Response:
For this critical play, I played Queers in Love at the End of the World. This is an html, computer game that is a kind of choose-your-own adventure with a text based UI. The game was made by Anna Anthropy and is intended for lovers of indie games and art – in all honesty the game feels almost more in line with poetry than a video-game, it has a very unique and interesting perspective, with a seemingly infinite number branches to follow. The game is like a groundhog day scenario where the user is put in a situation where they are are with the love of their life, but only have 10 seconds to appreciate the moment. At first it doesn’t seem like there is anything to do but read the text and watch the 10 second timer count down, but after hovering over some of the words, we see we can click on them and go to the next stage of the story. You then race against the clock to read and click and get as far as you can in just 10 seconds before the game ends and you start over.
To play this game as a feminist means to explore all of its paths equally and with an open mind. The game does a fantastic job with intersectionality by never boxing the user into a feeling of a certain predetermined protagonist or action. Although through the title it’s clear that the protagonist is a woman, the author’s word choices allow for anyone to play the game and feel immersed – with plenty of options to explore in the dialog, or not explore and just enjoy the 10 seconds with your lover. The game appeals to all and so the player should try and explore all to play like a feminist. Furthermore, the game applies feminist design principles through some of the main principles we see from the Play Like a Feminist reading – specifically in areas like consent and agency. The user has plenty of choices and they are very clear what they do. On the first screen we are told about how we have 10 seconds and we wish that we could kiss, hold, take, or tell her, and we can expand on any of those options without worry of it being a trick, and if we don’t like how it turned out, we can simply wait a few seconds and start over. Bringing us to the second principle the game employs well, care and repair. The game is only 10 seconds and so the outcomes are never that drastic. If a user is upset with where they end up, it’s incredibly easy to try again. One thing that the game could work on is the accessibility and inclusion. While the story is pretty inclusive, the actual UI is just reading and clicking and doesn’t offer alternative methods for people to play who may need auditory or motor help.
Overall, this game wasn’t as “fun” as others have been, but it was insightful and poetic and made me feel warm inside. I understand that’s pretty cliche, but there are some pieces that you see that inspire those kinds of feelings, and this was a great example of one of them. It’s intuitive, quick, and insightful.
