Passage

Passage
Platform: Win/Mac/Linux/iPhone
Website: http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/

A brief introduction to the face behind the game, Jason Rohrer. He is well known in the indie game scene for making art games, games fueled with metaphors and philosophy that challenge the notion that games are not art. Passage is a fine example of that.

It is a memento mori, a reminder that death comes to us all. The entire game level spans across the screen but only a narrow portion of the screen is used. As the title implies, it is a passage, a passage of life itself. Your character starts out at the left of the screen. You could control his movement with the arrow keys but that's all there is to the game play. You navigate your way around the maze-like environment, occasionally popping open a treasure chest. Sometimes a blue star appears out of it, sometimes it fizzes disappointingly. On the right, just above the passage, is your score. It slowly increases over time but finding a blue star jacks it up a bit.

You are free to move your character whichever way you like. It's a kind of freedom that's rarely seen in commercial games where levels are littered with guide arrows and gold rings. Exploring further to the right reveals another person. The first time I played through Passage, I walk my character right up to her and both of them are joined at the hips. Literally. She symbolizes his love, partner and soulmate. For the rest of the game, I navigated both of them with difficulty. My character slows down slightly and I find that it's impossible to pass through smaller gaps. It's even harder to obtain those treasure chests. At one point, my character could not get to the treasure chest just in front of him as his partner is in his way.

As time passes, the characters themselves are transformed as well. Their hair turn grey and my character experiences male pattern baldness. Their movement slows down significantly too. Eventually the spouse dies and leaves behind a tombstone. I walked my character on but his death is inevitable too. Death comes to us all. And with that, the title screen fades in. The ending seems trivial for such a tedious journey. No cinematic movie celebrating your victory, not even a line of text congratulating your completion of the game. What are the treasure chests for? My score was 496.

The second time I played, I chose to forgo having a companion on the side. It was rewarding at first. My character was more agile, easily reaching through spaces, accessing treasures. He was faster too. I could explore the areas towards the south this time. The deeper I go, the more walls I encounter. Soon, my character ages. Without his spouse, I paid more attention to his aging. He starts out initially on the left side of the screen, with a generous view in front of him. Now, he could hardly see what's in front (interestingly enough, that's what happens when we grow old) but could instead reminisce the past. Here is a shockingly well thought metaphor for life integrated into the level design. And of course with his limited vision, rewards are harder to obtain and I got lost in the walls at times. It was a frustrating experience which frankly, also left me feeling a little panicked. The end is approaching and I can't get my reward, I'm literally walking in circles trying to reach a chest at one point. Then bam, I'm dead. It was very unsatisfying. In fact, going through the passage with a spouse was much more fulfilling.

Still, I easily reached the 500 mark halfway through my "passage" and I obtained far more rewards than I would have had I chosen get a life partner. It does make one question, what's more important? Going far in life or living it out with your loved ones? What is life's final reward?

The lo-fi graphics in Passage is typical of many indie games but it suits the abstract nature of the theme perfectly. An interesting element in the level design is the compression of the later parts into vertical slits that slowly stretch out as you venture onward. The music is somber and rather depressing, sounding like a death march; every step brings you closer to the end.

The truth is Passage as a game is not very accessible. It's not fun either. I found it frustrating and even mundane at times (the repetitive soundtrack, the game play limited to just walking) but those reactions count towards the experience of the game. If everyone dies in the end, isn't life just a pointless pursuit of happiness, an exercise in frustration? Or from another perspective, we can find joy in even the simplest things in life. You might have a different interpretation. That's what makes Passage such an excellent art piece, it evokes thought and reaction of its subject matter.

Like Braid, another indie gem, the game play serves as metaphors, linking the narrative to the user's in-game actions. Passage shows that games could have an enormous emotional impact on the user without relying on overblown storylines and orchestra music. Commercial games today could certainly learn a thing or two from indie games instead of rehashing the same tired Hollywood formula.

-- Benjamin