It’s extremely easy to take a cursory look at the gaming industry right now and say that it’s all bullets and blood. The biggest, most hyped up and advertised games are all about murder, war, guns, etc. I often wonder if outsiders look at the games they see now and wonder what happened to the games that they experienced in the past, in particular nostalgic experiences like The Oregon Trail and Sim City. These are games that focused on larger experiences than some sort of cinematic story driven narrative. Sadly, most games of that ilk have left the limelight and are buried beneath a bulk of guns. But more meaningful, varied experiences do exist, and are doing what their predecessors could not ever even think of acheiving. I decided to share 3 different games that really push what the medium means and how games are conveyed, and in addition, each one of them are free so anyone can go out and give ‘em a try.
Ever wanted to walk a mile in a TSA agent’s shoes? Better yet, ever want to do it in a nation that lives and dies by these border proceedings? Papers Please scratches that itch and gives the user a dark insight into how life works for those behind the TSA counter.
The Arstotzkain Government has opened its borders for the first time in 6 years after the wake of a conflict with the neighboring Colechian state and reclaiming the border city of Gerkstin. After the employment raffle, you have been chosen to work the border, checking to see if everyone's papers are in order and if they are cleared to enter the country. With your wage, you are to feed and nurture your family, all the while keeping Arstotzka safe from insurgents and civil unrest.
It quickly will become clear that in order to feed your family, some people are going to have to go through that shouldn’t, or others that should but don’t have the papers. Some people will trick you and some forgeries will be far too good to fool the naked eye. You’re going to make mistakes, and that’s the point. A lot of the world moves against, with, and without you
On the topic of making mistakes in games, this one is brutal. Often described as a poverty simulation, Cart life will put you in the shoes of either a recently divorced and out of work mother, an Eastern European immigrant, or a man whose just been spat out of the system at every turn. Each of them are scraping by while a custody battle, crippling debt, immigration, permits, and any other trials and tribulations that the powers that be can throw in your path.
Nothing about Cart Life is easy. Even if you have a plan you are going to outright lose for the first few playthroughs you try. Time management, starvation, nicotine and caffeine addictions, picking up your kid from school, and oh man the permits, each of these things stand firmly in the way of your success. Things are bleak. Always bleak, but there is the possibility of success, or at least you’ll try and convince yourself that there is.
Every aspect of this game is painstakingly shaped into a misery simulator. It’s grayscale color pallete and dated looked gives it a passed over look that reflect the dejected protagonists, each of which are given extremely sympathetic back stories and dialogue. It’s a critical darling as well, sweeping the IGF awards, and independent gaming festival, and rightfully so. It’s not fun, but it’s engaging, and it reminds us that games don’t have to be fun to be important.
I’m going to go out the gate here and say that this is probably the best game on the list to start with. It’s simple, it’s concise, it’s focused, and it’s extremely ambitious. It’s also only a flash game, so it’s a game that you don’t even have to worry about downloading.
Dys4ia is a first hand account with Gender Dysphoria told through a series of small games meant to confuse, punish, reward and alleviate you. It often looks like it’s ripped straight from a woodgrain atari 2600, but the message here is plain as day. Life as a transgender individual or a transitioning is not pleasant.
What really shines about Dys4ia is the idea of mechanics as a storytelling device. Each bit of the game is designed to reflect how the developer feels, awkardly trying to fit in to a mold to show the developers body images, dodging and deflecting the insults of her peers, you’ll read and play her entire story.
What it creates is an extremely personal and extremely endearing process that creates empathy through an almost shared experience. It does what most other mediums can’t effectively do and really puts you there in her shoes.
There’s more games like these out there, especially if you’re willing to shell a dollar or two. The purpose of this piece is just to put it out there that games often try to do more than they are given credit for. To show that the medium can be used for higher expression that it’s pidgeon holed to.
