Star Wanderer is a game that pushes the limits of Bitsy to give the player the sense of exploration and discovery. The story is fairly linear and it is intended for the player to follow the path given to them by the text interactions in the game. However due to the freedom of movement combined with the interactions in the game specifically saying “venture” rather than a verb like “go”, the player feels like they are exploring. The main verb to associate with the game would be exploring. The changing color palettes in the game are used to create the feeling of each room being set in a different part of space. The color choice to represent the moon as well as purple for deep space draws in players to the immersion. The transition from the earth, to the moon, into deeper space is done using the changing color palette and this is somewhere I see bitsy as a tool limiting the designer’s creativity. Space exploration as a theme is very enjoyable and the game fully explores the theme. The rooms in bitsy are accessed by going upwards which further adds to the feeling of the player going further and further away from Earth and humanity. Venturing into the black hole has a sense of uncertainty as even humans in real life do not know what exactly happens when going beyond the event horizon. I was drawn in by the warped visuals of being inside the black hole and every movement had the feeling of wandering further into the unknown. The stars in the background slowly receding away is a way of signaling to the player that they are going further and further away from the known universe. This is fairly realistic to what scientists expect to happen as the light from the universe ends up all being behind you as you fall into the universe. This touch of realism in the game adds a lot of depth and is a great detail to be appreciated by players who enjoy space exploration. Most space exploration games leave the player feeling small and Star Wanderer is no exception to this. The lack of other humans in the game leaves the player wondering why they are on this mission. On my second playthrough, I started to question the source of the messages to venture further. The game leaves a lot of the story up to the player’s imagination and it fits perfectly for a simple game like this. Telling a complete story is one way to make a story based game but some of the most memorable games and books involve the player’s imagination. The game’s uncertainty goes away after the first few playthroughs and my only feedback would be that adding some branching or player choice would lead to an experience that offers more replayability. The linear experience is very comforting in a sense that everyone who has played the game has felt the same emotions. I think this was the intent of the designer and it shares their passion towards space.
Star Wanderer is everything that I love about story-based or exploratory game such as this. The player feels as though they are in control, when they are actually being led along on a single path dictated by the creator. Although this means that the game is limited to being played once, maybe a few times if you return to it every few years, but it is still a strong game. Some of my favorite games growing up were games that could only realistically be played once before you knew what was going to happen and the uncertainty was gone. However, I have been returning to these games again, some 10 years later, and have been replaying them; I think this could be the same for this game.
I really enjoyed the varying environments and felt immersed as a space dweller traveling the cosmos. I especially liked the use traveling to the very end as every key shift changed the environment and as a result a different secondary color. The use of these different colors added to the feeling that you were going somewhere, not staying still, even if the background was the same and only changing colors. The use of space, secluded to only a few squares of movement, kept the game at a consistent pacing. The player was trapped, but these limitations weren’t restricting because the elements that they would want to explore closely are what progresses the game play. The use of different transitions, just like the use of color, also made the game feel otherworldly. It achieved a sense of animated transition that I have not seen in most of the bitsy games we have played.
Following the game, I am left questioning what it all meant; whether it is trying to tell us to slow down and admire the world, or if there is no encompassing message at all; This game was simple, but felt much larger than it was. If there were one thing that could be improved upon, it would be stretching the story even further, similar to that of the “How to be a Tree” game that we played this semester. Because of the fast pacing and limited exploratory nature on the part of the player, the game is over rather quickly. If there were a few more elements that the player could interact with or lead them down different paths, I think this game would be the best it could be. Like how “How to be a Tree” takes the player to the limits of the universe, this game does so, though, is missing what is keeping the player going throughout. What is at the end of the universe/beyond that we are moving towards? The uncertainty of the game is left unfulfilled by the end of the game play.
Star Wonderer gives the player an extreme sense of discovery, which is fun to explore using this tool. Though bitsy is a relatively simplistic tool to use for game creation, it allows for many ways to discover a huge world in many small tiles. In this game, for example, it allows the player to travel from earth to the moon, then to space and beyond. Starting on earth, I am only able to say on the first layer of ground. When you get to the stairs in the first room, you can climb up the stairs and onto the rocket. It’s a very small detail but being able to only traverse upward on the screen when in the staircase is cool to interact with. It is also realistic that you are not able to traverse into the sky randomly, so I like how this game keeps everything realistic with detail. Once you get to the moon, this is where a small detail starts to add a lot. On earth, you are only able to stay on the first layer of ground, but on the moon, you can go up one extra block. This implies that you’re able to traverse more vertical on the moon compared to Earth, which is exactly how the real-world works. I think having this extra layer of realism in a tool such as bitsy adds a lot to how the player perceives the world, and that continues throughout the rest of the game. Once you travel further into space, you’re able to travel anywhere you want to on the screen. This makes complete sense realistically, since there are no forces acting on you on space, so you’re able to travel anywhere you want to. This also add a sense of exploration beyond just the Earth and allows the player to explore space as well. This sense of discovery starts even on the first screen of the game. When you see the spaceship, you know where this game is heading, and it starts of feeling of excitement and anticipation within you as a player as you are ready to see what the creator of this game thinks space is like. Though it’s not extremely realistic, it’s neat to see how the designer creates different aspect of space and how bare it really could be up there. Once you’re in space and can explore the whole screen, it’s realistic, but also terrifying, since you are truly alone in a space as big as forever essentially. After going too deep into space, you start to get lost. The player seems to start hallucinating as he further ascends into the darkness and nothingness of space. This is scary, since this is entirely possible in space, but then they’re somehow saved and brought back to earth as the story ends. This seems to be an intended infinite loop, like roguelikes of today, where the player travels into space to explore the unknown but gets lost and comes back home. The story aspect of this game remains interesting to me.
