Fascinating process. Exophilie is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Thanks for sharing!
Farfama
Creator of
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If you have 5 minutes and you're awake between 12am and 5am, try out my experience:
https://infinitetears.itch.io/i-promise
Headphones, playing in the dark, and lighting a candle recommended
You can read the in my itch.io blog post.
https://itch.io/blog/478317/life-as-a-creative-commons-indie-game-developer
It's full of 3D assets, 2D assets, sound libraries, music resources and all of it is either public domain or under a fair creative commons license. Hopefully others find it useful.
Great game. Felt a lot of unease exploring a familiar world from a different angle and context. The text scattered throughout the world added so much. The one about Halo 2 reminded me of a time in Half Life 2 where my speedboat disappeared due to a bug and I had to complete the water hazard chapter all on foot. It was such a different experience navigating a space that wasn't meant for walking. Makes me want to go back and play the Halo games but only on foot.
SOLASTALGIA
A short interactive visual poem about loss, longing, and dislocation
The word solastalgia was coined by philosopher Glenn Albrecht in his 2003 paper Solastalgia: A new concept in human health and identity. It describes it as the pain experienced when there is recognition that the place where one resides and that one loves is under immediate assault. It is manifest in an attack on oneβs sense of place, in the erosion of the sense of belonging to a particular place and a feeling of distress about its transformation.
https://farfama.itch.io/solastalgia
Enjoy. Would love hear impressions and see playthroughs.
Have a nice day.
This was such a tranquil experience. Great sound design and atmosphere. The hiss as the elevator reaches the top, the gentle gusts of wind, the pulsing tones as you walk which punctuate the meditative ambient music - it all adds so much to heighten the atmosphere. I looked out at the clouds for a good amount of time.
I created my own little lore while playing. I imagined I was a cloud scientist working in a tower high above a smog filled city. So many different buttons and contraptions to capture endless amounts of cloud data. Only I was lucky enough to watch and study the endless sea of clouds.
Great work!
Love this. It's a tiny little experience that captures that night feeling "thoughtful nostalgic emotions you feel when you drive alone at night or see a city skyline at dusk with the wind in your face". Excellent use of colors, it feels like a painting.
I'm curious what your plans are with this game. There's a lot of potential to really expand on the already great atmosphere with more sounds, a tiny warm narrative, and a bit of exploration.
I just want to be able to explore this beautiful world you built more. Awesome job, looking forward to more of these experiences.
Excellent interview. I've been thinking a lot about the way many smaller games are consumed for content. My latest game received the same sort of commentary mentioned in this article ("weird", "this person was on drugs", "this isn't a game"). I see this with lots of games and while I don't find the comments negative, the reaction always signals to me a lack of language to describe games with more of a focus on an ethereal, evocative, and surreal atmospheres. Likely from a lack of exposure to smaller games and the discussions and community around alt/art-games.
I agree with The Last of Us (and many other AAA games) doing an average job at best at any type of emotionally complexity. I can also never get over the massive ludonarrative dissonance. Games like this are fun, but I rarely get emotionally invested in the stories. I guess this is why I gravitate towards smaller intimate games such as Nathalie's. There's no need to force a fun quota down your throat. They can take their time to create an intentional space where every piece organically connects. There's more room left open to explore within you how the experience elicited an emotional reaction that feels unique to you.
I appreciate the transparency with your development. Thank you for sharing such an insightful interview. It helps clear away the more negative discussion around alt-games I often see online.
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Download for Windows : https://farfama.itch.io/the-golden-tower
Would love to see impressions / letsplays. Enjoy!