I wish I were the moon (2008)
Daniel Benmergui
“My rule of thumb for considering a game "art" is:
If you don't feel personally exposed when publishing the game, you did not make art.”
- Daniel Benmergui
“I wanted a name that hinted at what's inside.
I could have called it "The Moon" or "The Affair", but "I Wish I Were the Moon"
tries to tell you that it's not the usual game.”
- Daniel Benmergui
If you don't feel personally exposed when publishing the game, you did not make art.”
- Daniel Benmergui
“I wanted a name that hinted at what's inside.
I could have called it "The Moon" or "The Affair", but "I Wish I Were the Moon"
tries to tell you that it's not the usual game.”
- Daniel Benmergui
Play the game at: http://www.ludomancy.com/blog/2008/09/03/i-wish-i-were-the-moon/
Suggested Questions
- Using visual analysis, compare and contrast Gravity Bone with Shadow of the Colossus - What were Benmergui’s influences and inspiration for I wish I were the moon? - Define and discuss the art style Suggested Activity - Discuss the concept of interactive narratives, ‘choose your own adventure’ books and convergent narrative. - Get students to play the game and discuss their experiences and opinions of the game. Do they believe it is in fact a game? If not, then what is it? |
I Wish I Were the Moon is a Flash art game by Daniel Benmergui. More of an interactive artwork than a game, it doesn’t contain any explicit rules for the player and there is no way to ‘lose’. Instead, players are constrained by what they can do, which is alter the placement of objects with a photo taking mechanic. In place of winning or losing conditions, the player discovers the 9 alternate endings to the narrative told.
The scene where the game takes place includes several objects and characters. There is a girl on a boat staring at a boy, serenely sitting upon a large, floating moon, which he seems to be in love with. There seems to be a strange love triangle between the boy, the girl, and the moon. Shooting stars and a gull regularly fly above. I were the Moon uses a highly pixelated style however, there is a fair amount of detail. Most of the game has no sound. However, "Lamento di Tristano and La Rotta" plays during one of the endings. “The game design in both Moon and Today I Die is pretty light and doesn't demand a lot of engagement to able to navigate through the games... You can tell right away what these games are about just by taking a glimpse” (Benmergui, 2010). Benmergui (2008) describes that it was a combination of two things which inspired him to make the game. The first was a short novel that moved him emotionally by Italo Calvino called The Distance of the Moon, and the bizarre love triangle depicted in it. The other was a song named Sitting on the Moon by Enigma. As Benmergui was listening to the song, he says that he “was struck with an image … The game as it is now looks exactly like that image I had thought of at that moment. I had no idea where I was going gameplay-wise, although the camera mechanic was something I already had from an old prototype.” Benmergui declares that he wanted to capture the emotional impact of a tragic situation more than tell a story. “Like having a picture of someone’s face who has been heartbroken in the exact moment you took it” (Benmergui, 2008). Benmergui needed to convey jealousy, regret, guilt, fascination and does this through gameplay, context and the expressive use of the character’s eyes and very limited body language. Instead of the camera mechanic, a drag and drop user interface could have been used but Benmergui chose the camera to “give players the sensation of being an omnipotent voyeurist on the situation.” |