For my Game Culture class this week we had to play four five minute games; Dys4ia, Art Game, Passage, and We Were You and write small responses for them each. All four had very different styles but I think had very unique stories to tell.

Dys4ia is a simple little game similar to Wario Ware, but really signifies the confusion and torture of someone who is transexual. The message of this game is that the people going through these changes are having a rough time, mentally and physically, and wants the players to experience some of that confusion and hardships that come with not being born the correct gender, not because they want to torture the players in some way but to let the players experience what it is like to be in these situations.

Art Game is a game that uses games as art. I think this perfectly exemplifies what a lot of gamers already see. Video games are art. And to use a game to create art to show in a gallery is an ingenious way of showing it.

Passage is the passage of time in a little pixel side scroller. I played it through twice (due to some technical difficulty of my computer). The first time I just went straight ahead not knowing you could do anything more than move forward, the second time I moved up and down and found obstacles. I think the message of the game is to constantly move forward though as time never stops. Sure there maybe obstacles in the way but you can work your way around them, or you could just live a simple life and stay on the narrow path, either way life continues to move forward. The passage of time never ends.

Lastly We Were You is a song games that basically tells the player everyone has a story and the player should listen to their story. The butterflies have a story, the mammoth has a story, and the Tiger has a story. Listening to their stories lets the player experience some part of the creatures life, and to hear a story is to learn a lesson.