Game design today can be used not only to show the skill of a programmer but the skill of an art designer. Developer Red Dwarf Game’s newest creation, The Old Tree, exemplifies this with its concentration on style rather then game play. Though the game itself doesn’t provide much of a challenge, the graphics will have you exploring the surreal world from top to bottom.
The Old Tree’s design is certainly at the forefront, but there is some value in the actual game play. Most of you progression trough the tree requires only a quick click on a light or a door but there are a few puzzles that require a bit more thought to complete. Red Dwarf does a good job of making you think the puzzles are harder then they are at least, which means the first play through will take a fair amount of time, without going over the ten minute mark. They can all be solved with a bit of simple logic but it will require some clicking around on your part to figure out how you can use the environment to help you progress to the next room. Unfortunately, once you’ve got it, you’ve got it. The puzzles don’t change so if you decide to do a replay; it’ll take about three minutes to get through the whole thing. Luckily, you’ll have the rich, visual quality to continuously entertain you.
The artistic style of The Old Tree cannot help but be compared to the pop surrealist (also referred to as “lowbrow art”) movement. One of Mark Ryden’s wide eyed girls would feel right at home among the squid-like seeds that make their way up through the levels of the tree. The inner workings of the tree are dark and textured with brush strokes, slowly revealed as your interaction with the environment illuminates the next room. The creatures you encounter are equally as dark but have a charming heir about them that gives them personality, such as a beetle sleepily manning the tree’s hotel front desk in full bell hop attire. The tiny seed creature you help guide up through the tree definitely takes the cake when it comes to being weirdly adorable (his antennas may have something to do with that), allowing you to become invested in him for at least the duration of the game.
The importance of the ascetic is magnified by the attention the player must pay to every detail in order to complete the game. You may have to simply click a switch to continue your journey, but The Old Tree is designed to make you hunt for that switchjust enough for you to visually take in every corner of the scenery. The digital brush strokes are carefully placed in the inner workings of the tree, making it clear that the screen is meant to be completely absorbed by your eye. The atheistic is such a strong part of The Old Tree that I hesitate to call it game. Instead, I wouldn’t hesitate to classify this game as an interactive painting.
Though there isn’t a lot of replay value in it, The Old Tree is worth a run through (if only to see the style). It’s free and takes under ten minutes to complete so you might as well check it out at least once. Even if it isn’t repeatedly entertaining, the true value in The Old Tree brings a new trend in gaming to our attention. Games are not only about the game play and don’t have to be. They can focus on narrative or aesthetic and still have their place with gamers.
To play The Old Tree online anytime (like when you’re bored a work), visit http://www.talesofcosmos.com/theoldtree/ .