ALZ

Created by Dyl

Music by Broove

2 mins 

This is ALZ, a brief but moving encounter with a world of ever increasing confusion and gentle but horrible suffering. Warning: spoilers ahead so if you want the full experience play ALZ now before reading on.

I thought it would be better to write a little more - I'm actually feeling slightly choked up as I write this, and I have no experience of people with Alzheimers (did you get the clue in the name?) The poor guy! It's amazing how I got from "lah dee dah, what's going to happen" to a dejected "...oh..." in under 2 mins.  

This is not a game. This is not interactive art. There's nothing to do here but join in with the sad story of someone losing his mind. It's important to say that much of the pathos created is because of a fantastic soundtrack by Broove, who I will shortly be asking to join my music library :)

In the words of the author - "have a forgotten, but hopefully not forgetful, experience". - JP

400 Years 

Created by Scriptwelder

About 10 - 30 mins

Scriptwelder's rather zen offering takes patience. 400 years of patience to be exact. You are a sort of walking Easter Island head who wakes from his slumber with the vague knowledge that some sort of calamity is approaching. A calamity that you are going to try your damned hardest to prevent... in a very measured fashion of course. And off you trot at a stone's pace to do something to save the world.

Playing 400 Years can be a bit laggy on some browsers (the best link for me was the one I've posted here) and you may find yourself cursing our hero's inability to move faster or jump but these are all tolerable conditions in order to marvel at how the game uses TIME to overcome this. Your superpower is simply to be able to wait and not die, while helping your environment develop to aid you (mini spoilers ahead). 

The first time I watched my power manifest itself, I watched the seasons whizz by so that I could walk across a frozen lake in winter. This was mildly intriguing. When I planted a chestnut and waited decades for it to grow into a tree to climb, I felt that this was rather special. By the time I was helping civilisations out of hunger by introducing crops to them, so that they evolve and build bridges for me; that's when I realised I was playing a great game. 

400 years is a unique gaming concept that hasn't been explored in this way before. The music is great too, a tinkling soundtrack that adds to the feeling of biding one's time and patience. Finally the ending made me feel that I'd experienced a mini fable of timeless and dignified self-sacrifice without expectation. Enjoy! - JP