Submissions
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How Deep Is the Dark Water? (乌水有多深？)
How Deep Is the Dark Water? (乌水有多深？)
by Rhett Tsai (蔡宇潇)
How Deep Is the Dark Water? (乌水有多深？)
by Rhett Tsai (蔡宇潇)
Country:
China
Genre:
Artgame, Experimental, Walking Simulator, Anti-war, Alternate History, Story Rich
Platform:
PC
Links:
"How Deep Is the Dark Water?" (乌水有多深？) is an experimental game that imagines a cross-strait war. The player, guided by a fleeing man, slowly wanders through memories and visions constructed by the context of the war and individual experiences. From historic dwellings to steam trains carrying displaced people, from bomb shelters filled with fear and violence to burned cultural traditions, from confrontations with the ghosts of refugees under the water to the emotional orgy of social media, what is always present in this game is the back of the fleeing man who represents a helpless individual and an object that cannot be possessed or perceived clearly. As a response to the tensions in the world, this work does not directly portray war, but tries to let the player feel the separation, fear, violence and trauma of war in the process of chasing the fleeing man. “How Deep Is the Dark Water?” creates an interactive scenario that allows the player to read text (or short poems) hidden in the game space, by using the right mouse button to zoom in on an object, look away, and in some cases, to see the text superimposed on the object. The texts are the weak repercussions that lurk beneath the surface of historical events.