GAME-A-WEEK is a 9-week programme organised & run by Firepit. → Join the Ziscord

GAME-A-WEEK #3 | FEB 2 → FEB 9

FALLING

Alice in Wonderland (Disney, 1951)

Our first verb! Falling as a theme can be interpreted many ways. Taking it literally, falling often is used in games as punishment or to create tension. It can be used to relinquish control -  as a release, as comedy, or as something terrifying and vertigo-inducing. Subverting the expectations of falling is worth exploring too. Sometimes, down is good!

Looking at it less literally, falling has an interesting place in language and metaphor. People fall in love, or fall from grace. Falling is often used as a stand-in for failure (usually in opposition to persistence) in many idioms. Beyond language, falling has an implied inevitability - gravity is ever present and can’t be truly escaped. Falling as a concept relates to forces of nature, relationships, and our successes and failings.

Quick Resources

• Falling and descent as a key mechanic
  • Downwell by Ojiro Fumoto, eirik and Joonas Turner
  • Minecraft ‘Dropper’ maps, by various creators
• Falling as a source of tension
  • Getting Over It with Bennette Foddy by Benette Foddy
  • I must reach the top by Fenreliania