![]() And if you want to find them, you have to have the patience to look around and explore. It's artefacts like these – little details sprinkled around videogame environments – that are increasingly being used to tell stories in games. You learn about the fall of Rapture by looking at posters on the wall, or discovering little micro-setups, like the bodies of the parents who poisoned their two kids. There's a game which, for the most part, substitutes cutscenes and dialogue for a kind of interactive narrative. As a new type of storytelling in games starts to emerge, one that relies on exploration and engagement, that's an important virtue for players to have. It stresses the importance of stopping to breathe in the videogame world around you, of appreciating the work and expertise that has gone into its creation. Instead, it's a game about taking your time. There's no story as such and no challenges or fail states or end of level bonuses. Without showering you in feedback and rewards, it demands that you pay it attention. The game starts in spring and ends in winter and each different time and place gives you new things to see and new things to hear. And once you hit the right sequence of notes – once you visit the right parts of the island and activate them in a certain way – time accelerates and you're transported to another part of Proteus during a different season. The island becomes almost like an instrument, which you “play” by walking around and looking at different objects. Even staring at the sun creates a sound, this irritating, high pitched beep. When you look at the flowers, they tingle and chatter like a wind chime. When you walk past the rocks, they make a low, bass-heavy hum. As you walk onwards, you discover in fact that everything makes a sound. ![]() The trees are green, the sky is blue and all around are furry little critters that make chirpy musical noises every time they hop. When you arrive on land, you're greeted by a beautiful, springtime vista, rendered in a distinct, pixellated style. After looking around to see if there's sign of land anywhere else, and finding that there isn't, you instinctively start to walk towards the island, either by pushing forward on the left analogue stick or, if you're playing the original Windows version, holding down the W key. ![]() In the distance you can make out a small island – trees, hills, a beach – and above it, the sun. You, whatever you are (the game never clarifies whether you're human or not) are floating in the ocean. Proteus, by Ed Key and David Kanaga, starts like this. ![]()
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