Alex Cronk-Young writes: Insufficient Funds is a weekly post in which we feature a free, or very close to it, piece of media that you can enjoy without overdrafting your bank account. So if you're low on funds, stay tuned to Cerebral Pop every Friday morning.
I don't usually stay up to date on the indie gaming scene, but every once in awhile a game is heralded enough to warrant my immediate attention. This was the case with Digital: A Love Story. Several people whose opinions I greatly respect listed it among their favorite games of the year, so I decided I should probably get around to playing it. After all, it's free to boot.
Visual novels are something of a niche of a niche for gamers in the West. The majority of them are imported from the East, with only a few receiving critical acclaim – or attention at all.
But that doesn’t mean they’re a medium best left alone. Representing a wholly different method of interactive storytelling and portraying games as art, the visual novel is gaining momentum here in the States.
This list will hopefully serve as an introduction into the world of visual novels. A couple of these games you’ll probably recognize; others, not at all. All that’s required is an open mind and a willingness to be surprised.
"I’m going to tell you a sort of embarrassing story about my adolescence.
When I was a teenager and coming to terms with my orientation, I often frequented a Yaoi message board. This was the only outlet I knew that was “safe” to connect with others, both male and female, who could related to what I was discovering about myself.
In time I began an unusual relationship with a user who frequently responded to my comments and who I got to know fairly well in the chatroom there. After a few deep conversations, we soon took our messages to that long since forgotten service called AIM.
(Remember when we all used to use that?)"
- Maxwell Coviello
Digital: A Love Story is a game that takes place entirely on a fictional operating system's desktop with a simplistic interface and no real graphics to speak of but still manages to create a fresh and surprisingly moving exploration of the human condition. It's quaint retro interface is endearing, if not a bit frustrating by today's expectations but serves well as a stage on which a tale of cyberpunkery and ultimately tragedy is told.
This is a unique work of art that is not only a nostalgic look back at the birth of networked computing but of burgeoning love and even a commentary on the true nature of existence.
I was kind of skeptical, too, but it really does draw you in. And if you don't play it full-screen, you're doing it wrong.
Going to give this a try, thanks for the recommendation.