Review: The Plan

I decided in addition to posting info about projects I'm working on, I'd also like to write informal reviews of games I've tried, especially indie games.  I'll do my best to clearly mark any spoilers so if you're unfamiliar with the game you can give it a try before reading what I have to say about it that might give anything important away.  So with no further blah-blah here's my first review:  The Plan.

http://www.krillbite.com/theplan/index.html

Play...  if you've got five minutes to spare.  And if you don't, make the time!
Don't play...  if you hate beauty.

"A little experiment" by Krillbite Studio.  Little is right.  You can literally play through the entire game in just a few minutes.  Also, it's free, (and on steam to boot) so you should seriously just download and play it right now before you continue reading.  I'll wait.

Some folks complain that this isn't a real game, but I gotta tell ya, I love stuff like this!  I love it when designers make something we haven't seen before and test our definition of what a game is.  Personally, I like Jesse Schell's explanation the best:  a game is an experience.  And that's exactly what The Plan is.  A bite-sized yet surprisingly rich experience.  There's very little else I could say about it without spoiling it, so you should really play it now.  No seriously, do it!

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First of all, this little game was very well put together.  I especially love the timing of everything.  As the fly is ascending into the heavens the scenery changes and the music plays at just the right moment to keep you wondering what's coming, wanting to know what's ahead.  The final few moments of the game instilled in me a feeling of transcendence followed very quickly by a sudden feeling of loss.  I can't think of any other game that's made me feel that way.  I have since gone back to play it in order to get that feeling again, but it's just not as poignant as the very first time, and I doubt it ever can be.  In a way, that makes it all the more beautiful.

Perhaps what I love most are the provocative questions this game raises, not least among them being "What is the meaning?"  Every person could play this game and come away with a different idea of what the game means.  Perhaps it means the things we find the most beautiful are also the most dangerous.  Maybe it's a metaphor of the inevitability of death.  Maybe it's about finding joy and beauty in the journey before our destination arrives, unexpectedly and all too soon.

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I hope to see more games like this in the future.  In this way I could easily see gaming as a new form of art:  easily consumable by those with a passing interest, but also full of meaning for those with the inclination to dissect it.