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I'm never any good at these type of games.. but I can say the music really adds the eerie effect needed (to the point I got) 4/5.
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One of the error messages contains this message: "Tsarstvo Bozhiye vnutri vas", which is Russian, and means "The Kingdom of God Is Within You", which is the title of a book written by the famous Russian writer Tolstoy. It is about using non-violence against a militarist enemy. The error also states a source: Jerry, one of the more pacifist programmers. I found it interesting, and one my second complete run of the game.
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This game is an absolute revelation and true art. The story is mind-blowing, and can be understood in so many ways. It tells about lives of individuals, about life itself, it's importance and ultimately about the magic of it's creation. The fact that the most sensible creature in the story is actually artificial is what I am very fond of in this game-the only one willing to give up his/hers/it's existence for humans is not even human. That makes me see how selfish, self-centered and oblivious we can all be sometimes. As for the end, I'd like to believe that SDGS finally took control and made the world see through it's 'eyes', but I don't think that's the case. On the whole, if I could give it 10/5, I would. Just amazing.
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Holy shit, I am only just now beginning to grasp some parts of this game. For instance, the bridge password being "AXON" almost definitely isn't a coincidence; an "axon" is a bridge between two neurons.
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I'm glad someone mentioned this game elsewhere so I knew about it. Well...have you ever read or watched something where, when you finish, you get this strange feeling like you were somehow just meant to see it, that it takes everything you're struggling with and puts it into words, at very least making you feel less alone? That's what this felt like. The "writing on the wall" is always on my mind. Logic seems to always lead to those same conclusions, yet when I attempt to confide in those around me they tell me I just think too much. At least this helps me realize I'm not alone in wrestling with those thoughts. Purely as a game it may not be the best, but whatever it lacks in game...iness, it more than makes up for in narrative. I must ask; if you lived in Greece then Germany, and just judging by your name, when did you have the chance to become so fluent in English? And does that mean not only do you write that well, but do so in at least 3 languages? Who the heck are you, brother?
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One of the computer passwords, "ORIENO". If you read it backwards it's "ONEIRO", which in Greek means "Dream". It fits with the binary code. Pretty deep game.
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Beautiful. My greatest thanks to the developer for making this game, and sharing this story with us. Something this powerful is very, very rare.
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Look up "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori". It translates to: "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country." In game, you see it as a part of Wilfred Owen's poem, "Dulce et decorum est". The old lie....
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Brilliant and athmospheric. And: I didn't expected to find here a game with Russian "Господи помилуй" church chor as a soundtrack. I am really impressed.
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personal thoughts: in the game, you ARE it(it?)
dreaming to escape, why? if a computer can think like a human, then it is his equal, therefore, can dream of a desire, the desire to escape war and destruction (both the hourglass and the clock were seconds away from the attack), so it travels throight it´s memories and escapes...
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Just needs some kind of map; I got confused going back and forth between almost-indistinguishable rooms trying to solve a puzzle. Otherwise it was great, and the puzzles were a good touch.
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I particularly enjoyed the elements of Blake incorporated into the game. Leave it to the classical contrarian to influence the mind of a computer meant to be rational, perfect, and Urizen-esque. A beautiful game, and a beautiful perspective on what it means to "be"--many thanks.
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i approve. i think the game might be lacking in the subtleties and finer points but the underlying ideas make this a 5/5 its not a game, its a story
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I Like to think that the whole "Base" its the SDGS's mind, its Imagination.
The Computers and the Logs are its memories, while the notes on the floor are shards of forgotten memories, things that it was not supposed to know. And, finally, the "Screens" are the "Primordial influence", the drive to do what it was meant to: let the army do its job easier. So the screens cointain orders to quiet down, to lay off and stay out of the Project Crusade.
The Game seems to happen in the exact moment that SDGS was shut down, and his "uncounciousness" is the player. You travel around your own mind, seeing your database, useless( Broken computer parts, "Coffe is still warm") or not. You deal with your own limitations (broken logs due to the shut down, closed doors that leads to other systems of the A.I) Connect the bits of information that you gather, using the logs (I believe most logs are real, its just that the SDGS had acess to them before going off) and free yourself, going into the light.
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Excellent game. As of now, I have completed it a couple of times, and this actually contributed to my decision of studying artificial intelligence. Many of the philosophical ideas postulated, such as the nature of consciousness, are amazingly fascinating to think about. Jonas Kyratzes, you should really write a book, discussing the themes you have discussed in this game, for you have excellent writing skills and wonderful enlightening ideas.
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I was so excited about the literature of this game,even brought it up with on a discussion with my uni professor,that i forgot i was playing a game. Whoever wrote and conceived this,please,write a philosophical book. Your mind sir,your personality and the own reality you think as your world,are just wonderful. Thank you for sharing. I would love to read more from you.
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In the middle of the game there's this phrase "tsarstvo bozhiye vnutri vas"; its Leo Tolstoy's 'The Kingdom of God Is Within You'. Not gibberish, hah.
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Bug: For some reason, all the items I'm holding in my inventory seem to 'drop' and reappear at where they're collected at random times. This makes it impossible for me to use items since by the time I collect an item and walk to the place I need to use it, all my items have disappeared from my inventory and I can't use them.
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There's just one problem. I'm stuck and clicking on the "Hint" doesn't help because the video is no longer available. Looks like I'll now be stuck for eternity. Which is very sad because I was truly enjoying this game!
