You would think that what every game wants is to get you to keep playing it. The more hours you log, points you gain, achievements you earn, and money you spend (if micro-transactions are involved), the better for its creator. If you play to the end, assuming there even is one, then play it again. It’s a win-win situation—the creator gets acclaim and you get to have some release from the stresses of the real world.
Yet some games will tell you that there is no happiness to be found inside of them. These games include “howling dogs” by Porpentine and “SPY INTRIGUE” by furkle.
During each day that passes in “howling dogs,” you must complete a series of menial tasks before you can indulge in the activity room. You are made to shower, eat a nutrient bar, drink a bottle of water, and maybe clean up your trash if you feel up to it. These tasks are important to your upkeep, of course, but they’re monotonous, repetitive. They aren’t nearly as interesting as the activity room, which lets you participate in vivid scenarios that vary in setting and role each day. Later in the game, the shower won’t turn on, the hydration unit fails to deliver cold water, and the trash disposal ceases to operate. Your skin itches and trash piles up on your floor. Even the sanity room begins to break down, signifying that your deterioration is mental as well as physical. This is all the more reason for you to retreat to the lavish fantasies of your activity room, up until you lose your very sense of self in the game’s most common ending.
“SPY INTRIGUE” gives a similar commentary about the allures and dangers of escapism. It has a clunky interface reminiscent of an outdated computer, featuring text in all caps and a choice map that lets you anticipate which options let you progress and which lead to dead ends. On the surface, the game is a ridiculous spy adventure that is impossible to take seriously. Whenever you die, however, the screen fades into a flashback sequence typed in all lowercase. These sequences give keen insight into the descent of the character’s real life, including drug abuse, traumatic memories, and mental illness. It’s as if in the interval between their game character dying and the game reloading to its last checkpoint, the player character is forced to sit alone with their dark thoughts and impulses. Then the game reverts back to its chirpy spy antics. Where the player in “howling dogs” wants to rush to the activity room as soon as possible, though, the player in “SPY INTRIGUE” wants to guide their character to the supposed dead ends in order to learn more about them. The more you die in the game, the more you revisit your life. It isn’t as fun—it’s pretty heart-wrenching, actually—but in the end, it’s the better option.