I decided to play Sailor’s Dream for my walking simulator.
The point in the article that resonated most with me was how the genre is categorized by its limitation rather than its capability. While playing Sailor’s Dream, I realized how beauty was created through the game’s mechanics which were overall very limited.
Upon opening Sailor’s Dream, you are immediately immersed in the experience. The screen is all black except for white text and the lack of any UI elements forces you to read what’s on screen. Only after some time are you prompted with directions on how to navigate the game. This is effective in setting the tone of exploration that will be present throughout the rest of the game. In the game, there is a mechanic of swiping left/right or up/down to reveal new parts of a certain location. This in turn creates the dynamic that this is truly exploratory – you do not know how vast the world is since it is only revealed to you in bits and pieces. The only way to reveal more is to “walk”. The exploratory dynamic gives this game its discovery aesthetic. Revealing only parts of a location makes this game truly feel like one where you need to discover and explore the uncharted areas. The mechanic of only revealing parts of a location creates a dynamic of feeling almost anxious and unease, as if there is so much to explore without knowing which way is the way to go. This interestingly makes this also a game that uses sensation as a method of fun. Limiting direction and what appears on screen actually makes the bits that are revealed to you more immersive. The artwork and images on screen being revealed in bits almost forces you to be engaged with it. Walking in this game is depicted by a blank screen with only faint lines to guide your direction. Depriving your senses by giving you a blank screen then suddenly revealing a beautiful scene makes the experience more immersive in my opinion. I, as a player, became excited at what beautiful scene was to appear after navigating the darkness for some time.
“Walking” in this game is integral to telling the story. You do not get to understand or be immersed in the story if you do not go down multiple paths. Stripping the game of any other mechanics (collecting items etc.) allows the game truly to depend on walking as the sole means of telling the story. Walking will sometimes reveal text that also helps in telling the story. But these blurbs have the eerie effect they do because of the slight anxiety that comes with exploring the darkness in the location.
Overall I would say this game was fun in the sensation and discovery aspects. It was a game unlike any that i’ve played and its ability to immerse me in the exploration was fun.
