If on the off-chance that all the gaming options given to you by the Game Developers Conference in town are already boring you (see yesterday’s blog for those links) I offer two online games by Gregory Weir of Ludus Novus. Weir creates small games that require exploration and sometimes repetition … in a good way.
Most recently Weir released Silent Conversation that uses the words from great works of literature and poetry as the field of play. Touch all the words and “win” the game. The books editor here at the Chronicle told me about it, but reading and gaming are often like oil and water. And the very idea of having to read to win a video game sends shivers up my spine. Click here to play Silent Conversation at your own risk.
The Majesty of Colors puts the control of a sea monster with a conscience. Depending on how you interact with your environment the ending of the game changes. Will you a be a human-helping tentacled beast or child-drowning submarine fodder? You decide. Click here to play The Majesty of Colors.
Finally Weir takes us into a creepy world filled with barcodes and paranoia with Bars of Black and White. Explore your world and, if you’re feeling courageous, step outside. Everything is useful and trying to tell you something. The real question is when does paranoia become reality? Perhaps when you realize that the barcode on your magazine is telling you that your existence is a lie. Click here to start scanning the Bars of Black and White.
Enjoy.
PS. Look here on the Screens blog for reviews of WET, Need for Speed: Shift, and NHL 2K10.
This article appears in September 11 • 2009.
