Simple games that contain meaning well beyond what you would think.

[Ashhearth]

So my roommate and I just finished playing through Thomas Was Alone and to be perfectly honest the two of us were stunned. The game is incredible for just being about a few rectangles. The story develops each character immensely and it's all done through a narrator which makes it more impressive. I could easily go on but at that point I'll just be analyzing it for research for future self projects.

Now down to the actual question. What is a game that you have played that is simplistic in nature but far more complex in the grand scheme of things? This can come in the form of a game mechanic that continuously gets developed or in the form of a complex story.

 

[The Wykydtron]

I think FTL would count. You have a ship where you can upgrade the systems and subsystems. Weapons, Shields, Engine and Doors are the popular ones. You jump from random encounter to random encounter and collect Scrap to upgrade your ship with and buy items

Then you can get Drone Control, Cloaking, a few passive augmentations. Cloaking is a damn neccessity for the final boss I find

Then there's the highly emotional journey that ever playthrough has. Like when I had one woman left on the shp after a nasty invade and she solo'd three whole sectors before going down in a blaze of glory. Fucking Commander FemShep eat your heart out.

Then there's *that* encounter. The one where you find this ship that is custom designed to fuck you over. You have max shields? Fuck you we have three missle launchers. Decent crew size? Lol four Mantis assault troops just teleported on board. Now we're going to systematically take out all your weapons, then your O2 and finally so you can't escape your piloting systems and engines. Oh you repaired the weapons? Let me fix that for you again lol jk more missles.

 

[WoW Killer]

One I played recently: Frog Fractions [http://twinbeardstudios.com/frog-fractions]. A simple ordinary browser game... or is it? Just a note if you intend to try it out, make sure you've got a good 30 minutes spare so you can get through to the end. I won't spoil anything.

 

[Ashhearth]

One I played recently: Frog Fractions [http://twinbeardstudios.com/frog-fractions]. A simple ordinary browser game... or is it? Just a note if you intend to try it out, make sure you've got a good 30 minutes spare so you can get through to the end. I won't spoil anything.

Don't worry my friend I've already played through Frog Fractions in its entirety. It was..... definitely an experience to say the least XD

 

[Lugbzurg]

I can't really think much in terms of simple games, but more along the lines of games that are marketed to make you think they're one thing, when there actually another, along with child-appropriate games that are a lot more deep than you might realize.

SPEC OPS: THE LINE
Well, starting from the halfway point, it becomes obvious. Before then, you'd think it was just a Gears of War clone, or something like that.

There are other ones, like Bastion (judging from the Errant Signal video), The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, and even the Sonic Adventure games.

 

[Arslan Aladeen]

Missile Command? A game that conveys the futility of a nuclear war. That one's probably too easy and obvious, but it's the only one I can think of.

 

[Palademon]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the obvious choice yet.

Tetris is obviously a tale of man's struggle in a conformist world.

 

[blazearmoru]

So my roommate and I just finished playing through Thomas Was Alone and to be perfectly honest the two of us were stunned. The game is incredible for just being about a few rectangles. The story develops each character immensely and it's all done through a narrator which makes it more impressive. I could easily go on but at that point I'll just be analyzing it for research for future self projects.

Now down to the actual question. What is a game that you have played that is simplistic in nature but far more complex in the grand scheme of things? This can come in the form of a game mechanic that continuously gets developed or in the form of a complex story.

http://www.necessarygames.com/my-games/loneliness/flash

I know a few more, one involving two meteors but I can't remember. If anyone knows, please link it.

 

[Owen Robertson]

So I never hear this game mentioned by anyone, anywhere, ever, even though it's one of my all time favorite games. Chibi Robo. It's a japanese game and it's a little culture sensitive, but one you get past that, and the fact that the age group it's intended for is 8-12, it's an amazing game with good meaning excellent characters. I love every second of it and yet I can;t share this experience with anyone. Tell me at least one Escapist has. I need someone.

 

[e2density]

One I played recently: Frog Fractions [http://twinbeardstudios.com/frog-fractions]. A simple ordinary browser game... or is it? Just a note if you intend to try it out, make sure you've got a good 30 minutes spare so you can get through to the end. I won't spoil anything.

That was probably the single greatest flash game I have ever played.

 

[TheDoctor455]

The Binding of Isaac.

Its fucked up, but yeah... that's kind of the point.

 

[BishopofAges]

The World of Goo
Limbo

These and a couple others that escape my mind... ...!

Earthbound

Anyway, these and a couple more were really pushing on my mind for some time when I played them, the gameplay was a facade that the true meaning stood on, except for maybe world of goo since 'building bridges' and 'climbing higher' are things we tell ourselves to succeed.

 

[Pink Gregory]

I kind of have a problem with 'profound' games (or notgames).

Not for their existence, or their intent; but the fact that they're always hyperbolically praised for being what they are, like nobody's ever had a profound thought before. Of course that's a highly personal view.

Although the same could be said for any other form of expression, maybe it's just because I'm more exposed to gaming than anything else at the moment.

 

[Louie Clark]

The Kingdom of Loathing. It might look like a stupid little browser "mmo" but holy shit.. If you are willing to stick your head in the rabbit hole, it goes pretty freakin' deep.

 

[BreakfastMan]

So I never hear this game mentioned by anyone, anywhere, ever, even though it's one of my all time favorite games. Chibi Robo. It's a japanese game and it's a little culture sensitive, but one you get past that, and the fact that the age group it's intended for is 8-12, it's an amazing game with good meaning excellent characters. I love every second of it and yet I can;t share this experience with anyone. Tell me at least one Escapist has. I need someone.

I have, if only for a bit. My brother has played it at least 3 times, tho. XD And yeah, from what he tells me, that game has some real hidden depths, man, especially later on. O.O

OT: I have two options: Hotline Miami and The Stanley Parable. Hotline Miami starts out as an ultra-violent top-down shooter, but ultimately ends somewhere... else. A decidedly Spec Ops flavored else. The Stanley Parable really doesn't have much gameplay to it, just walking forward and sometimes pushing buttons/jumping. When you begin it, it simply seems a to be a silly, funny little mod, but when you start exploring it and all the endings, it becomes something much more deep, conveying a lot of powerful themes and interesting messages in what is only about a 10-15 minute experience.

 

[Sandjube]

World of Goo and Little Inferno, and Bastion. That's all I can think of.

 

[Eddie the head]

I always took the message in Flower to be about the inevitable arrival of man destroys the beauty of nature. But that one is pretty obvious.

 

[Pink Gregory]

I always took the message in Flower to be about the inevitable arrival of man destroys the beauty of nature. But that one is pretty obvious.

But it is only man that perceives nature as beautiful.

Discuss (15 marks)

 

[lechat]

the flash game the company of myself
http://www.kongregate.com/games/2DArray/the-company-of-myself

if you haven't played it make some time but be warned it has been know to make ppl cry

 

[scorptatious]

Well there's Journey. In which the cutscenes in between levels showcase the rise and fall of a great civilization. Thanks to the over-industrialization of the land, they fought over what little resources they had left and eventually split into factions and destroyed each other.