User Designer

I had today’s post planned out and was about to sit down to write it when Ross (thanks!) suggested I try out a new computer game called Passage. Wow. Go download and play. Stop reading until you’ve tried it out.

Done already? Seriously I mean it - don’t read any more. Play it.

Beautiful, sad and moving isn’t it. It well and truly answers the question whether games can be art. Jason Rohrer who developed it has written a Creators Statement. In the statement it is clear that he deliberately sought to make “players” experience deep feelings when playing his very low resolution “game”.

Will Passage be remembered in future histories of game art?

If you didn’t try it here’s a link to a Wall Street Journal article that describes the experience of playing Passage.

Though Passage isn’t as subtle it reminds me of one of my favourite poems, Eavan Boland’s poem “Love”:
    Dark falls on this mid-western town
    where we once lived when myths collided.
    Dusk has hidden the bridge in the river
    which slides and deepens
    to become the water
    the hero crossed on his way to hell.
(Unfortunately, I cannot post the rest of the poem due to copyright.)

The source code for Passage is readily available. Anyone want to do a Readymade style Duchamp on it?