to examine a game that strives to be thought-provoking. Maybe I'm hoping these kinds of meditations will become more common.
@UglyDuck
I'd intended that as more of a throwaway joke, but I eagerly agree with your argument. That said, I don't think it's impossible for someone to skip past an ending that isn't clearly laid out and since such a presentation could be too heavy-handed, so would you say there is some leeway for a nebulous message? I can't promise I won't someday decipher the ending, so I'm reluctant to dismiss it completely.
I definitely think that was a good decision to have your own thought process about it before reading about someone else's. I really respect that.
I've been attempting to interpret the Bit Trip games for ages, and I'm sure someone out there has their own thoughts about what they're about, but I really want to figure it out for myself rather than buy into someone else's mindset.