[Recommend On]: Ueda edition (or, more art in the guise of games)

Treas

Shadow of the Colossus is one of my favorite games. I probably don't need to explain why, but for the sake of converting the non-believers I'll keep it brief. Simply, this game changed my expectations for its medium. SotC is a radically linear game set in an open world, on that is both expansive and sparse. It tells an emotional story of heroism and love with very little dialog. Instead the narrative is conveyed through animation and player deduction, foregoing exposition for a sense of ambiguity. And of course the game is beautiful, especially for the PS2.

Obviously my first impulse was for Ico, which I just recently found after scouring every electronics store I visited. I'm several hours into the game and loving the connectivity between the two games' settings.

It struck me that I'm having a hard time thinking of other games that take such unique (or risky) approaches of storytelling and character development. Looking around for more obscure titles that might quench my thirst, I came across a Let's Play for The Path. It seemed closer to the style I was after (and I've always enjoyed modern adaptations of archetypal stories) but the bug complaints discouraged me.

I'm hoping there are more "artistic" games like these out there that just flew below my radar. So if you've got something, I'd be grateful. The wait for The Last Guardian will always be too long.

Skexis

I bring it up in the context of every adventure thread, but Bad Mojo remains one of my favorite games because of the way it tells the story indirectly. You get to explore a household and solve puzzles as a cockroach in order to learn more about your in-game character. Any game company after 1998 or so would have told these guys they were dreaming to make a game so wildly out of sync with popular culture, but it works precisely because it's so unusual compared to your average playing experience.

Recently I finished Mirror's Edge, and although it's not the kind of auteur material that team ICO does, it was interesting to see a game that focused on its core mechanic so well that the story really was secondary. If only they had stayed that way through the last quarter of the game, instead of trying to make a parkour girl into a full blown matrix action hero. I'd say it's a great example of artistry, but is not itself necessarily art. (Also under this category: Bioshock)

Aquaria, if you haven't seen it yet, is basically an ode to Metroidvania titles with some really nice sprite work. It's filled with little surprises but it works as an overarching story as well. Though the genre is hardly new, I feel like this send-up of those classic games has enough craftsmanship in it to earn a serious look. Until the very end of the game, the story also tends towards the "less is more" approach, which I think is part of what you're asking for.

If you're willing to do away with story as part of the art of the game, then I think Everyday Shooter certainly qualifies. The sound design really is ingenious, and while some folks might consider it repetitive, personally I have no problem coming back to play the same levels over again.

Also, prerequisite Braid mention.



You might check out MODDB too if you have the patience to sift through it all. Some of the original ideas there have a great art angle to them. Hollow Moon, even though it remains a beta after years of waiting, still stands out as compelling and unnerving to play. (Think isolationism in space with avant-garde music and visuals). In reality I suspect the project is dead, and the two man team is simply using it as something extra for their respective portfolios. But still! Cool HUD!

Jam Warrior

Skexis wrote: »

I bring it up in the context of every adventure thread, but Bad Mojo remains one of my favorite games because of the way it tells the story indirectly. You get to explore a household and solve puzzles as a cockroach in order to learn more about your in-game character. Any game company after 1998 or so would have told these guys they were dreaming to make a game so wildly out of sync with popular culture, but it works precisely because it's so unusual compared to your average playing experience.

I had never heard of this before but after looking up an Adventure Gamers review it's all of a sudden on my list to look out for.

Antihippy

Treas wrote: »

I'm hoping there are more "artistic" games like these out there that just flew below my radar. So if you've got something, I'd be grateful. The wait for The Last Guardian will always be too long.

Sadly.

But yeah, recommending braid too.

Treas

I really enjoyed the music and art design (mostly) in Mirror's Edge, the developers put together a lot of great elements that devolved to accommodate its lackluster story in the end. It would have been easier (in my mind) to justify the poor combat as Faith's focus on escaping battles rather than engaging her enemies, assuming the mandatory fights were left out.

Though I've heard a lot of great things regarding Everyday Shooter I hadn't paid it much attention. Considering it in this context puts a new spin on it for me, and procedurally-generated music is something I'd like to see (hear...) more of.

I see Braid is finally on steam as well, tempting me while I'm away from my 360.

Ambitious mod projects always get to me, it's unfortunate so many go unfinished. The beta for Hollow Moon will give me a good reason to reinstall UT2004. Being alone in a game world creates so much more suspense than lurking jump-scares, and introducing characters causes the player to view them in a completely different way (suspicion, usually.) It's a cool concept that gets overlooked by a lot of designers.

Thanks for the suggestions, really excited to check these all out.

Monger

Braid's good stuff. Not quite SotC stuff, but good stuff nonetheless.

Honestly, the game that really sticks out to me as arthouse is Everyday Shooter. It's just so very... pure in its intent. It's more of a personal, impressionistic experience than a thematic or cerebral one, though.

edit: wow, beat'd

Zxerol

holy crap, someone remembers bad mojo

what a bizarre game it was. good, but rather unorthodox

Chance

Flower. A gorgeous, peaceful, thoughtful, frightening, empowering experience. Truly wierd for all the emotions it makes you go through, as a gust of wind.

Siren: Blood Curse. While not nearly as minimal as Ueda, offers the narrative in a very oblique way - if you don't hunt for archives (items with sometimes totally extraneous information - a noodle recipe with strawberry jam, for example), you will have NO idea what's going on. It will just seem like a series of stealth/survival horror/classic adventure game levels with a bunch of mostly-disconnected player characters. But I reckon it's really smart, the gameplay is a billion times better than the original, and it's probably one of my favorite PS3 titles.

I almost want to also suggest The Path - because I've heard incredible things about it. But unfortunately that's all I can really say, having never played it. You may want to read up on that one.

Treas

http://store.steampowered.com/sub/1956/

Steam, stop reading my mind.
I almost feel guilty about saving that much.

Does anyone know of an easy way to get my hands on Bad Mojo?

Skexis

Just get the Bad Mojo Redux version released in 2004.
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Mojo-Redux-Pc/dp/B0006AAOJQ

As long as you don't mind buying from a third party you won't have to pay through the nose.

Failing that, you can also get it as a digital download from the main site.
http://www.gotgameentertainment.com/badmojo/index.html

Alfred J. Kwak

Oh man, you just have to play that totally weird russian artsy game that I forgot the name of. Someone help me out here, you know which game I mean.

Monger

Alfred J. Kwak wrote: »

Oh man, you just have to play that totally weird russian artsy game that I forgot the name of. Someone help me out here, you know which game I mean.

The one about the village with the disease, played from three perspectives? Or that one with the trailer with the naked lady and all the creepy trees?

I'm drawing a blank on both of them.

LoveIsUnity

Monger wrote: »

Alfred J. Kwak wrote: »

Oh man, you just have to play that totally weird russian artsy game that I forgot the name of. Someone help me out here, you know which game I mean.

The one about the village with the disease, played from three perspectives? Or that one with the trailer with the naked lady and all the creepy trees?

I'm drawing a blank on both of them.

The first game is Pathologic.

MundaneSoul

I appreciate you creating this topic, Treas, as I'm a big fan of this sort of game as well. Also, that Steam deal is shitting crazy. I will buy it so damn hard.

Treas

On the subject of crazy Russian games, has anyone played Cryostasis? Apparently the plot is unraveled by possessing corpses to keep them from dying originally, which changes the level around you. The only other thing I've heard is that there's no support for its myriad bugs, and the latest patch erased save files.

Hard to tell whether an interesting mechanic could outweigh all that.