IGF 2013

[[Chris] Dale]

Walking Dead. Kentucky came out this year, didn't it?

[Bruno de Figueiredo]

Walking Dead.

Well, it figures (part two). Yes, it did, ACT 1 was released in January. I thoroughly recommend it.

[György Dudas]

I read the Walking Deads books way before it became big through the TV Show and the game...
I played 2 episodes and I lost a bit interest. It gave me the same mood, feeling, that the
books did. So it was more of the same... it was not different enough, even with interactivity...
So I am fine with the books... the game is replicating the books

[Marco Turetta]

Well, it figures (part two). Yes, it did, ACT 1 was released in January. I thoroughly recommend it.

I found Kentucky Route Zero enchanting.

It's interesting that as the authors were developing it they gradually abandoned gamey elements (mainly platforming and old style adventure puzzles) until there practically wasn't any one left.
To see how detrimental they would have been you just have to watch the kickstarter trailer where the characters were jumping over chasms...

[Bruno de Figueiredo]

As a project backer I played such early demos, and indeed the game has evolved a great deal since its initial kickstarter phase presentation. It alludes to videogames and videogame history, no doubt, but there's no discernible game element to be found there: no difficulty, no puzzles, no wrong choices, nothing. It bears the resemblance of a point and click adventure and the text has an IF gist to it, but the experience itself is irrespective of those genres. If we're to be technical, it's more a notgame than many so-called notgames. Perhaps I could invite Jake Elliot to be a part of this community?

[Jeroen D. Stout]

Oh well... it figures. Cart Life is right up that sort of crowd's alley. At least they got the nominations right for the most part this year, so I can't complain. And good old Kentucky earned some deserved recognition.

I am very torn over Cart Life. I am not certain whether I am unfairly negative about it. It just does not grab me, nor does explanation of its virtues grab me. Quite the opposite. Perhaps it does everything I dislike. But then, I feel I might be unfair to this type of expression and thus the rift in my thinking

(EDIT: In a way I need to know what you all think about it to know whether my thoughts are just whimsy or rational.)

I was not very happy with this year's IGF. I am happy Little Inferno got an award but in a category which does not encompass what I thought what was special about it... and the Narrative going to Cart Life... perhaps fair, perhaps not. I think the idea of the narrative award is a wobbly one and I do not understand what exactly it is meant to honour.

It is nice to see FTL present - it is out of 'our area' of games but I happen to rather like it

[Marco Turetta]

If we're to be technical, it's more a notgame than many so-called notgames.

That's true also of its "spin off" Limits and Demonstrations.

[Bruno de Figueiredo]

(EDIT: In a way I need to know what you all think about it to know whether my thoughts are just whimsy or rational.)

Both, I suggest. As a video game, its mindset is held captive by daydreams and fantasies from 1980's computer game simulations of the quotidian life in the city. I'm not saying it's a game I don't appreciate for one or the other reason, I'm sure, but were it an underdog, I'd be more compelled to explore it. There is prejudice in my appreciation, I realize, given that the words of praise that have inflated it reputation among players come from voices whose assessment I find poor - at best. Perhaps it's most unfair to the game, I'm well aware, but bearing in mind that the first hour of interaction didn't present me with any additional arguments that could revert my opinion in favor of it, I'd say it's reasonable to say what you say.

[Bruno de Figueiredo]

That's true also of its "spin off" Limits and Demonstrations.

Yes indeed. What a remarkable way to enhance the by granting it depth beyond request or expectation. The Man and Horse sculpture were in fact present in the basement of the opening chapter, this in the Beta version, and not the ramblers' board game scene. There it stood against the lamplight, in the foreground, like a shadow play. As you switched the lamp on and off it would tell a small story and then set you free. It had nearly the same close-up magnetism in my humble perception as did the television screen delusion.

There's value to this ability to be poetic without being lyrical, much like the great American literature of the modern and contemporary age. If we're to evolve as a culture, us computer users I mean, I'm fairly certain that we'll look back at Kentucky Route Zero one day with longing and breathless admiration. Players' fast pace motion, hopping between high speed trend trains every seven days, makes it impossible to appreciate the slow paced splendor of Conway's Homeric odyssey.

[Marco Turetta]

Perhaps I could invite Jake Elliot to be a part of this community?

I think it would be really interesting if he joined the conversation!

[Marco Turetta]

I am happy Little Inferno got an award but in a category which does not encompass what I thought what was special about it...

It touched an interesting spot between playful joy and guilt 

Many themes started crossing my mind only while I was not actually playing.
I find that they dealt with the hypnotic power of the "fire frenzy" in a very effective way.

[QXD-me]

Perhaps I could invite Jake Elliot to be a part of this community?

I think it would be really interesting if he joined the conversation!

I'm fairly sure he is a member, but just hasn't posted for a long time.