Game: LIMBO
Website: http://limbogame.org/
Trailer : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1vexQzA9Vk
Summary : LIMBO is a horroresque puzzle game where the protagonist of the game, a little bob-haired boy (whose name is never mentioned), tries to find his way out of a wasteland by running through deathtraps and gigantic spiders.
#26: The Lens of Rules
Within minutes of the playing the game, the player will realise:
- Death is not an issue
- Jumping from a high height is deadly
- Watch where you walk
Through trial and error, the player will come to realise that the rules of the game is narrows down to two things; obey the laws of physics and keep trying.
#34 : The Lens of Skill vs. Chance
To jump or not to jump? There’s plenty of risk taking in this game as the puzzles is designed in such a precise way that you can survive, just barely, if you take the leap of faith at the right moment. If you don’t survive, it’s okay you can always revive at the start of the puzzle and try again. The skill of the player lies in detecting the risk and deciding whether they want to take the risk or to look for another method to solve the problem at hand.
#42: The Lens of Simplicity / Complexity
The goal of the game is simple; survive the wasteland. However, it can be too simple as the player will often be found reiterating the same sequence of actions, mainly running, solving a puzzle and avoiding death. Beyond the challenges presented by the puzzles in the game there are no game mechanics such as plot or economy to keep a player captivated. Thus a player who is not easily intrigued by the explorative puzzles may become bored quickly.
#45: The Lens of Imagination
A black cube is a box. Eight spindly black extrusions connected by a round black blob in the middle is a giant spider. The graphics in LIMBO is made up of white, black and shades of gray. The protagonist, sprites and objects in the game are portrayed as silhouettes so this ramps up the power of the player’s imagination as they encounter silhouettes that are too eerily reminiscent of creatures and devices found in nightmares and horror films.
#48: The Lens of Accessibility
At the beginning of the game, there is no introduction or instruction on how to play the game. Just the protagonist on the screen and a player with a controller. Through trial-and-error, the player will realise that the boy can run and jump around on screen at will– until he walks over a bear trap and is snapped to death. But no worries, as the boy will revive in front of the trap, and the player will now realise that the protagonist is supposed to avoid the trap by jumping over it.
This is similarly so with the different puzzle mechanics in the game. Much of the game mechanics can be assumed through real world comparisons; a see-saw will swing higher and higher if you work with the momentum and a signboard hanging on a loose screw will fall if you put too much weight on it. If something surprisingly fatal happens, you can always learn to overcome it on the next try as death is never an issue.
by Chua Chong Yun
A0073546B