Tag: Gardenarium

Gardenarium
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The Year In Weird

I think I started writing about videogames because I was lonely. What I found in games was a sorely needed form of two-way communication. It started sometime in 2007 when I happened across the Indygamer blog (founded by Tim W., who I’ve now joined in doing similar work on Warp Door), which was regularly discovering and writing about these small, weird games that you couldn’t find anywhere else. After a while, I started to recognize some of the recurring names of the individuals that were making these fascinating experiences. With some of these creators, it was possible to see themes across their oeuvre that collectively explored…
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You can play this psychedelic forest game with a moss controller

If nature was able to make a videogame I think it would be Alea. And it’s not just because it’s a twee, musical hike through a “psychedelic forest.” Nor is it due to its two graphics options: “Shrub” and “Tree.” I say that because you can play it with a moss controller. Like, actual moss, those green clumps of shrub that grow in the cracks of pavements or atop roofs. You’ve seen it. Yeah, that stuff. This is really happening. Right now, at Fantastic Arcade, Alea is being played on an arcade cabinet. You have to poke all four fingers…
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Tune into this psychedelic wonderland and never want to leave

Sign up to receive each week’s Playlist e-mail here! Also check out our full, interactive Playlist section. GARDENARIUM (Windows, Mac, Linux)  BY PALOMA DAWKINS AND KYLER KELLY People have wondered about the potential healing properties of psychedelics ever since Timothy Leary tried curing alcoholics by giving them acid in the ’60s. To some, trippy drug-induced visuals are just hippie nonsense. To others, they’re an invitation to embark on a journey of weirdness and self-discovery. Gardenarium presumes the latter, presenting you with a twirling, swirling world that unfurls as you pass, like a blooming flower on MDMA. Tasked with reaching the summit of a psychedelic mountain,…