4/1–4/7: Videogames (3 Tomatoes+)
I record every game I play and I post them weekly. Here are links to one, two, and three, four, and five.
Last week, I decided to dedicate my weekly roundup to Glorious Trainwrecks games only since the site had a show opening at Babycastles! It’s still up until April 15th, so I’d recommend checking it out if you’re in NYC!
I played non-Glorious Trainwrecks games during that week, but I’m including them here for this week because they shouldn’t be ignored! Who cares about historical accuracy when there’s shoutouts to give! !!
Free Games
2N1 by mr. a
Okay, yes. This is a thing and I’m so glad it exists.
2N1 is an excellent example of how to iterate upon Breakout. First of all, the “paddle” is three blocks that aren’t aligned properly to each other, the arena is irregularly-shaped and flashes on and off, and the blocks to be destroyed are set off-grid. The gameplay becomes more quirky because of it, but because the ball behaves predictably, it’s never a hindrance.
There is more depth to it than what I descibed, but of course, that’s best discovered through your own experience. It took me a few Game Overs before it dawned on me how brilliant/silly this is.
2N1 makes me wish more people innovated this brick-breaking subgenre more. Of course, there’s Pippin Barr’s direct takes on it, Grey Cube’s use of physics, and most importantly, Blueberry Soft’s combination with “Metroid”. If anything, I would really love to see way more of the latter—dungeon/map explorer traversed through balls and paddles.
I’m really inspired to make my own version of Breakout, which is probably the best compliment to give a game.
A Little Bus Stop by Tom Kitchen
Tom Kitchen produces stylish work with an atmospheric bent that I fell in love with after playing Emporium. A Little Bus Stop is more than worth the few minutes it’ll take to experience it.
Constellations & Five-Stringed Instrument by Ian Snyder
Constellations (left) is a wonderful little puzzle game that asks you to arrange your string into specifc divisions and lengths while also maintaining points where it crosses itself. I‘m just at the point where I am playing around with it, not quite trying to solve the puzzles seriously (mostly because I’m not very good at this) because the mechanics are just so satisfying. Check out the left screen, with the single band that appears as many when released from your grip. The tactility of the string is brought to life with the juicy sound effects that makes this a simple game with a slick polish.
Five-String Instrument is the sandbox-ish version of Constellation. Just enjoy your time plucking the string, moving it around with the help of your lil’ firefly buddies.
Orbiter Suite by kittenm4ster
This is unbelievably cute! I’m an advocate for tiny wholesome games that elicit fuzziness in one’s body, and this is high on my list. Orbiter Suite is one of those titles that I’ll return to once in awhile when I need a positive boost in my day!
Tomatoes
I’ll Take You To Tomato Town by adamgryu, David Czar, Emma Mochi, and Mark Sparling
It’s a simple game of collecting groceries you need. It’s great practice for real life!
Tomatoes by James Earl Cox III & Julie Buchanan
A short, hilarious Twine game.
The Tomatoes are OK by Dan Sanderson
I really don’t want to say much about this because it’s much better experienced for yourself. I included the above screenshot because I felt it’s a nice little teaser that hints at its tone.
I will say that this game has an excellent use of effects. It doesn’t feel like trendy nostalgic VHS filters thrown on because the use of shaders is integral to the experience—this would not be nearly as brilliant without your fucked-up vision.
I know this game was not made just for me, but it almost feels like it was.
Paid games
Doom 3 by id Software
I bought this because I want to play all of the Doom games my computer can handle (pretty much everything except DOOM 2016), not expecting much from it. Yet, it exceeded my expectations, as I’m enjoying the ridiculously dark atmosphere that provides plenty of tension every minute of play.
The biggest disappointment is that the environment is too human for me and I’m reminded that the protagonist is a marine. See, I avoid playing games with a military presence, and I always (conviniently) ignored the bits that made that a fact in the pre-Quake Dooms. The “realistic” level design and fellow NPC soldiers remind me that this isn’t an abstracted world that doesn’t necessarily seem to have any purpose, and that’s quite unfortunate for me.
I purchased the original version because I was tired of waiting for the BFG Edition to go on sale at GOG (DRM-free), and I’m glad I did to experience it as the developers intended.
gravilon by grav dev
Ambient physics platformer. Your “character” is a square that you move via momentum and gravity to find the exit. The levels are constructed so that finding a possible path to the goal is the challenge that requires the use of gravity-inverting white dots. Even the menu screen is a little stage in itself!
It’s certainly not a game for everyone. The lack of music and ambiguity could be offputting to some, but I really felt it made sense with the rest of the minimalist-ish design of the game. Maybe the aesthetic was achieved through laziness or lack of technical ability to do anything detailed, but the developers (whom I have no information on) are obviously capable of putting together a well-designed package.
Bonus: In Flesh Tones by Azeda Booth (music)
I went to see Baths perform a couple weeks ago. Most people love the frontman Will Wiesenfield because he’s an incredible musician and great Tweeter, but I was mostly there to meet “the other guy”, Morgan Greenwood. I’ve revered him as a musical genius for ages now, though the only person I know that feels this same way is our mutual friend Neal. Morgan is one of two core members of Azeda Booth, though this particular album lists six total artists (+ Jordon Hossack, Marc Rimmer, Chris Reimer, Myke Atkinson, Michael Wallace).
They have been one of my favourite bands ever since I listened to immaculate Tubtrek EP. I only just purchased In Flesh Tones at the show because I always wanted a proper CD, not wanting to settle for streaming or digital download, and I could never find it in record stores. I always prefer a physical copy because I do still listen to CDs and I can rip it to digital media—a win-win.
I had no idea that this album could be nearly as good as Tubtrek, but it is, though in its own significant way. It’s lush, surreal, and impeccable. I’d love to reincarnate as In Flesh Tones after I die.
Games I continued playing but already wrote about: Desert Golfing and N++.
