Sometimes there are moments in life, so brief, yet so impactful, that you can't help but recall every second of it in excruciating detail. This seems to be the premise of
10 Seconds in Hell, a first-person game made by Amy Dentata for the
Ludum Dare 27 Competition. The game places you in the midst of a terrifying situation, one which is remembered as only lasting 10 seconds; the outcome of those 10 seconds is left up to the player. The immediate situation is that your boyfriend/companion/friend/ is very angry with you for not following him out the door, but the more fundamental issue lies in the abusive relationship at hand and your character's fear to follow: "He thought I walked out the door with him. I don't want to go. I know what's going to happen if I do."
Don't be fooled by the robotic speech: this is a very human tale. The room in which these 10 seconds are spent is the only thing the character of the game remembers clearly. In this way, the environment is especially important to the value and conception of this game. Dentata calls the game "like horror but more like real life." The effect is devastating. The choice you make may be as well. Consider
10 Seconds in Hell an exercise in confrontation--that is, in confronting one's traumatic experience.
Available to download for
mac,
windows,
linux, or simply play the game in your browser.
