Okay, this game may not apply as a theory for modern life in general, but as a nice little lettrist space shooter in the vein of (or probably rather in a very close relation to) the classical Asteroids, Typoroids – “the eternal struggle of designers vs. letters”, does pretty well.  Yes, and the subtitle reveals even more – it shows how the medium “game” is still in the middle of a struggle about the privilege of interpretation.

Game designers struggle to incorporate words in their design that manage to convince readers, not only gamers. Writers try to push their craft into the game medium and sometimes think very little of the game designers.

Oh yes, you might want to play that game without sound. It has a cheesy version of the imperial march.

S.T.A.C.K.E.R. by Pishtaco blends the two really successful “Soviet” game exports into one: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Tetris. The game mechanics of both stay intact. Blocks, items and artifacts drop from the sky, developing the story as you are advancing further into the zone and serving as “power ups”. Dogs, barbed wire and bandits attack you on your way.

Then come the mental effects: The radiation starts affecting your sanity if you don’t protect yourself from it. The deeper you get into the zone, the harder it gets to stay calm. Where Tetris builds up pressure by speedings things up, S.T.A.C.K.E.R. evokes real fear by tightening the narrative. A narrative told by dropping blocks.