opalinesque (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
opalinesque) wrote2009-05-06 10:34 pm
opalinesque) wrote2009-05-06 10:34 pm
Entry tags:
REVIEW: VIRTUAL SILENCE
Is there anything we can do, doctor?
Jason has never spoken a word.
Virtual Silence, an indie game by Vertanen, has been my latest (and so far, most scarring) adventure into the world of indie games. It is directly responsible for the sleep deprivation I mentioned in my last post. You play Jason, a boy with autism, who is undergoing some experimental treatment of his condition: getting strapped into a VR set and being shoved into a sparse world made up of jittering blocks in black, white, and primary colors. Gameplay is simple: you are presented with various colored obstacles, like so:
Here's where the game gets unique. In order to bypass these obstacles, you must change the color of the background by pressing X. In this case, it results in:
...at which point you can waltz on through /o/
Most of the puzzles are variations on this theme, with some shooting thrown in (the further you get, the more there is). Not too hard, right? Well, the ultimate goals of the first two levels is much more difficult. The first requires you to find a red ball, which you find another child playing with at the end of the level. The kid asks you if you want to play, and then tells you he'll give you the ball if you ask for it... which, of course, you can't. The second level is similar; the goal is to find a crying child. When you find him, it turns out that the reason he's crying is because his dog died, and he asks you to comfort him... which again, you can't. In order to get the good end, you have to pass both tests.
Of course, none of this accounts for my dramatic lack of sleep/massive amounts of whining on IRC/the sheer amount of D8 face making I made today. What does? The final level.
THE FINAL. FUCKING. LEVEL.
The story wraps up with the virtual reality program telling you to say "end" to close the program. When you don't, the program goes NUTS, and of course the doctor can't pull the helmet off of you without "FRYING YOUR BRAINS!" The computer cheerfully announces that you've got 120 seconds to haul ass out of there, and then shoves you into a glitchy, barely visible racecourse through several more challenges. Really, my descriptions can't do it justice... which is why it's a good thing I found this playthrough :D A warning: it shows the answers to the first two tests. Be sure to skip towards the end if you don't want to get spoiled.
It's not that bad after you know what to expect, but oh dear god the music + seizure inducing lights + glitchy/fuzzy camera view = MY HEART, SHE CANNAE TAKE IT. Depending on whether you passed the other tests or not, when you make it out you get one of two endings.
There's the bad end:
Jason's continued silence, followed by "It didn't work, doctor." "We'll have to restart the test." CLASSY. You nearly kill the kid, and when you don't get the desired results, you go and NEARLY KILL HIM AGAIN. auuuuuuuugh
As for the good end... well, I'll just link that, for those of you who might want to play this even after listening to me freak out over it. I thought it was completely worth it... but I'm kind of biased |D
Of course, there's one more ending. It's what happens when you don't finish the final level, and it's the reason I couldn't sleep last night.
That's all of my flailing for now. I hope you enjoyed it :)
Jason has never spoken a word.
There is an experimental treatment which
can be used to treat autistic children.
It is, however, very dangerous
and it might not help your son at all.
can be used to treat autistic children.
It is, however, very dangerous
and it might not help your son at all.
I'm willing to try it
if it's the only way to get my son cured.
if it's the only way to get my son cured.
Your son's brain will be hooked
to a helmet which uses electric shocks
to stimulate the brain.
It gives your son an impression of virtual reality
which will hopefully help him.
to a helmet which uses electric shocks
to stimulate the brain.
It gives your son an impression of virtual reality
which will hopefully help him.
...Okay.
Hook him in.
Hook him in.
Virtual Silence, an indie game by Vertanen, has been my latest (and so far, most scarring) adventure into the world of indie games. It is directly responsible for the sleep deprivation I mentioned in my last post. You play Jason, a boy with autism, who is undergoing some experimental treatment of his condition: getting strapped into a VR set and being shoved into a sparse world made up of jittering blocks in black, white, and primary colors. Gameplay is simple: you are presented with various colored obstacles, like so:
Here's where the game gets unique. In order to bypass these obstacles, you must change the color of the background by pressing X. In this case, it results in:
...at which point you can waltz on through /o/
Most of the puzzles are variations on this theme, with some shooting thrown in (the further you get, the more there is). Not too hard, right? Well, the ultimate goals of the first two levels is much more difficult. The first requires you to find a red ball, which you find another child playing with at the end of the level. The kid asks you if you want to play, and then tells you he'll give you the ball if you ask for it... which, of course, you can't. The second level is similar; the goal is to find a crying child. When you find him, it turns out that the reason he's crying is because his dog died, and he asks you to comfort him... which again, you can't. In order to get the good end, you have to pass both tests.
Of course, none of this accounts for my dramatic lack of sleep/massive amounts of whining on IRC/the sheer amount of D8 face making I made today. What does? The final level.
THE FINAL. FUCKING. LEVEL.
The story wraps up with the virtual reality program telling you to say "end" to close the program. When you don't, the program goes NUTS, and of course the doctor can't pull the helmet off of you without "FRYING YOUR BRAINS!" The computer cheerfully announces that you've got 120 seconds to haul ass out of there, and then shoves you into a glitchy, barely visible racecourse through several more challenges. Really, my descriptions can't do it justice... which is why it's a good thing I found this playthrough :D A warning: it shows the answers to the first two tests. Be sure to skip towards the end if you don't want to get spoiled.
It's not that bad after you know what to expect, but oh dear god the music + seizure inducing lights + glitchy/fuzzy camera view = MY HEART, SHE CANNAE TAKE IT. Depending on whether you passed the other tests or not, when you make it out you get one of two endings.
There's the bad end:
Jason's continued silence, followed by "It didn't work, doctor." "We'll have to restart the test." CLASSY. You nearly kill the kid, and when you don't get the desired results, you go and NEARLY KILL HIM AGAIN. auuuuuuuugh
As for the good end... well, I'll just link that, for those of you who might want to play this even after listening to me freak out over it. I thought it was completely worth it... but I'm kind of biased |D
Of course, there's one more ending. It's what happens when you don't finish the final level, and it's the reason I couldn't sleep last night.
That's all of my flailing for now. I hope you enjoyed it :)