This week we discussed The Swapper, a game I put off playing for far too long.
Upon relistening to our discussion, I was glad we did connect much of it back to the game as possible. I remember our discussion of the philosophy of the self and epistemology taking up the majority of the discussion. Which is fine, because if a game can engender such a discussion that’s a mark in its favor.
It’s also games like The Swapper that show having a wider reference point is not just a plus, but a necessity. Even just wrangling my basic philosophy education into the discussion was a benefit. It allows us to see and say things that the game only hints at, but never directly lectures on itself. The best storytelling is one that dramatizes concepts but does not explain them. The relationships in the drama do all the explaining and the audience has to bring some more of the esoteric understanding to the work themselves. The Swapper is illustration, not explanation.
Good games engender good discussions. Please click the link and have a listen. Or you can add the Moving Pixels Podcast to your podcatcher with the RSS feed.
“The limits of language are the limits of knowledge. Our name was not their knowledge. They thought of us as ‘Watchers.’”