I thought a lot about what story I wanted to tell in this week’s game. The fact that we had to make a game without visual representations like people or textures made it really good for an abstract sort of way of looking at how objects can mentally take effect on players or viewers.
TRUST was based on my own experience as someone who is always on the search of achieving certain goals. But is that the end? Making this game made me think about exclusion, and the reality of trying to “get into your own social circle”. Whether you are accepted or are neglected into wandering on your own, the contact you make will (sometimes) change you. I played off of the concept of “friend cliques”, and how exclusive some could be. As the title states, basically, do you trust those spinning squares, those colorful dots, or the game itself to provide a way for you to win?
I liked the feedback that I got for the game. I was interested in how people interpreted the relation of the squares to the circles, and to them spinning around circles as a “cultish” move. One critique I got was that “you don’t know which one will screw you over and which you will not unless you play it over and over.” There was a sense that you had to collect all the black squares in order to “win”, but in truth, you could not. There were always going to be black squares that “hurt” you no matter what you do. Just like in reality when you meet someone, you never know if you can get along with them or not until you have had a couple fights. Essentially, your trust in others is on the line.
Coding this though, was painful. I got accidentally ended up with this donut that opened and closed, which was pretty cool so I left it.
Victoria! Something about your games always feels so rich, like we’re getting a glimpse at some huge world or story that you put a lot of thought into. During the critiques of this game, I remember you refusing to say anything. Whenever we asked you a question, you would respond, “I don’t know, maybe!” I’m glad you didn’t explain then what it meant to you – reading now about your interpretation of the game, after having time to come up with my own understanding of it, is really interesting! To me, the concept of working towards goals and wondering to what end you’re working towards them had a completely different meaning. The complexity of the game’s rules (what will and won’t hurt you) and the fact that no stated goal left us, as players, wondering what to do, frustrated (but in a good way!), interpreted within the context of social groups, seems like a really good metaphor for navigating social interactions in which you don’t really know where you stand. (Also, “there were always going to be black squares that ‘hurt’ you no matter what you do” is a really affecting thought.)
Thanks Violet! Sorry for the late response.
For this game particularly I put a lot of thought into, especially I believe during this time so much was going on with my life like school, work, club, and social life, it seemed like everyone and everything I came into contact with had their pros and cons. I’m glad that you enjoyed the game and found it challenging, I was thinking, “what if no one gets it?” xD