Castle Paradox

Joe Man · Posted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 6:31 am Post subject: Arthouse Games

Arthouse Games, a very small and quiet game journalism site run by game designer Jason Rohrer, might be familiar to a few of you but I doubt any more than a small handful. Arthouse Games specifically addresses the idea that games should be more than fun, that games, like any great art, should have a message. Perhaps some of you might have heard of Jason Rohrer's recent game, Gravitation, recently featured on Kotaku, which expresses his mood swings through creative highs and lows, and even delves a bit into life and death itself, and is to some extent the paradigm of "art games" as Arthouse describes. However, the surreal, trance-like sort of atmosphere you'll find is by no means all he covers, as you'll find such games covered as Base Invaders, the C64 game Paradroid, and even Super Columbine Massacre RPG!, along with several interviews and editorials.

Anyhows, my point is, for many of you, this might just be the sort of outlet to get your games known to people who will really appreciate them, and even to learn a few ideas that might influence your game design for the best. If any of you have a game you would like reviewed, submit it. Otherwise, I recommend this as required reading for all of you.
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Last edited by Joe Man on Fri Dec 13, 1957 1:21 am; edited 2,892 time in total

Chenzi · Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2008 12:54 pm Post subject:

Or you could, y'know, post it here and get about the same amount of publicity without some dude's name attached to it.
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Robot · **Skeleton King** Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 72

Arthouse games.... meh. I tried "Gravitation" and wasn't that impressed. The art was nice, but the gameplay was dull boring, and depressing. Seems like its trying too hard to be sad.

http://www.indiegames.com/blog/

Is the place where you want to get your game recognized on, IMO, it's a fantastic site. Also Castle Paradox, of course!
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Kizul Emeraldfire · **Type: Cyber Dragoon** Joined: 26 Mar 2004 Posts: 229

Rya.Reisender · **Snippy** Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 821

He also made the game Passage.

Yes his games are more art than game, and they are really depressing because they all totally deliver the message "No matter what you do in the end you'll lose everything you had and eventually die".

Still I love his games.

In fact if something is 'depressing', it's automatically good. :p
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TwinHamster · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:58 am Post subject:

LeRoy_Leo · Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 10:11 am Post subject:

I agree with what he is saying, regardless of his ability to design games, which is aparently a subject of controversy that I have no opinion on.
Games can have a message and be fun.
Most of the more worthwhile and memorable games are the ones with a meaningful message.
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Rya.Reisender · **Snippy** Joined: 18 Jan 2008 Posts: 821

What I'm saying is when a game manages to make a player really honestly sad, then it must be pretty good.

The Drizzle · **Who is the Drizzle?** Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 432

Robot · **Skeleton King** Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 72

You're missing the message in Pac-Man: it's about the struggle of man and the inner demons (ghosts) that he faces on a daily basis. Occasionally the tides turn, and you can conquer your demons, but problems will just come back because nothing is perfect. The bright colors and wonderful aesthetic are indicative of the nightclub/arcade scenes and the glam-obsessed future-seeking 1981 society for which the game was created.
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The Wobbler · Joined: 06 Feb 2003 Posts: 2221

NeoSpade · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:10 am Post subject:

Moogle1 · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 10:56 am Post subject:

(from Threadless)
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The Drizzle · **Who is the Drizzle?** Joined: 12 Nov 2003 Posts: 432

That is one of the coolest shirts I have ever seen.
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Robot · **Skeleton King** Joined: 20 Oct 2008 Posts: 72

English Major power ftw!

Also, I used that image for the title screen of my pac-man OHRRPGCE game I was making. The project evolved, however (still heavily influenced by Pac-Man) but is now about being in a maze running from skeletons. Obviously, it has a different title screen now, but its still a badass drawing.
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