Pippin Barr’s flash games have dark punchlines. The writer, scholar, and maker designs games like a Steven Wright or Mitch Hedberg writes a joke, sardonically exposing the terror of the banal (waiting in line for The Artist is Present) or the banality of the terrible (Let’s Play: Greek Punishment, Safety Instructions). His newest, War Game, is military lobotomy framed in a Tiger handheld interface–a Full Metal Jacket without the abusive heavy hand. Shoot 5 enemies or die, then visit the psych-doctor to answer questions that will point to your Oedipal complex–or say nothing. Either way, you’re going back to the same battefield riddled with semiotic glitch. 

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