DEUS EX MACHINA

Speaking of brave games that defy categorization, this title from the 1984 shows the programmer's innovative mind. In order to create a unique multisensory, multimedia experience on an 8bit computer, Mel Croucher realised he needed a different approach, Abandoning the (cid) chip sounds altogether for this game, he introduced an accompanying cassette the player runs synchonous with the action on the computer screen. When I was a kid, one of my friends taped this game for me and I played it on the c64 , but without the accompanying cassette for my audio deck the resulting experience was lacking to say the least. Years later I finally got a hold of the audio recording and played it as it was intended. Yes, it is confusing, and self-indulgent , and artsy, but the very idea that the game skillfully combined a collection of audio art, spoken word and forward thinking electropop music from an external audio source with the limiting graphics of 1984 that lend themselves beautifully to the paranoia shown in this game is pure genius. In a series of mini games you try to preserve the life of a being, a failed lab experiment, while acknowledging the absurd ,the comical and creepy, the futilty of action ("creeping, crawling, occasionally floating") and coming to terms with "second childishness and mere oblivion". Ian Dury, John Pertwee and Frankie Howard all made sure their contributions  entertain, confuse the player and leave them with some troubling thoughts. Even if we perceive this game as an interactive video work rather than a game, it is still a brave and singular cornerstone in gaming.

HUMAN: FALL FLAT

Now this is what  I call gaming entertainment! This may easily be the most successful attempt at putting one's dream into a computer game.No gory details, no beheaded beasts, no visits from spectres or ancestors, just your own inadequacies, the fear of failure , loneliness and curiosity that you get punished for on a daily basis.The landscape is simplistic and stripped of  any detail that could be inconsequential  to such a dream.  Bob is naked, wearing only a protective helmet , and fears heights. Accordingly, he solves puzzles by moving different objects around and pushing buttons while walking across floating islands so that he could address his fear by jumping off the platform and falling flat onto another level.To spice the feeling of inability to run things and limited physical movement while we dream , Bob is innately clumsy. In order to get Bob through all the 12 levels you have to master the awkward mechamics (OCTODAD  comes to mind)  that's integral to the game's value and charm. Failure is awarded by laughter in the proud tradition of slapstick humour and  narration borders on misanthropy. This is the kind of dream you can easily see yourself waking up from in a pearl of sweat.
And if you want to introduce your friend to this nightmarish world, there's always the split-screen cooperative multiplayer mode. Enjoy!

THE STANLEY PARABLE

Stanley is just another nine-to-fiver living a stale life of crunching numbers and doing meaningless repetitive tasks at work, a man with no family to come home to . The sudden disappearance of all his colleagues leaves him alone in the building with just an eloquent inner voice at his side telling him what he should do. The voice is annoying, controlling , laughing at his condition, incredibly discerning and intelligent. The game is all about starting again and again, finding alternate ways to come to a meaningless end for Stanley, or sticking to a silly routine like playing the baby game and pushing a single red button for 4 hours without a single pause  until the game recognises you as a God and you come out victorious. How can you not like that? The game puts our tenacity, sense of identity, belonging, orientation, purpose, irony, obeying or disobeying our inner voice to a serious test, with an illusion of choice being the main ingredient of the game. THE STANLEY PARABLE laughs at life, games, the gaming industry, our use of time, rendering them all obsolete.

"Onward Stanley...to destiny. Wouldn't whenever we end up be our destination, even if there's no story there? Or to put it another way- is the story of no destination still a story?"

JOURNEY

Probably the best game I've ever seen and played. The mere thought of making a game out of a life parable (imagine Piers Plowman made into a game :) ) and  succeeding in bringing all aspects of a regular human experience into a 2-hour gaming fun is a feat in itself. Everything befalls our beloved ethereal creature we guide through this life's journey: the loneliness and dignity of human experience,longing, growth, companionship. the beauty and mystery of life, the acquisiton of knowledge and experience, facing nature that is closer to Tarkowsky than Von Trier, wearing the ever-growing mark of  a seasoned soul. Our hearts slowly melt with passion and love and at the end of the game , when our character reaches the end of the road and passes on, it is very hard not to shed a tear. I know I did.Never have I felt such warmth in my heart while playing a computer game.

A true masterpiece of gaming if ever there was one.