The RPG Maker crowd is a world unto its own. I’ve steered clear of the fan projects that emerge from it over the years, because, let’s face it, the depth of gameplay and story that I need in games often isn’t there. But, based on a recommendation from the nice folks at Meridian Dance (site now defunct), I gave it a shot. Despite my own misgivings about RPG Maker games, I was delighted (and disturbed) to find a game that invoked more emotion in me than any other indie game to date.
Before you read on, head over to the Wither page and give it a go (Windows-only, Mac users will have to run Parallels/VMWare/Boot Camp). The game can be finished in 5-10 minutes. If you’re not the kind who cares about spoilers, then please, read on…
On its surface Wither won’t grab most players. It visually borrows the cabbage-green Game Boy aesthetic of the 80′s and 90′s, the sounds are lifted from other games, the gameplay isn’t much of an improvement upon Pokémon Red, there are no battles to speak of, the story is small and unambitious, and its earnest 8-bit melodies hardly stir up a sense of grandeur.
But even a few minutes of the delightfully simple yet otherworldly dialogue disturbs me from any of these criticisms. Wither’s charm comes from the tiny, almost unnoticeable details that unsettle me. When I sit down on the bed, I am prompted with YOU HAVE A NIGHTMARE. The phrase prepares me for a journey into a desolate underworld littered with the skulls and carcasses of animals, juxtaposed with beautiful flowers.The music reminds me of the kind played in funeral homes: synthesized organs echoing the somber mood that call me back to memories of a dead loved one. The grey/green-scale artwork embraces a monochromatic world, as a story about guilt and depression quickly emerges. The lighthearted Game Boy-esque experience manages a perfect disharmony with its sober tone. But all of these elements are crafted together with subtlety, and the author doesn’t beat us over the head with cheap metaphors or sentiment.
What separates Wither from games like Jason Rohrer’s Passage that try to grapple with the same kinds of human existential problems? Passage tries to mechanically represent emotion through gameplay (e.g. walking forward in time and watching one’s loved one age and die) that leaves absolutely no room for interpretation. In contrast, through strangely poetic moments like having bizarre nightmares and witnessing suicides, Wither leaves the protagonist’s psychological world open to interpretation.
If it is clear to the player that at some point the protagonist has reached the Farthest Shore (quite literally – via a boat) in search of her/his loved one, just what this means is open for debate. How should one deal with personal tragedy? Does losing someone mean losing one’s own life too? Or is there a way of coming back to the world of the living after making this crossing? The game was never intended to address (or answer) existential questions, but the fact that I can entertain these questions after playing through Rastek’s “poetic-prose” is a recognition of Wither’s minimalistic expressive power. Wither is, by design or by accident, far more artistic than any game that advertises itself as such.
Note: Melly Tan has a much more extended and articulate write-up on Wither that I could only dream of writing myself. I strongly suggest reading her article if you’ve played the game and are craving more analysis.
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From Nicolau:
I really don’t understand the comparison with Passage. They’re completely different games.
From chris:
Hi Nicolau,
I should have made the comparison clearer. Passage is, according to its creator, “meant to be a memento mori game. It presents an entire life, from young adulthood through old age and death, in the span of five minutes.” The games are obviously different in presentation, but the themes remain fundamentally the same: life, death, meaning, existence, etc. These are the topics that each game deals with directly, although each game has a different approach to the topics. Passage tries to represent the progression of birth/life/death through gameplay mechanics; Wither has no clear “morality” to the story – it just tries to tell a story.
In other words, these are not “completely different games” from my perspective. Both express the nature of death/dying, but (in my opinion) Wither does a much deeper job of it.
Thanks for your response,
- Chris
From mellytan:
Oddly, I agreed with the Passage comparison as soon as I saw the name…mainly because I had confused it Terry Cavanagh’s “Pathways”! (http://distractionware.com/blog/2009/02/pathways/) My bad. But I actually played that too, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say that all of these games probably flow in the same vein for reasons similar to those that Chris mentions; they hit home with their somber feeling and themes that weigh heavily on us, and somehow do so with minimal resources and words. In the review I’m about to publish of Wither hopefully I can explain this more clearly…
From Ross:
This game is really enjoyable so far. I can’t find the last flower. I feel like an idiot. What do I do?!?!
From Ross:
Nevermind. Found it! (Did not realize I could get around to the front side of my car…wandered around for like 30 mins…)
From chris:
@Ross – Hah! I had the same problem myself
(In my case, I missed out on the 2nd floor apartment until the end of the game)
From gnome:
You’ve been most enlightening Doctor!
Oh, and it’s lovely having you back in the world of the non-dissertation-writing.
From chris:
Thank you dear gnome! I’ve found that dissertation writing is like emerging from Plato’s Cave, then being forced back inside, then emerging again, and being forced back inside, then finally giving up, and then dynamiting the wall and letting everyone else go too.
From gnome:
A fine description that my learned friend.
Just don’t forget to be aggressive when defending it. It’s a rare opportunity to enjoy yourself against certain academic mediocrities in front of an audience.
From Nicolau:
I just played Pathways, and I can’t see the relation either. Pathways is about choice and inevitability… similar to Passage. But nothing like Wither.