The Why of Indie Games: ‘The Sea Will Claim Everything’
Occasionally I find myself hardened by life and because of my inability to overcome the strenuous and sometimes daunting obstacles which are presented by the world, I tend to translate my frustrations to video games. I often find myself distant and disheveled with the monotony which plagues the video game industry. In this intermittent frustration I find it difficult to game as genres and games blend together. Each and every time I am broken out of this funk it is because a game reminds me of the reality and truth lying behind indie games; they are creations with different purpose, serving to be art for different minds to perceive.
This is what I have come to appreciate since joining the indie game community. That games are also a form of expression and an artistic medium by which emotion, politics, opinions, and personal story all can be expressed. I am trying to say that games can be more than a simple distraction and I truly think our community can pigeon-hole them into being such. Finding games which are able to remind me of such always solves my ills and occasional disconnection with gaming. Jonas Kyratzes’ The Sea Will Claim Everything was my most recent encounter with a game which transcends our feeble misguided notions of what the medium should be by imagining more of what itself and gaming are capable.
I suppose a brief introduction to The Sea Will Claim Everything (TSWCE) is in order. TSWCE is a point-and-click adventure game from developer Jonas Kyratzes, artist Verena Kyratzes, and composer Chris Christodoulou. The adventure is set in a world which Kyratzes calls the “Lands of Dream”, which is set somewhere on the edge of the universe in a galaxy existing in another dimension. The player can connect to that world through a window-like device, as the people of the Fortunate Isles need assistance. Ironically, you will find that the people of Fortunate Isles are not so fortunate, but in fact the victims of a mismanaged government. It is your initial job to heal a place called Underhome but eventually you will find your role is much more vital.
Backing the wonderful writing and classic point-and-click mechanics are some well-designed additional accompaniments. The whole game is meticulously hand drawn with a chalky aesthetic which is more than pleasing to the eyes. The soundtrack is a varied original composition and fits the dreamy nature of the foreign land very well. The whole game is one unified artistic effort, all supporting what can be viewed as a vision of a world as far away from perfect as our own, but dripping with unbridled potential. It staunchly reminds you throughout that games CAN not only entertain, but also educate.
I think you may have noticed my insistence on the word “can”. I did so with reason, as I am 100% against the belief that games must propose an opinion or educate the gamer. I do however, believe it is important for gamers to remember that the medium can do many different things. TSWCE uses qualities of educational, literary, artistic and emotional weight. It can be seen as a short story with accompanying art and music, an interactive album, or a political discourse. Kyratzes makes this all possible in a video game, which is a medium consistently labeled as nothing more than an escapist device.
TSWCE is not the first game to do this, but it is one of the most recent reminders that gaming as a whole is becoming more personal and accessible medium. Kyratzes pours plenty of personal emotion and opinion into the outing and makes each and every character an individual with a different personality. The characters are emotionally engaging through their text and feel like references to people Kyratzes has either met or interacted with at some point in his life. The point is that games can be used for personal expression and do not necessarily need to be made for an audience.
I appreciated TSWCE as much as I have anything else I have recently played. It is a rare sight in that it feels as much made for the developers as it does for us. It is out there for us to experience but is in no way purposed for our consumption. I appreciate and respect those qualities in a piece of art and I’m hoping the vision of video games becomes more of a shared artistic community than a pandering to our expectations of video games.
If you would like to venture into the “Lands of Dream”, you can find all of Jonas Kyratzes‘ games set in the universe here, including TSWCE for $9.99. He also has a Twitter account and a dev blog where he often speaks his mind about a variety of topics.
As always, I appreciate your readership and am happy to have you read these articles. If you have any opinions or questions I am happy to discuss things in the comment section below. And of course, for “The Why” and all your gaming news keep it here at Indiegamemag.com.
