Gravitation released, existential anxiety ensues

oh gawd, thats one stupid game :)
Q is for Quit btw...

I loved passage, but this was the most frustrating thing I have ever played. I'm gonna look up the artist's intentions now because I am at a loss.

I liked this game, it was about trying to juggle success with friends.

Yeah, I kind of got the metaphor. Passage's metaphor wasn't really affecting: it was very tired, very lit-standard "Journey of Life" stuff. I suppose that passes for introspective (or extremely extrospective) literature these days, but for me it's just another fatigued cliche.

This, while a different metaphor, was way too simple a theme to care about.

played it this weekend, and "enjoyed" it. Which is to say i appreciated what I got out of it.

The man's games leave me drained and feeling a little uncomfortable.

Looking forward to the analysisfest. Good times.

@ tehuberone and Unicorn:

Oh, so was that what it was about? I could not for the life of me figure it out. I figured that chic died while I was looking for TREASARR!

Gravitation's metaphor wasn't as immediately apparent as Passage's. It took me a little longer to get the point, and I think I understand, but I'm not sure I like it as much.

Simply the fact that I need more time to think about it is a testament to Rohrer's talent.

@GrayFox

I dare you to find a game that wouldn't benefit from a deathmatch mode. With gibs.

Heh heh. I haven't said "gibs" since 1996.

I think I get what he was trying for, but I don't get how he went about it. How is collecting stars, having the stars freeze, then shoving stacks of stars into a fire a proper analog for working? Or creative thinking?
Also, where did the little girl go? Why does the character catch on fire from time to time? I panicked the first time I saw that, figuring that somehow playing ball with the child too much was a bad thing, and I had just somehow killed the guy.

I feel like the message here was more neatly boxed, whereas the entire 5 minute experience of Passage was the message.

just played, unlike Passage, I think I can see myself re-playing this a few times. Much like passage however, I enjoyed it a great deal.

I think its more that there's inspiration, you reach for that great idea, once you have this great idea formed, and "plucked from the heavens, you've got to go back to your work space and temper it, before you lose site of that original idea you had.

Unfortunately, that same place where you process your ideas into something (literal metopphorical, w/e) is the same place where you find your loved one.

And damned if it isn't easier to process something if you only have one idea, but if you have lots at once, then it gets tough.

That's what I get from that mechanic, anyway.

"This game is beautiful, as was Passage. Jason Rohrer is amazing."

"If you don't get this or Passage and think they are a waste of time kindly go back to your madden :P!"

Comments such as these make me want to puke.

Passage was a game that made me want to stab everyone in the eye that sad the game made them cry and was a beautiful work of art.

I will paste what I wrote about passage when Dtoid did the fluff piece on Passage.

"Games are supposed to be mediums for entertainment and invoke joy with a person, either through story telling, gameplay, thought provoking challenges and or just fun. I got nothing from this game. This "game" was a serious waste of my time, saying this game is a work of art is the biggest overstatement I have ever seen.

Yes I did get sad when the girl died, but I would get sad if I went to Wendy's tonight and the fastfood line was closed.

All in all, some people have commented on artistic works and say it was genius, the work of a madman or a savant. Then turns out the painting was made by a 4 year old in preschool.

What a waste of 5 minutes."



Just because something is simple does not making it beautiful.

"Just because something is simple does not making it beautiful"

Just because something is simple (a sentence), doesn't mean you can't get alot out of it (The English language is difficult, some people have trouble with it, some people can't accept something being more than the visceral sum of its parts, beauty is often confused with art, simplicity is sometimes confused with being profound)

points, goals, rules, restrictions, penalties . . .

sounds kinda gamey to me . . .

@wardrox

I was taking college art classes in the 6th grade here at NCSU. My ex GF was an art major. Our first date was to the Art Museum here in Raleigh.

:/

@Painuser, congratulations. I have never taken an art class in my life. Is that important to you? To me, it's not. I take from art what I get from art, I'm sorry if I have not been officially trained and thus my appreciation is some kind of faux-appreciation.

I was arting in art long before any of arts.

@Heretic:
WHY WAS THAT ALSO MY FIRST THOUGHT?!

SEVEN RINGS IN HAND! NO SUCH THING AS AN ARROW THROUGH-OUGH- DREAMS

I really didn't get it. Still don't. Better use of music though!

@Painuser

I liked both Passage and Gravitation, and I wholeheartedly believe that they are art. You're entitled to your opinion, and that's fine. I'm not going to get all worked up about you not agreeing with me. But don't comment about how everyone's wrong just because they don't feel the way you do. Also, try presenting some form of argument about why you feel the way you do. Just saying "Passage was a game that made me want to stab everyone in the eye that... [said] the game made them cry and was a beautiful work of art" is not going to win anyone over.

One point you brought up was that "games are suppose to mediums for entertainment." It's true that majority of the games on the market are made to entertain. That's what most people want; something to take their mind of everyday life. But what if a game went beyond that. What if a game was made solely for the purpose to make you think. A game that forces you to reflect on your life. For me, that's how I felt about Passage.

Passage was one of the most meaningful games (notice the lack of quotation marks around the word game) I've ever played. The thing that really blew me away was something that most "games" now a days fail to do, set up a world in which the player interacts with to create their own experience. It wasn't just a preconceived series of events that I progress through until I reach the end. Yes, there was a beginning and an end, but what happened in between was entirely up to the player. And what you did in that intermediary time was what defined your experience, ultimately creating a co-authorship between the game's creator and the you. That's why I found Passage so great. Every action I did in-game meant something symbolically, and I was the reason it was happening. And that, my friend, is why I found Passage to be one of the most rewarding games I've played.

It's a game that makes its point. I liked it.

PS: Cut the arteeest some slack. He's permitted to have an opinion, too. Don't get so defensive.

@Heretic: That's exactly the same damn thing I thought when I read the headline.