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Star Wanderer is a game that pushes the limits of Bitsy to give the player the sense of exploration and discovery. The story is fairly linear and it is intended for the player to follow the path given to them by the text interactions in the game. However due to the freedom of movement combined with the interactions in the game specifically saying “venture” rather than a verb like “go”, the player feels like they are exploring. The main verb to associate with the game would be exploring. The changing color palettes in the game are used to create the feeling of each room being set in a different part of space. The color choice to represent the moon as well as purple for deep space draws in players to the immersion. The transition from the earth, to the moon, into deeper space is done using the changing color palette and this is somewhere I see bitsy as a tool limiting the designer’s creativity. Space exploration as a theme is very enjoyable and the game fully explores the theme. The rooms in bitsy are accessed by going upwards which further adds to the feeling of the player going further and further away from Earth and humanity. Venturing into the black hole has a sense of uncertainty as even humans in real life do not know what exactly happens when going beyond the event horizon. I was drawn in by the warped visuals of being inside the black hole and every movement had the feeling of wandering further into the unknown. The stars in the background slowly receding away is a way of signaling to the player that they are going further and further away from the known universe. This is fairly realistic to what scientists expect to happen as the light from the universe ends up all being behind you as you fall into the universe. This touch of realism in the game adds a lot of depth and is a great detail to be appreciated by players who enjoy space exploration. Most space exploration games leave the player feeling small and Star Wanderer is no exception to this. The lack of other humans in the game leaves the player wondering why they are on this mission. On my second playthrough, I started to question the source of the messages to venture further. The game leaves a lot of the story up to the player’s imagination and it fits perfectly for a simple game like this. Telling a complete story is one way to make a story based game but some of the most memorable games and books involve the player’s imagination. The game’s uncertainty goes away after the first few playthroughs and my only feedback would be that adding some branching or player choice would lead to an experience that offers more replayability. The linear experience is very comforting in a sense that everyone who has played the game has felt the same emotions. I think this was the intent of the designer and it shares their passion towards space.
Star Wanderer is everything that I love about story-based or exploratory game such as this. The player feels as though they are in control, when they are actually being led along on a single path dictated by the creator. Although this means that the game is limited to being played once, maybe a few times if you return to it every few years, but it is still a strong game. Some of my favorite games growing up were games that could only realistically be played once before you knew what was going to happen and the uncertainty was gone. However, I have been returning to these games again, some 10 years later, and have been replaying them; I think this could be the same for this game.
I really enjoyed the varying environments and felt immersed as a space dweller traveling the cosmos. I especially liked the use traveling to the very end as every key shift changed the environment and as a result a different secondary color. The use of these different colors added to the feeling that you were going somewhere, not staying still, even if the background was the same and only changing colors. The use of space, secluded to only a few squares of movement, kept the game at a consistent pacing. The player was trapped, but these limitations weren’t restricting because the elements that they would want to explore closely are what progresses the game play. The use of different transitions, just like the use of color, also made the game feel otherworldly. It achieved a sense of animated transition that I have not seen in most of the bitsy games we have played.
Following the game, I am left questioning what it all meant; whether it is trying to tell us to slow down and admire the world, or if there is no encompassing message at all; This game was simple, but felt much larger than it was. If there were one thing that could be improved upon, it would be stretching the story even further, similar to that of the “How to be a Tree” game that we played this semester. Because of the fast pacing and limited exploratory nature on the part of the player, the game is over rather quickly. If there were a few more elements that the player could interact with or lead them down different paths, I think this game would be the best it could be. Like how “How to be a Tree” takes the player to the limits of the universe, this game does so, though, is missing what is keeping the player going throughout. What is at the end of the universe/beyond that we are moving towards? The uncertainty of the game is left unfulfilled by the end of the game play.
Star Wonderer gives the player an extreme sense of discovery, which is fun to explore using this tool. Though bitsy is a relatively simplistic tool to use for game creation, it allows for many ways to discover a huge world in many small tiles. In this game, for example, it allows the player to travel from earth to the moon, then to space and beyond. Starting on earth, I am only able to say on the first layer of ground. When you get to the stairs in the first room, you can climb up the stairs and onto the rocket. It’s a very small detail but being able to only traverse upward on the screen when in the staircase is cool to interact with. It is also realistic that you are not able to traverse into the sky randomly, so I like how this game keeps everything realistic with detail. Once you get to the moon, this is where a small detail starts to add a lot. On earth, you are only able to stay on the first layer of ground, but on the moon, you can go up one extra block. This implies that you’re able to traverse more vertical on the moon compared to Earth, which is exactly how the real-world works. I think having this extra layer of realism in a tool such as bitsy adds a lot to how the player perceives the world, and that continues throughout the rest of the game. Once you travel further into space, you’re able to travel anywhere you want to on the screen. This makes complete sense realistically, since there are no forces acting on you on space, so you’re able to travel anywhere you want to. This also add a sense of exploration beyond just the Earth and allows the player to explore space as well. This sense of discovery starts even on the first screen of the game. When you see the spaceship, you know where this game is heading, and it starts of feeling of excitement and anticipation within you as a player as you are ready to see what the creator of this game thinks space is like. Though it’s not extremely realistic, it’s neat to see how the designer creates different aspect of space and how bare it really could be up there. Once you’re in space and can explore the whole screen, it’s realistic, but also terrifying, since you are truly alone in a space as big as forever essentially. After going too deep into space, you start to get lost. The player seems to start hallucinating as he further ascends into the darkness and nothingness of space. This is scary, since this is entirely possible in space, but then they’re somehow saved and brought back to earth as the story ends. This seems to be an intended infinite loop, like roguelikes of today, where the player travels into space to explore the unknown but gets lost and comes back home. The story aspect of this game remains interesting to me.