Today I Die is a game presentation of a poem. The format of how the game progresses resembles puzzle games, but I don't think the focus is so much on how to 'win' the game as it is how you react to it. The final state of the game (four lines of text and a background) is merely one part of the poem, much as different scenes are to a film. One result of the puzzle-like form of the game I feel is that you can have a more intimate analysis of each part of the poem, almost as if the format makes it easier to contemplate what each word means and how it affects the text. <br>
<br>If the game has a multiple-ending format like I Wish I Were the Moon or I Fell in Love with the Majesty of Colors, a result of this seems to be that it makes it easier to think about how to find all the endings as a goal in itself. Though of course finding each ending can give you a sense of surprise and discovery at the unexpected outcome. Achieving the goal and figuring out how to solve the problem is something that games are pretty good at, but as a result that's often how we first begin to approach a game. (Interestingly, if your computer runs very slow, Majesty of Colors gives you a completely different experience than if it runs at full speed!).<br>
<br>Ultimately though, there's no 'right' way to respond to the game, just as there's really no 'right' way to play a game, read a book, or look at a painting (as much as 'connoisseurship' might suggest). As a result, maybe it's more about what you're looking for or looking to get out of the work than what the author or critic 'wants' you to get.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, May 6, 2009 at 8:28 PM, Stuart Feldhamer <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:stuart.feldhamer@gmail.com">stuart.feldhamer@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
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<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Well, I gave it another chance, and got a 4<sup>th</sup> line of
text to appear? Did I “win”?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Stuart</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
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<p><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: windowtext;">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: windowtext;"> Henry Lowood
[mailto:<a href="mailto:lowood@stanford.edu" target="_blank">lowood@stanford.edu</a>] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, May 06, 2009 10:17 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:stuart@feldhamer.com" target="_blank">stuart@feldhamer.com</a>; IGDA Game Preservation SIG<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [game_preservation] Today I Die is out!</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I hate to admit
it, but I'm with Stuart on this. Henry</span><br>
<br>
Stuart Feldhamer wrote: </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Uh…. I don’t get it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);">Stuart</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(31, 73, 125);"> </span></p>
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<p><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> <a href="mailto:game_preservation-bounces@igda.org" target="_blank">game_preservation-bounces@igda.org</a>
[<a href="mailto:game_preservation-bounces@igda.org" target="_blank">mailto:game_preservation-bounces@igda.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Devin Monnens<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, May 06, 2009 1:47 PM<br>
<b>Cc:</b> <a href="mailto:women_dev@igda.org" target="_blank">women_dev@igda.org</a>; IGDA
Game Preservation SIG<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [game_preservation] Today I Die is out!</span></p>
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<p> </p>
<p>Sorry this is a little off-topic (aside from the games
part). Daniel Benmergui has finally released Today I Die. Go and play it RIGHT
NOW.<br>
<br>
<a href="http://ludomancy.com/games/today.html" target="_blank">http://ludomancy.com/games/today.html</a><br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
Devin Monnens<br>
<a href="http://www.deserthat.com" target="_blank">www.deserthat.com</a><br>
<br>
The sleep of Reason produces monsters.</p>
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<pre> </pre><pre style="text-align: center;"><hr align="center" size="4" width="90%">
</pre><pre> </pre><pre>_______________________________________________</pre><pre>game_preservation mailing list</pre><pre><a href="mailto:game_preservation@igda.org" target="_blank">game_preservation@igda.org</a></pre><pre>
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<p><br>
<br>
</p>
<pre>-- </pre><pre>Henry Lowood</pre><pre>Curator for History of Science & Technology Collections;</pre><pre> Film & Media Collections</pre><pre>HRG, Green Library</pre><pre>557 Escondido Mall, Stanford University Libraries</pre>
<pre>Stanford CA 94305-6004 USA</pre><pre><a href="http://www.stanford.edu/%7Elowood" target="_blank">http://www.stanford.edu/~lowood</a></pre><pre><a href="mailto:lowood@stanford.edu" target="_blank">lowood@stanford.edu</a>; 650-723-4602</pre>
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<br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Devin Monnens<br><a href="http://www.deserthat.com">www.deserthat.com</a><br><br>The sleep of Reason produces monsters.<br>