For games to evolve, sometimes they need to take a step back.
In an industry dominated by bigger budgets pushing graphics and game play along with dazzling complexity, it takes a small, independent game to remind us that fundamentals still matter.
Built on less cash than some kids get as their allowance, and made by a collection of developers barely out of school, “Darwinia” survives on simplicity.
To fully appreciate “Darwinia,” you need a good sense of what’s not there. The graphics, for instance, lack most of the detail and polish that have become the mainstream indicator of quality. In the world of “Darwinia,” nothing looks real because the narrative reality happens inside a computer. If you remember the classic pre-cyberspace flick “Tron,” then you have a good idea of the graphical reduction of the imagined world of “Darwinia.”
While big-name game companies recruit big-name music acts to score sweeping orchestral epics for their games, “Darwinia” happily bleeps and bloops along with a soundscape from another era. Before games were able to produce complex musical arrangements, they relied on the mechanical noise made possible with creative programming on early computer chips. “Darwinia” wanders back to those gentler and sonically leaner times.
Inside “Darwinia,” players conjure up to three on-screen programs to battle a menacing virus akin to the centipede from the classic arcade title or the simple snake from the namesake cellphone game. Getting a soldier program in the right place at the right time gives the player an edge as he or she blasts away with lasers at the viral interlopers. Starting an engineer program comes in handy for taking over communication bases and collecting the “souls” of deceased virtual beings.
All this sparseness of design actually sketches out a world far bigger than suggested by the game’s tiny development budget. The creators of “Darwinia” have outlined the idea of a game that challenges the player’s imagination to fill in the ample blanks.
With massively deluxe high-production video games on the market, why trifle with the little guy?
By leaving out the details, “Darwinia” can focus on what matters. Without the distraction of producing high-resolution graphics and messing with maintaining the integrity of notable popular-culture licenses, “Darwinia” is free to experiment with the potential of games. In the same way that architects build teeny models out of balsa wood and cardboard to envision how dramatically a new skyscraper will blot out the sun, “Darwinia” offers a nimble playground for experimenting with game design.
“Darwinia”
VIDEOGAME|For PC/Linux/Mac|$29.99
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Civilization IV: Warlords, PC, 2K Games, released July 24; Tekken: Dark Resurrection, PSP, Namco, today; CivCity: Rome, PC, 2K Games, July 24; Micro Machines V4, DS, Codemasters, today; Pac-Man World Rally, PS2, Namco, today; The Ant Bully, PS2/GCN, Midway Games, July 24; Bubble Bobble Revolution, DS, Rising Star Games, today; Backyard Baseball 2007, PC, Humongous, July 24; World Racing 2, PS2, Playlogic International and TDK Mediactive, today; Earache Extreme Metal Racing, PC, Metro 3D (M3), Wednesday; Fuel, Xbox, DreamCatcher Interactive, today; Barnyard, PS2/GCN/GBA/PC, THQ, today; The Ant Bully, GBA, Midway Games, July 24|Source: Gamermetrics.com
