The first podcast of the new year is up on PopMatters. We discuss the 2011 indie game, To The Moon.
I was on the positive end of things when it came to To The Moon, but at the same time it wasn’t a game I was willing to fight over. It’s a game that is fine, not exceptional, just fine. That’s where I was after playing it and after the recording of the podcast. I’ve grown a little warmer towards it upon relistening to the conversation.
One metric for measuring a game’s, I guess one might call it, “art factor” is by looking at the volume, quality and variety of discussion the work engenders. Listening to the podcast I see it got us to discuss numerous topics relating to the game: the ethics of the science involved, relationships, it’s use of the medium, style, cultural annotations etc. It surprised me how much discussion To The Moon engendered actually.
If you are of a certain disposition towards the medium, I don’t think you could go wrong giving To The Moon a try and maybe afterwards giving a listen to our discussion on it.
“Cucumbers! We don’t have time for this fluff!”