GDC 08: Fez, the best game I have never played

Remember that game Super Paper Mario that came out for that system the Wii? Yeah, you might have heard of it. And remember how it revolutionized platformers by offering levels that could be played in 2D and 3D? Yeah, it was pretty neat; I couldn’t agree with you more.

Well, forget everything about that game and feast your eyes on upcoming PC indie game Fez. Honestly, I don’t have any words for how freakin’ cool the above gameplay footage is. This gem in the making apparently exists somewhere here at GDC and I am determined to find it before the week is over. Operation: Play Fez begins!

While not much info is known about this Independent Games Festival finalist, Fez is obviously a platformer with a ridiculously cute (and adorably animated) main character. That is all well and good, but the minute I saw the game break the traditional 2D perspective and morph into this crazy 2D/3D ridiculously well-designed hybrid I almost fell of my chair and cried with happiness. Okay, fine, I did fall off my chair and cry with happiness. But it was all worth it.

If this is a sign of what game design is going to be like in the future, I am so happy to be a part of this industry. Fez is getting a lot of buzz here in San Francisco and rightfully so. I have to get my hands on this thing. Is it too early to call “game of the show?”