Judith
2009.04.03Mainstream game development seems to be somewhat lost. Successful game IP has become a huge cornerstone of the industry, and it spawns never-ending sequels, ports and spinoffs. The continuing quest for photo-realism has driven game development for the past 20+ years, but the end is in sight. Realistic physics and AI are following immediately behind photo-realism as drivers. Gaming as an artistic medium has suffered as a result. Few games tell a compelling story or generate real emotional responses. Very few games have risen to the level of art. Movies and novels have had more time as a medium, but where are the games worthy of being compared to movies like Blade Runner or books like Animal Farm?
In contrast, independent game development has come a long way over the past few years. The tools game developers use have improved significantly, and many are available free or at relatively low cost. Wheels don't need to be reinvented - game creators can concentrate on their ideas more and their code less. Simple games can be developed in hours in some cases, provided they don't need significant media assets. The independent game development community really is creating games for artistic sake, without regard for financial reward.
This post was motivated by playing just such an indie game. Terry Cavanagh and Stephen Lavelle just released a new game entitled Judith. It's an interesting 20 minute diversion built on a Wolfenstein-type engine. It's a short story about control told from two different narrative viewpoints separated in time, but not in space. Its 8-bit graphics and sound generated more real emotion than I've felt in a long time playing anything. Of course it's not Blade Runner or Animal Farm, but it is an honest step towards art in games.
It's available for download here with Windows, Mac OS X and Linux binaries.
