This guy. Jordan Magnuson, he made nine games about his experiences on his 2011, kickstarted-funded adventures in Cambodia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Korea. They are all neatly packaged up on the game trekking site.
It’s a completely obvious statement to say that this ‘thing’ is authentic, but I’ve said it anyway. The notgames are slow moving, but a couple manage to squeeze a lot of message into very little mechanic. The sense of violence in “A Brief History of Cambodia” is unnerving. “The Heartattack” is a race to destruction once it’s pace picks up.
Looking for a game to post today put me into a stupor. I played a series of empty games that lacked an honesty, so stumbling across Jordan’s work was refreshing. It’s not that any one of the games in the package is a knock-out. It’s the approach. I need to see more of these games-as-sketches in the future – ones that try to communicate the essence of an experience, a feeling or a chunk of wisdom.
mikewesthad 