Formal Analysis of The Evidence of Everything Exploding
Would you believe me if I said that there would be a day in which some of the world’s biggest secrets are simply turned into a game? An interactive experience that was made for our entertainment, for our enjoyment? The Evidence of Everything Exploding also known as EOEE created by Jason Nelson may be doing just this. It is a digital poem turned into a game and used to talk about content found in a red box that had been buried into a 5,000-year-old ice cap. This discovery was made in 2004 by a group of climatologists and the box supposedly contained 10 different papers that mentioned NASA, Bill Gates, The Spanish Flu, Dadaism, James Joyce, Fidel Castro, and other events. Because of the structure, content, and accessibility that Jason Nelson uses to present the material found in the redbox, this poem has become a superb representation of how digital media allows readers to carry out task in more engaging ways and access more information in a faster manner. And, despite these benefits Jason also uses this poem to show the reader that there is a sense of false freedom found when playing and reading on the web.
You start this poem out looking like an ant with a black arrowed head surrounded by a blue circle and green abdomen. In the abdomen you see six black legs that are always in motion. This could stress some players out, but your character only truly moves when you use the arrow keys on the keyboard giving the player a sense of control. Now, this control is necessary as you will use it to guide the creature across a multitude of labyrinths that simply lay on top of the 10 different documents found in the box.
When moving across the document your goal is to make it to the “reach” zone, but it is not a mindless trek. The reach zone has many different obstacles, that appear on every map, in the form of barriers/words titled “misunderstanding” or “obvious”. Surprisingly, these barriers are not the only things keeping you from the zone as you also must dodge moving enemies that change form in relation to every map. These forms can range from a moving eye, to a grim reaper, and even at one point to your own character. Another obstacle you run into on this trek are numbered boxes that must be touched to unlock different sections of the map. On your way to these boxes you run into many different pieces of highlighted text. When this text is touched it simply explodes and turns into a passage of information that relates to what is being talked about on the page. The information provided helps understand what is happening on the page and what was happening when the paper was created, but it can get scattered.
As the text is hit it provides information, but sometimes it turns into a trap or diversion. I don’t know the reason for this yet so when I find it I will make it the topic of my next formal analysis. This trap or diversion tends to be a harmless graphic that only distracts the reader. I believe the graphics relate to the article being read as they usually range from being horses, bugs (Spanish Flu), fish and sometimes cowboys. Another interesting addition the author makes is a big red button that pops up and when pushed triggers another set of graphics that only go away when you push the button a second time. These graphics can get you killed, but if you die all the character does is re spawn at a nearby checkpoint making it easy to pass all 10 levels.
In this game Jason Nelson also includes a “reward” that is given to the player after every level. The reward is a small phrase that tells you that you’ve won, but this uses a different word every single time. Ex: Crushed, Destroyed, Dominated. It then provides “video evidence” that is filmed in an outdoor environment. These videos are small stories that are them told using old match boxes. Once the video ends you are given the option to “play forward, go to the next level”, but when the move your mouse over the option “Go Choke Go Go” pops up on the screen. Each new level does have a small description of the evidence you are reading appear, but you must read it quickly because there is no going back and reading it again.
The Evidence of Everything Exploding is a digital game distributed on the internet. With the internet the game can reach a vast number of people at any time of day, but it does have the consequence of ads. These ads litter the sides of the screen, temporarily flash, and are not easily unnoticed. Nelson uses these ads help support and show the player that they are in fact playing something in the digital world. Yes, these ads can be unattractive and disengaging, so Nelson uses many different methods to keep the player interested.
His methods keep the reader interested and engaged, but they also trick the reader. A truly unique aspect of this game is that the author makes you believe that you have all the control, but he places barriers, and obstacles that make you follow the path that he desires. He even then “rewards” you for finishing a level and encourages you to continue on. Understanding this piece is very difficult. Nelson makes it seem like he doesn’t fully want you to understand the events or things that are happening. The only constant is the sound, but other than that the game seems very random/confused which is represented in every level. This representation is harshest in its conclusion.
This game end with yes and expected video, but it leaves out the matches. This time the video has a person singing a repetitive song about all the things that they are throwing onto a table. You are still able to move your character around the screen, the screen is also flashing, and the video continues to play.
Nelson did not make this poem easy to understand or interpret, but he made it easy to play. This could very possibly be due to his frame of mind when creating the poem. Nelson states that the game creates “its own prophecies and conspiracies, building poetic/secret connections within semi historical documents”. He also uses a poetic trick most commonly seen in the digital world as the idea of control that he gives the reader/player. His material is accessed and played online, and adds a large number of interactive components onto what used to be a document that only contained words. These are not things that can be done without digital media. The poems structure, content, and accessibility are only possible due to digital media making The Evidence of Everything Exploding a great representation of what digital media can do and create.
