(clap)
That was a nice solid clap.
-Anita: You're a nice solid clap! -Carolyn: Yes!
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Anita: Hello! We are at GDC 2018 this is the game developers conference
that takes place every year in downtown San Francisco.
I am Anita Sarkeesian.
I am Carolyn Petit.
Anita: And we're going to check out some games!
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Behind me is a game called "Kids" by Playables
and, I got to say it one of the most remarkable games that I have experienced
so far at GDC this year. It really feels like a spiritual experience cause
it's very cerebral without being verbal, it's so hard to explain.
But, what happens in the game is there are little kids, and they all look exactly the same
so it kind of reminded me of Lemmings, and they all kind of move together
so it starts out the demo with them all just diving into a black hole
and it kind of continues from there so there are moments where they're
engaging with each other, there are moments where they are following
each other, or not following each other, and one that was particularly profound
was this scene where one of the kids says: "Nobody likes me" and then walks in to
a giant crowd and everybody stays away from them.
But it's not overt in terms of what it's trying to say, it just feels very...
I hate to say "visceral" because that is the worst word to use for video games
but here we are. So definitely check out "Kids" by Playable if you get the chance.
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I'm here with Olli, one of the creators of "Noita".
Can you tell us a little bit about this game?
Olli: So Noita is a physics-based, rouge-like game
where you are a witch, and your goal is to find a Maguffin
somewhere down in the caves.
Carolyn: And what happens as you're on your way exploring and trying
to get to that maguffin?
Olli: You explore all the different interactions in the environment
between different elements, and every pixel in the game is physically
simulated. It sounds like a marketing thing, but that is what's happening
in the game. Carolyn: Yeah, and also the enemies
also trigger all kinds of physics interactions, like there are enemies
that are filled with lava, or oil, which interacts with the environment
in different ways, which results in all kinds of wild situations as you're
playing through the game.
And it seems like every time you play, you never know
exactly what kind of situations you're going to get yourself into.
Olli: Yeah, so for example just last run I saw a player they found one potion
that was teleport liquid, and they broke that one and teleported to a
different place in the world
and there was a worm that just ducked through the ground and ate them.
Carolyn: That's the fun of the game!
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Anita: I just had to sign a waiver to play this game because I might die.
Carolyn: Okay, New Whizbee, uhh...
That's understandable, you're in a very traumatic situation.
I will dispatch a police car to a random location, and I hope that you might
be there.
Anita: I did it! I survived!
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Anita: I'm here with Kitty and JW who are showing off their new game called "Minit"
Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Kitty: "Minit" is an adventure game where you die every sixty seconds, so
in a minute.
JW: You pick up a cursed sword on the beach and from there on everything kind of
goes horribly wrong.
you die every minute, but any of the items you find, you keep
so your next minute you still have the fastest shoes, or you still have your
cursed sword, and you kind of puzzle your way through the whole game
eventually beating it in just one minute.
Anita: Yeah, one thing I loved about it, it's black-and-white style,
it's very sort-of simple, but it doesn't feel monotonous when you're playing it
like it does really feel like you can...
even though you're dying every minute...
that anxiety of "Oh god I gotta get the thing before I die so I can do the other
thing moving on" seems really...
well designed.
Kitty: Yeah, thank you! I would like to thank Jukio Kallio and Dominik Johann as well
Anita: That's awesome, thank you so much!
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Carolyn: Thanks for joining us for this look at GDC 2018.
Obviously a lot of really cool, innovative, and interesting games to look forward to
in the months ahead. Subscribe to us at youtube.com/feministfrequency
and we'll see you next time.