9:46 PM on 02.21.2008
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See that picture? You're probably wondering why I posted it, right? Why would I bother making my headline photo nothing more than a collection of static? I'm posting it because it's a goddamn screenshot. The above photo was taken from Lost in the Static, an indie game which is entirely built around the idea of obfuscation. It was highlighted in the "Experimental Gameplay Sessions" lecture today alongside several other games which, regardless of how fun or good they are, attempted risky and unusual and balls-out experimental things. The entire two-hour lecture was basically just a big list of games everyone should check out for their experimental qualities, so hit the jump to get that list along with a very, very short descriptions of what made them so experimental. The highlighted games were broken up into four categories: Replay, Obfuscation, Games Made By Rod Humble Titled "Stars Over Half Moon Bay," User Generated/Controlled Levels, and Two Levels at Once. The categories should be pretty self-explanatory, and if they aren't then that's a good thing: though the entire lecture consisted of the speakers playing these games while explaining their experimental aspects you should really play these games without any primer rather than listening to someone explain them and rob them of all their intrigue. Replay cursor*10 Timebot Braid The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom Obfuscation Lost in the Static Transparentor Space Giraffe La La Land Games Made By Rod Humble Titled "Stars Over Half Moon Bay" Stars Over Half Moon Bay User-Generated Content Line Golfer Desktop Tower Defense The Kingdom of Dewdith the Witch Crayon Physics Deluxe Audiosurf Two Levels at Once Yin Yang Shift Shadow Though Braid, Winterbottom, Half Moon Bay, Crayon Physics Deluxe and Shadow aren't playable for the general public yet (and I couldn't find a link to The Kingdom of Dewdith the Witch -- perhaps I wrote it down incorrectly), all the rest of the games are really, truly worth finding and trying out if only for how they experiment with game design.
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133 comments + 163700 views
Obfuscation is the Word of the Day.
Space Giraffe! I should definitely check hat out!
Obfuscation ftw!
[color=grey]Space Giraffe[/color]
Get the fuck out.
yay i'll add it to my mental dictionary.
Too busy to actually provide links? I googled up Lost in the Static, and it was kinda cool, and surprisingly creepy as hell, but about two dozen screens into it the controls started acting weird and lagging, so that the player character would respond to my movements up to 20 or 30 seconds after I pressed the buttons. Don't know what was up with that.
It's one of those hidden image thingies right?
I see a wo............... ew gross dude.
Looks like a cock
Its a scooner.
This game seriously creeps me out
@tubatic:
no, its a sailboat!
i've actually played "lost in the static" before and it sucked. it was a sort of interesting idea, but it wasn't any fun and it gave me a headache.
this was in IGF some time ago, I agree with allisonaxe. It's kind of interesting but not all that fun and pretty much headache inducing.
Relevance of this experiment? dunno.
Other games in the list are pretty nice though and more relevant to game design. This one just has the shock factor.
I honestly have no idea how you're supposed to play that.
Oh man, I'm too late with the Mallrats references.
Bloody hell, I never liked those Magic Eye images. My eyes go funny trying to find the image. I never do.
Rev. Do you just keep sneaking Desktop Tower Defense into these lists, or is it actually suppose to be there?
Loving Timebot and cursor so far
Bookmarked. I can't wait to give some of these games a try when I get the time. Continue the great GDC work!
next time i boot in windows I'm so gonna try that static-game, sounds really good!
ying yang is cool , shame its limited to flash - would be ace on full platform.
Space Giraffe you say?
Ok, I started playing Lost in Static, but got stuck on this level (It's the one with the static ball at the top that shoots smaller static balls at you):
Wow, the ending of Static is...a let down? The huge, lumbering dude was really awesome though.
Goddamn that static game sucked, just a simple 2 cent platformer wrapped in, ooh, "innovative" graphics. Might as well have been a virus too, at the 8th screen or so, it crashed forcing me to reboot. I want my 5 minutes back! *waves angrily with fist*
Stars over Half Moon Bay ....... can someone please explain to me how this is really creative ... or even a game?
It reminds me of that game Passage. There's so little interaction, it borders on the definition of a game. I understand pushing the boundaries is the idea, and finding the limits of gameplay ... but if something is so far outside the realm of the term "game", it really shouldn't be categorized as such.