Browser Game Pick: Aubergine Sky (Jonathan Whiting)
Aubergine Sky is a short puzzle game which is controlled entirely using the mouse, with no keyboard input required from the player. The story follows a man who is taking a quiet stroll on the outskirts of his town, lost in his thoughts and deeply troubled by some personal worries. Your task is to figure out a solution to the puzzle in each location, and to execute the action correctly in order to progress.
There are only a handful of screens to visit, and you won't be needing more than a couple of minutes to complete the entire game. (mirrors: Kongregate, Newgrounds)
Comments
Game? What game?
I see no game here.
Posted by: Wut | July 3, 2009 5:37 AM
beautifully done.
Posted by: Shoo | July 3, 2009 7:28 AM
Very very small, but nice puzzles (also very very simple puzzles)
Posted by: zemag | July 3, 2009 9:10 AM
Of course it's a game.
But it is not about puzzles, not about solving riddles, not about shooting but about one's experience (when it comes to player) and about artistic, honest creation (when it comes to the developer).
Posted by: Kaworu Nagisa | July 3, 2009 10:39 AM
Well that reminded me too much of the situation I'm in right now. Very poetic. Frankly once again a nice little piece that makes the 'player' analyze their life, while seeing another's viewpoint that could be very similar to their own.
Posted by: TM | July 3, 2009 4:09 PM
Nice concept, i'll add some music. Hope it was longer, nice way of interacting with the puzzles.
Posted by: Dusan Vlahovic | July 3, 2009 5:04 PM
Tried to push clouds out of the screen. Got bored trying & thought it was probably something else. Read the hints that basically said "push clouds out of the screen". Closed my browser & tried to forget this.
Posted by: Anonymous | July 3, 2009 5:43 PM
Relaxing. Excellent example of easy ways to draw someone into a narrative.
Posted by: FishyBoy | July 4, 2009 11:20 PM
I wasn't terribly impressed by this. Great visuals, sure, and I appreciate the honest autobiographical story, but I feel the 'puzzles' were not particularly thought out, and there was no real care to how the text and the interaction relate to each other.
For example-- the first screen where you're supposed to chase the clouds away; sure the text talks about worries, but there's no real indication as to what you can or should do; ultimately, it's clear you need to move the clouds because there's nothing else TO do.
More so, while you do these tasks, there's not really any empathy created for the protagonist, and in fact, the illustrated style, the size of the character and the storybook-style text all lend themselves to a certain distance from the character. I felt like I was doing all the work for someone, who ultimately wasn't trying.
Posted by: Greg | July 5, 2009 6:45 PM
Using the same mechanics, a sheep herding game might be possible, and preferable.
Posted by: MajorD | July 5, 2009 10:15 PM