The Games
The games listed here are a subset of the Critical Gameplay collection which is an evolving collection of game notions. The games are aesthetically designed to mimic characteristics of the games within their historical context (indicated by a []). The game mechanic analyzed seeks to address a specific gameplay mechanic from that year’s game standards. To better understand the games, please visit the exhbition page. To understand the philosophy behind the games please visit the research section or read the Philosophies of Software (by Lindsay Grace) in the Handbook of Research on Computational Arts and Creative Informatics. Resources about the games: |
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Wait [2005], a game where the player is encouraged to refrain from acting on the world. As the player moves the world disappears, but when the player waits, the world becomes more rich. Players are awarded points when the little things in life reveal themselves (butterflies, animals, flowers, etc). Learn more about Wait . . . |
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Bang! [1998], a game that allows the player to kill other players , but by killing them the player must endure a long interruptive experience which forces the player to review the fictive history of their victim. See instructions for Bang! (visit an exhibition to play ) |
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Healer [1996],Healer is a Top Down "Saver." Instead of shooting players, characters must heal victims of historical massacres. The player can reverse death, by remove bullets from the victims. The soldiers that committed these massacres are still lurking, so the player must work to keep the victims alive. The player can put themselves between the bullet and the target to protect, time, distract, etc. |
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Levity [1994], a game in which the collection mechanic hinders the player. Unlike many games which encourage players to collect items, anything the player collects weighs them down. Levity is a platformer in which player jump and walk speed are decreased as the player collects items. Each level emphasizes a single concept as described in the segue screens – “Do not let the things you collect weigh heavy on you”, “If these things weigh you down, give them away”,” Practice the art of letting go, find lightness in giving “ etc. Players can convert what they have collected to charity, by giving their collected items, but the weight of having collected is never completely removed. The game is designed as an active revolt to collection values, emphasizing anti consumptive use. |
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Black/White [1985], a game in which stereotype is challenged. Instead of being able to identify a threat by appearance, the player must examine the threat by another means, behavior. To survive the game, the player must react to NPCs based on how they move. Two characters that look exactly the same, may act very differently. The games is built with in 2 levels, with two types of characters, animated in two frames with a series of other binary constructs (2 actions, 2 colors, etc). See instructions for Black/White or see screenshots (visit an exhibition to play). |
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Charity [1978] , a two-player cooperative game. The player must "give" the ball to the other player to continue play. Every time the player receives the ball, the paddle grows. When a player gives the ball, the ball grows, increasing play time. Play ends when either player’s paddle shrinks to nothing. Play charity online . . . |
Each of the following games was developed under rapid prototyping constraints, by a single developer, designer and artist for the Critical Gameplay exhibition. Each game was developed in a weekend (art, code, and design) and then tweaked over a week. As such the games are developed under a more independent development model. The games return to the romantic notion of a lone-developer making a game late into the night. As indie games they are beyond being developed independent of a studio, they are made by one person. 