Indie Rock: Molyjam 2013

The thing about Peter Molyneux is that his intent is consistently outmatched by his implementation. Before each new game the man becomes addicted to whatever recording devices will retain his proclamations (if necessary, scratching his nails deep into the table in front of him to tell you about how you’ll fall in romantic love with a dog). After they’re complete he routinely looks back on his creations with deflation, none of them quite measuring up to what he’d intended.

Each one of his games is informed by a grand idea, but they ultimately serve as warnings, waymarkers for others that display the problem with thinking too big.

It’s fitting that the (somehow now yearly!) game-jam tribute to him is designed so as to highlight his Sisyphean curse. Anyone willing to undertake a weekend-long challenge to create a video game in his honour is presented with a big idea and no time at all to make it work. Whatever you get done is a miracle. No one expects it to be good. At best they expect an interesting failure.

Last year was themed around designing games inspired by the loving parody twitter account Peter Molydeux, this year entirely revolved around interesting out of context statements that the original Peter Molyneux has spoken aloud in public.

He’s said some pretty weird things, as it turns out.

Smartphones On A Plane

It is ridiculous how well implemented this stupid joke is. That’s not how this was supposed to go! Didn’t you read my Reverse Cassandra-like portrayal of the man posted a few paragraphs above? He says things we all believe and they never turn out as intended!

The team have gone to ridiculous lengths to fully realise this very silly idea, the art style is great and just the variety of things you’re capable of doing while using the phone is so diverse. There’s a randomly generating dungeon crawler! In this game about making a plane crash!

I only wish the pitch had been slightly different and this was a bigger game (which I realise is a horrible criticism-) one where you’re balancing what you’re trying to get done on your phone while also trying to keep the plane aloft. Needing to send some important business emails and inform the gaming public of some incredible ideas, all the while retaining enough altitude to get you safely to… Antarctica? I don’t know where he lives now. If I were him that’s probably where I’d go. I’d hang out with a penguin. You know he’d be into that.

Play Smartphones On A Plane.

Skirt Quest

Are you a virtuous prude? Are you an unrestrained harlot? Doesn’t matter. Your social groups are fickle and only interested in what they can determine from you at a moment’s consideration.

Skirt Quest is about hiking your skirt up to reduce social anxiety. Every story I’ve heard about skirts in school went exactly the same way, but it’s never something I’ve been able to experience in real life.

I mean I’d be okay with wearing a skirt it’s just that my legs are covered in an insurmountable thicket of gnarled hair and no one needs to be subjected to that. I shouldn’t be asked to get rid of it either. What will I do without the Winter warmth it provides?

The game feels like a more fleshed out and mechanically complex version of Lim and I liked Lim a whole bunch. Check it out! It’s really difficult!

Play Skirt Quest.

Back To The First Date

Every date I’ve ever been on has been a success, no exceptions, but that’s only because I’m very charming and I have diverse hobbies that can lead to a wide range of conversational topics. Also I’ve never really been on a date. That probably plays into it.

I guess I don’t love the idea that Back To The First Date hinges on. Within it, two characters each go back in time to steer their evening in a better direction, both of them changing their questions and answers so that they have a better time.

Getting past the problems that this causes in stupid suspension of disbelief in time-travel fiction (another thing I can talk in-depth about over a bottle of Château Cheval Blanc), it just seems like two people so insecure in themselves that they’ll change their whole opinions and wants in an attempt to make the other person like them.

That’s pretty gross. Be yourself, y’all. This doesn’t send a great message about retaining comfort in who you are… and who you are is totally rad!

Play Back To The First Date.

Chill Hard

Relaxation is frustrating! You have to do things, and those things can go bad! I just want to lay down in this hammock

Though it does a decent job of explaining the controls immediately you can sometimes fail significantly before you’ve noticed exactly what you’re doing wrong, but there’s a good frantic stress to the whole deal anyway so that’s an additive quality rather than a mark against the thing.

Play Chill Hard.

Emotion

It’s a good score attack puzzle thing and the soundtrack is BANGING. It’s a fully completed idea. I like how well it conveys a sense of dimension without our ability to actually see real real depth in a 2D image. Play it! Try to get a good score!

Play Emotion.

Do Anything

Be Nathan Fillion. Blow Up The Turtle. Listen To A Weird Loop Of The Brodyquest Song.

Play Do Anything.