#insidegame

[inside1212]

INSIDE real boy

[jeffhachi]

What’re you doing with that thing, Jeffhachi...?

[lemonenm]

Fan Art INSIDE

[emma-boo-wearing]

Inside - Game Analysis

Studio: Playdead Genre: 2D Platformer, Adventure Platform: PS4, PC, Xbox One Year of Release: 2016

Summary:

Inside is, at its core, a story told not only through characters but through their environment. Playing as a boy seemingly on the run from the very start of the game. Using left and right movement, verticality through level design and navigating your way through puzzles your learn about the world around you.

(Spoilers Warning)

Core Mechanics:

Movement, limited movement makes this game straightforward and means that from the start, the player knows how they can explore this world.

Couple this with the Puzzle Design and you have Inside. The puzzles aren’t overly challenging to the player but get increasingly more difficult as the game goes on. Using mechanics such as taking over the movement of NPCs in the background to activate things for you in the foreground and fluffing them up as you get used to each one is how the puzzles stay interesting through to the end.

Inside would not be half the game it is without its Art. The levels are beautifully crafted and everything tells a story. The dystopian world you travel through is unique and instantly recognisable. Learning about Narrative Design earlier in the year we were encouraged to make the player ask; “What happened?” “Why is this the way it is?”. Inside does both of these seamlessly.

MDA:

Having limited movement with the art of the game generates the creep factor. Making the player on edge and nervous, replicating these feelings from the boy’s own. These mechanics work well together to create the creepiness and to help the player identify with the boy.

The puzzles are directly tied to the level design. The art is used to make the puzzle geometry fit into this world and not stick out the way it does in so many other games. There is a unity between the two mechanics throughout the whole game. This makes it easy to make the player feel like they are living through the boy’s story. In tune with the narrative.

Game Loops

Core Loop: Movement - Solve Puzzle Moment to Moment: Move - Puzzle Level Loop: Movement - Solve Puzzle - Finish Section - Start Section Session Loop: The game can be completed in a single setting, but will most likely consist of 6 level loops (Half) at a time.

Innovation:

Inside has taken everything that worked with 2D sidescrollers from the start of their age through to now and made it in a 3D, dystopian art style that tells an enormously powerful story. There is no use of weapons, the player is helpless in combat of any kind. Get caught and you’re done. There are elements of stealth and traditional puzzle platforming working cohesively in a way that, has been done before BUT not done much in sidescrolling games nor one with a dark undertone of both story and art. (Unless you include Limbo).

What’s to be Learned from Inside?

If you’re looking for a game that is, comparatively, small. BUT! Cohesive and powerful and polished, look no further. Inside’s design is not fluffed to add content. It is what it is, and that makes for strong Design; level design, puzzle design, gameplay design, story and sound design.

[elliotburnsgaming]

Inside

A Game Review

By Elliot Burns

Inside is an indie videogame developed and produced by the company Playdead, it is the second rendition of their puzzle-based, platformer style of game design. It builds upon what it's critically acclaimed predecessor “Limbo” achieved, stellar level design, beautiful animations and a dark, ambiguous narrative that never fails to capture the thoughts and imagination of its players.

The phenomenal attention to detail when it comes to the animation within the game is instantly captivating and compliments the simplistic control scheme as the player spends almost no time having to learn how to control the character but rather allows players to focus on how seamlessly he traverses the environment. This element of ease when it comes to accessibility encourages a wide range of players of different skill levels and interests to be able to adapt with no issues and immediately be immersed in the world.

Although there are no specific intervals that occur throughout the game, the player will notice both subtle and clear changes in the environment which act as progressive reminders. These work at keeping the player engaged and constantly rewards them with more insight and mystery into the world and story. For example an abandoned farm that you encounter early in the game forces players to speculate on what events led to that grim scene with dead animals laying all over the place, and these pieces of the story only ever serve to add more mystery and intrigue to the player's own theories and ideas.

As mentioned before, the game tells a dark and ambiguous narrative that never truly explains everything but at the same time gives the player enough information to derive their own meaning and conclusion from the events. Inside, as well as Limbo, are both forms of a very rare medium of video game storytelling. That of which features no dialogue, no concrete expositional details such as time or location and no identifiable traits with any character featured in the game. But while this would traditionally leave a narrative with too little elements to draw a satisfying story out of, Playdead has managed to utilise the elements it does choose to use such as animation, sound design, art direction and environmental creation so skillfully and passionately, that the game is able to powerfully express story elements in ways that have never been done before in any form of media entertainment. The creators of the game intentionally force the player to use their imagination to fill in gaps and to create meaning in a somewhat discordant series of events.

Unfortunately with the game relying heavily on player interpretation, it means that the fairly hefty price of $19.99 can be a firm deterrent when “casual” gamers decide to take a look at the store page, as they don't know specifically what they will receive with their money other than puzzles which is expressed in the description. It’s no secret that Playdead strive to deliver new experiences to long-term gamers, which means having to step outside the comfort zone of general appeal and earn respect and satisfaction from the players that do decide to purchase the game. This shows how the team at Playdead really are focused on passionately creating video games that people will enjoy and remember rather than seeking commercial success.

It goes without saying that this makes Inside a true testament to videogame storytelling by employing methods and techniques that are not yet fully recognised in the industry. Delivering a new, fresh experience that is guaranteed to inspire and entertain both avid and casual gamers.

[yinfaowei]

INSIDE

I guess everyone has played inside.....started playing it again and damn Very awesome game. Ooh well went on to make this fanart inspired by it

follow me on 

https://www.instagram.com/yin_harri/

https://www.artstation.com/yinfaowei

[lorispilorget-blog]

D4 - underwater. This long-haired creature is the freakiest thing in the super awesome video game Inside.

[nanfe]

just finished "inside", the gameplay is so cool, but i have a very mixed feeling for the ending, -___-, i think the hardest parts are the shockware ones and the friggin' mermaid #nanfeart #inside #insidegame #playdead #mermaid