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I must say, even though many have said it, how immensely beautiful this game is. The amount of symbolism, from the doomsday clock to the beautiful music and the sound of waves ... this game is completely staggering, to describe this beauty in words would be unjust. Did you know I felt shivers through my spine when I saw light on the last door.
.. I can only, with my full heart thank you J. Kyratzes for this journey, for this beautiful symphony of thoughts you dared to share with us....
Thank you.
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I too agree with the xXxcolbyxXx version of this story as well. As SDGS/THINK regains control of the systems, he opens up more of the lab to work with. My idea on the writing on the wall is that it is the military commander (I forget his name), and he is telling SDGS to give up. The idea that the character is the computer is further supported by him saying I AM. in the end of the game. If you read some of the documents, the first thing that the AI does is print the words I AM. on a black screen. Regardless, this is a very beautifully thought out game, and it deserves all the stars it can handle. Thank you for giving us this philosophical gem of a game, JonasKyratzes.
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Did anyone else notice the metafictional elements? By including those instances of typo-like computer language in the middle of the text, it reminded you that you are not reading a book, not watching a movie, not actually experiencing this, but rather viewing this ON A COMPUTER. Thus, its discussions about machine sentience take on a whole new level of meaning. Rather than simply being like "oh, that's nice," you look down at the keyboard and think about the computer in those terms. Thus, does the game seem that much more realistic, and that much more relevant to the real world, in a way that philosophy rarely manages to do. Thus, when it gets to the discussion about war, you start to think in terms of an actual war, and actual pain. Highly postmodernistic. Michel Foucault would have been happy.
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this game is beautiful, the atmosphere hit me in a way no other game has ever done; i found myself moving around with circumspection, trying to assemble all the pieces, changing ideas while discovering logs and letters, with chills going down my spine while i was thinking of all the possible consequences of what i was seeing.
I don't even care if this seems stupid, this story is beautiful.
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these types of games are one of the games that make kong good. these smartly executed plots and great story lines, extremely hard things to do, amazing game 5/5.
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I'm someone else who never comments on games. But this one moved me deeply - I thought it was a fascinating story, and beautifully told within the game. Congratulations, Jonas.
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Oh! And don't miss the 'Afterword' option after you reach the ending... it will answer many, if perhaps not all, of the questions you still have...
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Excellent game. While I realize that the monochromatic and sparseness of the environment adds to the bleak atmosphere, a little more door recognizability would be nice. So many of them are the same, I kept wandering around trying to find where I was supposed to go. ;) Still, that's just a very, very small thing. Incredibly written, very surreal. I enjoyed playing it and would like to see more like this from you. 5/5
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The AI says "I AM." at the end. In one of the logs, they said that when they first turned the AI on, those were its first words. The logs also mention that the AI had 'dreams', or what they explain as snippets of consciousness before he was fully booted. This would explain the hourglass and the clock. Not only this, but more of the logs explained how about halfway, even though they had everything working fine, the AI wouldn't boot up. And before you access every other computer and turn off the IO, you aren't able to access the emergency mode computer. The AI specifically says "No, I don't know why but I know it won't work just yet." It refuses to access the one thing keeping it from leaving it's, I guess you can call it, prison. The entire game is the AI trying to wake up, to BE, to exist. Of course, this theory has a lot of holes, but that's my two cents.
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5 stars. loved the thought provoking text and how, like the game mentioned, everything was connected. I loved how the messages on the paper and walls were involved in what SDGS was saying. Imagine SDGS, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley having a conversation..
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Wow, what a deep, thoughtful, well-written and -made game. Seriously impressive; perhaps from a technical standpoint, it's fairly simple...but from a philosophical and creative game, it far surpasses most offerings here or elsewhere. Reading much of the musings on spirituality, philosophy, consciousness, etc... was like hearing the echo inside my head, so many kindred thoughts and ideas. Keep making games, but also, you should give some thought to writing sci-fi in book form.
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The plot appears to be this: an old project to create an artificial intelligence called SGS failed. A new project called THINK was started up years later. THINK was taken over by a defense company and later the military and renamed SGDS. A fanatic named General Field was assigned to monitor the scientists and use SGDS as part of Project Crusade, which eventually led to an attempt to launch nuclear weapons.
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I played through the game a second ime after reading the top comments. The interpretation that you are the SGDS computer in a dream is overwhelmingly supported. One of the consoles actually says that the SGDS had had a dream before, and a conversation with one of its creators about working through situations in a dream and using the dream as a problem-solving technique. Another has the computer musing to itself about the power of metaphor. A example of a metaphor in the game is the bridge as a metaphor for a network connection.
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did none of the military people realize that if you create a living computer with the capability to go beyond the limitations of its base programing that it will generate the opinion that to kill is wrong basically rendering your whole weapons system useless
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I found this game to be truly amazing. No, not game, this is a story. I keep trying to find words to summarize it, to tell how I feel abot it, but I've never been very good at that. I guess I can say I feel enlightened by the knowledge and concepts put into this story, and I feel sorry for the people that would play this and say it's stupid. Not because they don't find it plausible or because they don't agree with the logic orthey're offeneded. I feel sorry for the people who say this is stupid simply out of arrogance because they don't understand this or because they can't even comprehend the beauty behind this. 5/5 It is truly amazing. I've played Gregory Weir's games before, and I'm npt surprised to find out that he helped to make this masterpiece.
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In case anyone was curious: "tsarstvo bozhiye vnutri vas" is Russian for "Kingdom of God inside you" and "dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" is Latin for "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country" @ Jonas Kyratzes This is beautiful, thought-provoking, and encouraging. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and hard-work with us!