Today I Die

Website: http://www.ludomancy.com/games/today.php?lang=en


Overview
Okay okay, I'm sure most of you would have realised by now that I'm tend to lean more towards experimental, trippy games. Daniel Benmergui described his latest experimental/art game as being “about the daily choice of waking up in the morning”.

Today I Die is a whimsical, pixelated little game where the player has to interact with not just the objects in the game, but the text as well. The initial page just shows a girl underwater in a sort of comatose state, attached to a weight. She is surrounded by dead jellyfish, a couple of piranhas and a very depressing poem.



Gameplay
This game relies heavily on the player's thought process. You start off the game not knowing what to do, but after awhile the pieces slot into place. When I first started playing this game, I was like, "OhmigodwhatthehelldoIdo?!" You can move around objects, as well the text and for a few moments the player literally has to stab in the dark to figure out the exact point of this game. For example:

Interacting with text:
You can replace the words with other of a similar corresponding colour to change the scenario. If I swapped the word dead with the word dark, I'd be taken to the following scene:




Interacting with Objects:
After awhile of random clicks, I realised that clicking and holding on a jellyfish would cause it to light up, and if I keep it away from the piranhas for long enough, it stays lit permanently, and I also gain a new word to mess around with! Voila!



After awhile, you'd get the general gist of how the game works and the rest of it would pretty much be a breeze. You just need to figure out how to activate certain objects, and what to do with them in order to progress on to the next change of the poem.

In short, the whole point of the game is to turn the suicidal poem into one of optimism.



There's actually a fourth line to the poem. However, there are two possible endings, so I'll let you guys play it and won't spoil it for you. :)


Why I like this game:
Today I Die’s mechanics still provide an interesting glimpse of an approach to game design where the influence of the written word doesn’t end at the title screen. I love the fact that it's a feel-good game, and very gently touches on the topic of suicide. At first, the pixelated graphics didn't sit well with me, but after awhile I realised that it added a whole new feel to the game. The poem is short and uniquely powerful, and allows the player to feel as though they've somehow managed to help that character to escape.


Why I DON'T like this game:
Threewords for you: TOO. DAMN. SHORT.