Tag: Hyper Fiction

More Love Sim than S4U: Citypunk 2011 and Love Punch

Interpersonal relationships drive and define what players must engage in with S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH. It’s less about being in front of the computer and more on what smelling the roses must mean in this unique indie video game.

Citypunk 2011 and Love PunchTo play through a video game that is more hypertext driven than graphical can be a hard sell these days. Although the graphics are few and far between in S4U: Citypunk 2011 And Love Punch, thankfully there is some when the avatar decides to leave the computer. Just what U0U Games‘ latest product represents is quaint and a test of patience since reading all the dialogue is important.

Technically, you’re interacting in an environment reminiscent of ICQ and those older chat programs before the coming of Facebook. The world is circa 2010, but I don’t remember the graphical user interface that dated. While navigating that old operating system took getting used to, memories of dealing with Windows 98 were once a nightmare! Although the retro elements are rather heartwarming, is it enough to keep me going?

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Mothmen 1966. Drawn to it Like a Moth to the Flame.

As a piece of hyper-fiction, Mothman 1966 forgets what’s important early in the game.

mothman 1966It’s rare to find hyper-fiction in any form these days, and Mothmen 1966 is such a game where it honours the tradition. This type of narrative is used in role playing video games in varying capacities. Sometimes, it’s just your traditional choose-your-own-adventure type scenario and other times, you can’t reach the end unless you follow that set path. In the games I’ve played, if you miss an important bit, it’s usually game over.

This game by novelist Nico Saraintaris and artist Fernando Martinez Ruppel, is a ‘Pixel Pulp’ more than the aforementioned style. And the defining details are in the 8 bit graphic design. It ranges from still images to a few frames of animated bliss. But as for whether you can beat the game, it means taking the time to read the many scrolling text pages, solve some puzzles–which includes card games (namely Solitaire) along the way–and surviving.

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