Passage (computer game)
| passage | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Senior Developer | Jason Rohrer |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
2007 |
| platform | Linux , Mac OS X , Microsoft Windows |
| genre | Adventure |
| Game mode | Single player |
| medium | Download |
| language | English |
Passage is a computer game that uses simple means to show the life of a character. The author Jason Rohrer sees the game as an implementation of the expression memento mori . He developed Passage in late 2007 and published it in the public domain for Linux , Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows .
Gameplay
The presentation of the game is kept very simple: Rainer Sigl describes the graphics on Telepolis as reminiscent of 8-bit computers. Aaron Rutkoff of the Wall Street Journal thinks the character is extremely pixelated and sees the music as an homage to early Atari games . The window in which the game runs is much wider than it is taller. The unusual aspect ratio is a metaphor chosen by Rohrer.
The game expires within five minutes as the player explores the world either to the east or south. After the game time, the character inevitably dies. There is no given goal; however, the player receives points for explored areas or for treasures found in the south. At the beginning the player can choose whether the protagonist should explore the surroundings with a partner. The partnership doubles the points awarded by the trip, but blocks some paths in the south. Rohrer uses a number of metaphors in Passage: The representation through the aspect ratio stands for a life line, for example. At the start of the game, the protagonist is on the left edge of the field. The future of the game is still ahead of him. While playing, the character moves steadily to the right until it reaches the edge of the window and dies.
development
Kokoromi, an association of game developers in Montreal, hosted the so-called Gamma 256 Competition from August 21 to November 1, 2007. In order to take part in this competition, a game had to be programmed with a resolution of a maximum of 256 pixels per square. Kokoromi presented the eight best games on November 28th in the buildings of the Montrealer Société des arts technologiques .
reception
After Ian Bogost of the Georgia Institute of Technology reported on Passage on December 1 and Kotaku a day later, a number of blogs and media picked up the game.
Clive Thompson wrote on Wired's website that the remarkable thing about Passage was Rohrer's use of game mechanics as a metaphor. The author used the player's work to research human experiences. Thompson refers to an article by Roger Eberts : Games in general could not be high culture , since the player is involved in the story, among other things. According to Thompson, the artistic value of Passages does not lie in the story presented, but in the game mechanics: "It architects your behavior: It's like being an actor in a partly ad-libbed play." ( It outlines the behavior of the player: it is comparable to an actor in a partially improvised play. ) Rainer Sigl also writes that passage “ blurs the otherwise clearly defined boundaries between play and art” . Further, it would " bring the player's emotional response to the fore." According to Aaron Rutkoff, many player responses were surprisingly emotional. Most of the reactions relate to the climax of the game: the protagonist's companion dies and leaves a virtual tombstone.
On November 29, 2012, the Museum of Modern Art announced the purchase of 14 computer games, including Passage , for a new permanent design exhibition in the Philip Johnson Galleries from March 2013. The announcement identified the titles as outstanding representatives in the field of interaction design. In addition to the visual quality and the aesthetic experience, criteria were therefore all aspects that contribute to the design of the interaction, such as the elegance of the program code or the design of the player behavior.
Web links
- Official website (English)
- Passage at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jason Rohrer: What I was trying to do with Passage
- ↑ a b Rainer Sigl on heise.de: Can games be art?
- ↑ a b c Aaron Rutkoff on wsj.com: The Game of Life
- ↑ Bbrathwaite.Wordpress.com: Passage - Play session. Retrieved May 6, 2016 .
- ↑ Maggie Greene on kotaku.com: Weird Artistic Timewaster of the Day: Passage
- ↑ Clive Thompson on wired.com: Poetic Passage Provokes Heavy Thoughts on Life, Death
- ↑ Paola Antonelli: Video Games: 14 in the Collection, for Starters ( English ) In: Inside / Out. A MoMA / MoMA PS1 Blog . Museum of Modern Art . November 29, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.