You are probably still playing Desktop Tower Defence so lets go for something quick. Very very quick. Indeed speed is the essence in today’s in no way Christmas themed game. Speed and using just one finger. But firstly what is going on in the background here?
This is the dystopian greyscale background of CANABALT, a jumping game where you run increasingly quickly and jump over stuff. And between buildings to get away. And occasionally dodge cranes dropping on you. And get faster, and faster, and jump more and more until – well you fall or die or get to the end*. From a game design point of view it is very 8 bit, BUT has wonderfully menacing music and a real sense of design. Watch the background as you are jumping, some sort of giant alien is slowly destroying the city. You won’t play it for more than a couple of minutes, but this one does run and run (pun intended).
*This is one of those games where I am certain there is no end.
I love this one. A movie could be made of it. It would start with one of the giant background creatures (which I didn’t spot until I’d played it about 30 times), moments before being unveiled in a hangar somewhere by a team of privately funded security techies, cloaked in shadow, its eyes glinting, grunting a bit and exhaling fog. In true Terminator/Robocop style it of course massacres everyone, breeds, and begins to take over the world. Our hero has forgotten to put money in the parking meter and is rushing back to pay, when suddenly.. well, it takes him quite a while to get to that parking meter doesn’t it? Despite his rooftop “short cut”.
The real test of whether a game qualifies for this advent calendar is whether it is blocked at my work. This one and the Science Museum are the only ones I can get to (because they don’t have ‘game’ in the url, I suspect).
i have had TWO count em TWO dreams which are basically high concept drench, so this can obviously also be made into a movie
DRENCH TWO: ADORNO ON A POGOSTICK <— this is the one for the ages
“Your Add Neighbour request for Theoryville was rejected”