Word of the Day
Mawkish (adj., MAW-kissch)
Excessively sentimental, to the point of being sickening, like a teenager in love but even more annoying and useless. Like us.
Gif of the Day
AnimalsHorsesGoing MobileOutgrowing a spaceThings you don't see at a horse showEscape
Link of the Day
The Company of Myself
Introverts: people that are often caught up in their own thoughts, sometimes to the point of unsociability. Also: people whose thoughts are complex, tangled, and sometimes purposefully kept hidden from others.
But now there's a game that makes it all clear! Eli Piilonen's The Company of Myself is a short, arty game about a person and their thoughts. As the protagonist, your job is to get to the end of a level. Some levels are impossible to do on your own, which is why you can create "shadows" of yourself which can do many of the same things you can. For instance, the shadow version of you can go and pull the lever at the top of this level:
The Company of Myself requires you to get good at using these past versions of yourself, aligning and timing them perfectly so you can do what you need to. And what is that? It's getting through a level—a level that usually illustrates what's going on in the protagonist's head.
And that's what makes The Company of Myself so memorable. It's a game about trying to move on from something but getting caught in your own thoughts and past. You need to use the past to move on but you certainly can get angry at...yourself? when things line up improperly now. The game is kept simple enough that these themes are very clear but is still complicated, as working with your past always will be. It's a game that works on multiple levels (no pun intended) almost effortlessly.
A few quick side thoughts:
1. That ending. Sigh. I think it's wrong, and let's just leave it there
2. There are two other games worth mentioning. First, Fixation is the prequel to The Company Of Myself. It is different and also excellent. Second, One and One Story borrowed some elements from The Company of Myself but made a happier game from it. It's worth a play if you enjoy this style.
GamesIntrovertsHeadspacesInsane in the MembraneMe and my shadowBeing aloneLife imitating art imitating lifePsychology