I played Monument Valley, a puzzle game developed by indie game studio Ustwo Games for iOS and Android. Interestingly enough, it was developed using Unity. My group wanted to use Monument Valley’s art style as inspiration for our P2 game.
The mechanics of the puzzle that Monument Valley unfolds to be quite literally create the game that it is. Monument Valley’s main mechanic is manipulating the spatial reality of objects in an isometric map. The game camera is isometric, so things get trippy real fast. Objects that seem close by end up being further away than they appear. The maps are set up very cleverly, guiding the player in a direction, but letting them figure it out bit boy bit. The player manipulates the map to guide the character, Ida, to an objective. You create paths, bridge gaps, move platforms, and create a way for Ida to get from point A to point B.
The game unfolds like a flower: a puzzle leads to a puzzle within a puzzle. It’s like Inception, but with puzzles. As you move Ida around the map and complete the little puzzles, you’re slowly (and silently—there isn’t much talking) given pieces of the jigsaw to arrange. The story becomes more clear as you play on.
Each level feels like a handcrafted piece of art. The environments are so beautiful and minimal. The soundscape is ethereal. It all together creates a really meditative space to just sit and solve puzzles.
One ethical issue with Monument Valley that I think really does create food for thought is its price model. Monument Valley is a paid app (also free, but with a Netflix subscription… so not really free). This highlights a slight ethical tension between the artistic value and accessibility of a game. While the developers created a thoughtfully designed, premium experience, the price tag may unintentionally exclude players who come from lower-income backgrounds. Art has value and and that value should be paid for, but should people who come from lower-income backgrounds be excluded from art worth value? Is this fair or ethical to bar people from lower-income backgrounds from high value creative experiences? I don’t think this is an urgent issue—it may not really be an issue at all—but I do think art changes the way we experience life. I was heavily inspired by Monument Valley and wanted to reference it in my class project. I imagine limiting inspiration for a long period of time can be more of a damper on someone’s artistic development than we imagine it to be. I think this is more of a question on the way we assign value to creative work and whether premium pricing reinforces elitism in who gets to experience meaningful games.
