Cover by Cam Adjodha.
My monthly feature for @PIZZAPRANKS‘ Indiepocalypse continues; with a piece on the potential creative design concepts that can be explored through “deliberate inaccessibility,” and how 2018’s The Quiet Man squanders / walks back its most novel idea. Where Square Enix and Human Head Studios may well have landed on a novel idea by “accident” as it were – unwittingly enough to go and completely compromise it come game’s end – I still see the decision to present the game and its cutscenes without audible accompaniment as a novel concept, and one that I would love to see more deliberate developers expand on.
I’m really enjoying using the format of the monthly feature to more briefly touch on bad games (which I’m sure I will get into further detail with / make full articles out of in time), and to explore my own ideas with regards to game design and the endless potential of the independent scene. The latter is something I feel like I don’t get to explore too much within the format here on the Bad Game Hall of Fame, and I’m excited to get to float my goofy ideas to an targeted audience with it. I’m also gonna start providing brief samples from said features here in my promo posts, so y’all can get a brief idea of what I’m attempting to traffic in:
The concept I’m more compelled by within The Quiet Man is obviously the decision to star a deaf protagonist, and the implications that has on the gameplay and narrative. Obviously, I reckon there should be more video games which speak to / represent the experiences of the differently-abled, and serve to put players of all circumstances into their proverbial shoes. In dealing with deafness in particular, there are so many roads that a developer could take: To interpret and teach the different ways the hard of hearing can engage in communication, or to demonstrate how folk are able to overcome the perceived obstacles their deafness seems to invite. Lacking audio accompaniment for spoken word or other audio cues, you could instead convey understanding of lip-reading or sign language through on-screen text or even though abstracted imagery — whichever feels more authentic to your own personal experiences.
I really would encourage y’all to give the ‘zine / bundle a shot; not just to read my pieces, but to get hands on some kick-ass curated indie games in the process! I’d like to highlight that this month’s edition includes Strangest.io’s Nightmare, serving as a particularly kick-ass throwback FPS with some proper neat time manipulation mechanics. Very much worth a play if 2.5D FPS is your bag. The collection also includes Nathalie Lawhead’s Electric Zine Maker, for those of you who might be afflicted the ‘zine-making bug yourself. Really though, I like to think there’s something for everyone included in the bundle portion of the package, so please to give them all a go if you decide to take the plunge.
