Every Day the Same Dream is another title from those scandalous individuals over at Molleindustria, though this one is a few years old. There seems no end to their pushing the limits of what is permissible to say within the realm of video games and I really like that about them. In this game's case, I found the themes at work to be less offensive but just as serious as their other titles. According to Molleindustria, Every Day the Same Dream is "a game about alienation and refusal of labor." I can see that. However, there is more to be said about this tale than merely isolation and rebellion (though I must clarify: I certainly see isolation as a major theme in the game).
The nature of every choice available to the player is alarmingly real. everything seems so actual and unoccupied as the character's choices contrast sharply with the blatant routine of the everyday hum.
The repetition is enough to drive you mad. With every choice presented to you in a monotonous fashion, it would seem that you are determined to choose as you will and must, as if no other option were possible. It is at this point that to not choose seems the most viable way to exercise your dominance over determinism--that is, to make choices that defy the conventional and available decisions.
The fascinating realization is that you are a suit, working in a building with hundreds of others that look like you. Your job is not unique. Your wife is uninteresting and prosaic. Every aspect of your life seems determined, and every facet of existence seems meaningless--except that facet where you deny what you are expected to do, to perform. This is the spirit of Every Day the Same Dream. It is where you deny the very logical conclusion of your vocation that your existence makes the most sense. It is empty and atheistic, but it is satisfying and nihilistic.
Lastly, a tantamount and most serious consideration must be made. The heart and soul of Every Day the Same Dream is in its amazing ability to touch and feel like a real human being. It is its stark disparity that cogently marks it as a human experience. It is in those moments of impotence that the human comes most alive: when driving to work, you stop your car in the middle of the highway and leave it to go put your hand on the muzzle of a gentle cow; when you stand at the base of a tree that is almost stripped of all its color to witness a single and final leaf drift toward you in utter sublimity; when the homeless man just outside your work complex confesses that he knows a quiet place he can take you--whereupon he takes you to a graveyard, which is truly the most satisfying and elating thing that has every happened to you in all of your dreary and bourgeois life. This the heart and soul of the game. This game is not about sticking it to the man. It is about being human in a world and a society that begs you not to be.
platform utilized: browser
genre: interactive story
where to find: Experience Every Day the Same Dream on your browser, right here. If you like, download it for mac or for pc.