If indeed, you are like me, the title caught your eye. It is, in fact, the title of a flash game over at Newgrounds. It's one of the most creative experiences in a flash game ever, from both a gameplay and presentation viewpoint. It even has a level editor, and an interface to use user levels.
The author description posted is as follows:
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Time Cfuk is a game about stasis, its a game about perspective and viewing both sides of the story from afar, its a game about blocks, platforms, drinking, high school reunions and work time fun.
Time Fcku is a "puzzle platformer" about finding logic in irrelevance, its a 1+1=2 formula that will ask more from you after you leave it alone, its a community experience about communication with people who you dont like.
Time KcuF is not an art game, its an allegorical game about stuff you've never experienced, its an escape from your current existence, its the feeling of loss and panic.
Time Fcuk is a play on how if one changes around the letters in a word even though it means nothing
logically, we all still see it as something that its not.
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To check it out now, without my writeup, which contains spoilers, check it out here:
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/511754
If you'd rather stick around and learn more before playing, or if you want to read and not play, well, then, hello.
Anyways, the game is, at its core, a puzzle-based platformer. The graphics are pixelly, but only for style. It excels, however, in the creative engine it uses. There's not a huge variety of tiles to use, but they work well and accomplish what they need to. The real kicker is in the dimension-switching mechanic. Almost every level will have at least 2 planes of existence, which you can cycle through at will. trying to shift into occupied space will kill you, but if a block shifts into occupied space, it obliterates whatever was there.
All in all. It's mostly straightforward. Point A to Point B. Or grab a couple keys in between. You know, whatever.
But beyond the game design, or even the level design, is the amazing way the game is presented to you. It begins with you, an unnamed dude, running into a room, empty save for a small box. An identical character pops out of the box, introduces himself as you, sent back in time 20 minutes from now to put you in the box. He talks a bit, and shoves you in.
This puts you into the first level, which teaches you how to move and jump. This delightful knowledge is given to you via a message from yourself further on in time. You go to the end portal, and go to level 2. This level similarly introduces you to the concept of switching dimensions, again via a message from a future you. You don't shut up immediately, however, and will occasionally interject with odd messages, like "I'm in room 2, I don't see a way out. Who's Steven?"
Further on, the messages from you take on a less instructional tone. "It feels like my brain is sloshing around in my skull. Feels familiar, and oddly comforting." "My teeth fell out again. The empty holes scream when I sleep." Also, when you die, you taunt yourself. "Amusing." "When you died, I felt it." and "B===D~~~" are among your lines. From creepy to silly, they add character.
A little ways in, a small growth appears at your neck. You are told by yourself that the growth is named Steven. We know this because Steven told us so. Steven seems to have a tendency to grief future versions of you, calling them filthy, or awful, or whatever.
Further on, the growth matures, and resembles a small child, attached to you. Steven then disappears, and you are told things ended poorly.
Time progressively ceases to follow a line, and you often hear "I'm in a blue room with no exit. Help?" "I'm in Room 4 again... Am I going backwards?" "Steven told me you're a liar" "I'm in room 2. I don't see a portal. And who's Steven?"
The messages are the real meat of the presentation, taking it from a kinda trippy idea to a more fleshed-out what-if scenario. One message claims "Steven mentioned something odd before he left. He said your name was also Steven." For the dim among us, this strongly hints that you are indeed the same entity that split from you.
Upon reaching the last level, you tell yourself "this is the room in which you die. Just take the pill, end it now. There's no way out." If indeed you hit the suicide button, as suggested, you will end the game with you taking the pill, your head exploding, and a cutscene, showing you popping out of a box, in front of someone identical to yourself. You explain that you were sent back 20 minutes in time to tell him that he needs to get in the box. You then shove him in. Yes, this scene is identical to the intro. That's the point.
After shoving him in, you run off, and your body splits off into many other identical Stevens, all running in different directions.
If, though, you decide NOT to kill yourself, you beat the last level by finding, and promptly merging with, another you. This then triggers the same cutscene and splitting Steven cutscene. The only other difference is the end text is different: The suicide ending criticizes the fact that youre reading it. The merged ending tells a somewhat disturbing tale of a boy in a box.
It's an experience worth having, even with my spoilers. Go now.
Or maybe I'm just kissing ass... Who knows?
I just liked the game enough that I decided it warranted a blog post. After all, I've wanted some excuses to do some of those...
Personally I'm a little tired of the recent trend of "minimalistic indie platformer with X puzzle solving gimmick", so it didn't really resonate as well with me.
It's just between this, Werewolf Thriller, Scary Girl, Closure (which was actually pretty stand-out cool IMO), that blob one, and countless other flash "puzzlers" that have all been released within the past year I'm just way too over saturated with these kinds of games. Especailly since the level design isn't ever anything other than "basic crate-style object, open door, level exit!" with a few variations between ALL these games.
I actually wanted to write the post about how the more attention you paid to details, like the messages and ending text, the more you got out of it. I probably didn't do so well, there... I seem to meander a bit, topic-wise.