10 Seconds of Fear: 10 Seconds in Hell, 2013

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.

Chasing Rabbits: Ruins, 2011

In this deceptively simple game about a dog chasing rabbits, there is a deep well of story to be unearthed. In this way, Ruins considers gameplay secondary to narrative.

Ruins is a hazy walkabout through a dreamlike landscape of subconsciousness. The effort is perfectly enunciated by one of Chopin's preludes. In this way, the dream is sustained and carried forward in a far more believable way than could have been imagined. There is also visual dissonance and decay to challenge the acquisition of reality in this significant little game.

platform utilized: mac
genre: experimental
where to find: You can download Ruins from Cardboard Computer. Grab it either on mac or pc.

It's the Simple Things That Drive You Mad: Insomniac, 2013

Until last night I was convinced that the Silent Hill series were the only games that could truly scare me. However, after experiencing Insomniac, my perception has been drastically changed.

I decided to play through Insomniac in bed last night. My wife lay beside me; it is midnight. The lights are out, and all there is to see is the dim glow of the laptop screen. I begin the game.

Without giving away too much (which is very easy to do), I would like to talk about a couple of things that stood out to me. First, the game simply and forcefully directed and manipulated my emotions through the use of brevity and expressiveness in dialogue. Although there were numerous grammatical errors, the storyline did not suffer (albeit distracting me a bit from the thrust of the game). Second, the game capitalized on fear by its use of music. Oh my wow. Insomniac was terrifying for this reason alone.

Another thing the game did well was knowing its limitations -- that is, Insomniac never seemed too drawn out, nor did it stop before full maturation. I concur with the author's decision of the length of the game.

Although amateurish in some ways, Insomniac pushes through its shortcomings and delivers an exceptionally terrifying experience, and a horror-inducing storyline to boot. Play this one with the lights off, with headphones, and late at night.

Insomniac was created by AidanAK47 for the Ludum Dare 27 competition.

platform utilized: mac
genre: visual novel, horror
where to find: Download Insomniac for mac or pc.

Freedom to Clean: Robot Vacuum Simulator 2013, 2013

Norwegian gaming company Stolidus Simulations has produced an experience to be had. The game is called Robot Vacuum Simulator 2013, and it is exactly as it sounds. To be honest, the game is quite boring -- that is, the mechanics are simple, and the gameplay, even more so.

But what should be said about Robot Vacuum Simulator 2013 is that it is a really good game. Among the zen-like calm of its gameplay (to borrow a phrase from another reviewer), it makes for an interesting experience of the passage of time. Each movement of the robot is slow and realistic. There is no turbo; there is not teleportation; there is no button to lock one into a forward motion. The entire game is experienced in real-time. What you come to find as you glide across the floor of each room, is how small you really are, and how long it actually takes to move from one end of the house to the other. Not only this, but space is another fascinating subject explored in the game. As your robot frame slides underneath the miscellaneous furniture, your self-perception is accentuated, and you experience your surrounding with a new perspective. The furniture looms overhead, the ceiling is miles-high, and rooms are distant countries.

Finally, the lovely modern jazz of Robot Vacuum Simulator 2013 is perfect for the mood of the game. It sets your mind on the thing you have been created to do -- clean! In fact, you can do nothing else. In this way you are determined to slide around that apartment floor and clean forever (or at least until your batteries run out). But notice the application of freewill: you may clean when you want. You are free to explore the world around you, moving ably from one spot to the next. There is no purpose to this, other than sheer enjoyment, but nonetheless, the choice is yours. I suggest you play this game as soon as possible.

platform utilized: mac
genre: simulation
where to find: Head over to Stolidus Simulations and download a copy of the game.

Let's All Share a Bed!: Triad, 2013

Triad is an insanely well-crafted idea. Three friends (I think) decide to share one moderately sized pink bed (uh oh), which though large, is nonetheless difficult to situate. Each individual has a unique pattern of sleep. You must determine how to get all of three of them to sleep soundly without disturbing one another. Oh, and there's a cat to make things even more difficult.

The thing I've enjoyed most about Triad is the simplicity of the concept. Yet, however simple it is, I am still hard at work at its answer! It's unbelievable that such a straightforward idea can be so difficult. But I am hooked. I will not be satisfied until I have conquered Triad. I will not be satisfied until I have successfully solved this tetristic puzzle of sleep.

My wife just solved it. She's a lot smarter than I am.

Triad is the handiwork of Anna Anthropy and Leon Arnott.

platform utilized: mac
genre: puzzle
where to find: You can download Triad for either mac or pc.

Unnerving Simulation: Unmanned, 2012

There is something unsettling about war, especially modern war. I think this is because it's so near to us; it's personal, and at times, it's practically in our backyard. Personally, I have never served in the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, or any other branch of the United States Armed Forces. The closest I have been to a war is via the news, movies, and books.

Of course, war is not always thrill-filled combat. Oftentimes, I imagine, there is a whole lot of mundane in the world of the stationed soldier. This is precisely what Unmanned attempts to portray.

The game affectively cut through all of my expectations, as it intended. From the opening dream sequence, your assumptions are turned upside down. Nothing is exactly as it seems, and each mini-game is tinged with flared psychosis and serious emotional disturbance. I assume that this is what the creators were going for: a seriously disturbed look into the mind of an army drone.




platform utilized: mac
genre: action, simulation
where to find: Here is the download for mac; here is the download for pc; or you can play it online.

Brief Yet Potent: The Elevator, 2012

The Elevator is a brief yet enveloping visual novel (more of a novella), taking place in a not-too-distant dystopian future, centering around a washed up detective-turned-private eye. The game itself is mysterious, though its story lacks any real mystery. By the end of the game you realize just how little influence you have in the movement of the plot, with only a few decisions available to the player, scattered atop the total storyline. Considering this fact, the storyline is surprisingly well written, with a strong development of characters throughout. the language used is at times raw, and at times amoral; though, as is the case with many dark future, steampunk narratives, this seems to be the default, as if what the future is certain to hold is a post-moral, post-religion society.

Still it remains that with such a short storyline to work through, the total product was incredibly moving. I found myself empathizing with the concerns of the protagonist quite well; I may have even begun falling over myself for that shy, cute elevator girl.

The music is sleek and interesting. I especially enjoyed the sort of upbeat track which had a glittering spanish-style guitar line. It was very moving, as was the rest of the soundtrack.

All in all, The Elevator is an interesting play, worthy of interest by any that take pleasure in seeing a gripping story unfold, regardless of how little control over that story one has.

platform utilized: mac
genre: visual novel
where to find: The Elevator can be downloaded here at Cyanide Tea's site, for either pc, mac, or linux.