Photos courtesy of "Indie Game: The Movie."Blindingly bright, a simple, highly pixelated fez falls from the heavens, landing gracefully (amid twinkles) atop a cute, white humanoid’s head. A sudden release of hot pink beams ensues, highlighting protagonist Gomez’s, elation. Gifted with the ability to see the third dimension in a two-dimensional, computer-based world, Gomez immediately begins investigating. Suddenly, tragedy strikes in the form of a glitch.
The animation at the beginning of "Fez," available on Xbox 360, PC, Mac and the Playstation Network, tells the story of Gomez’s quest to save his universe and demonstrates creator Phil Fish’s astounding talent in pixel art. He uses this art form in order to create a relaxing, calm atmosphere in Fez. The most jolting part by far had to be the “glitches” players experience as Gomez accidentally corrupts his world by introducing an entirely new dimension. With pixelated shapes and letters of sporadically shifting colors, the player is transported back to the home screen, creating a scary hoax that players have to start the game over. This greatly contrasts with "Fez’s" typical displays of constantly moving and shifting characters and backgrounds, that together create a beautiful, ever-changing visual environment. As time passes, the background changes from bright blue, to hues of red, orange and pink, to a final navy blue and purple to illustrate time as a whole.
I personally downloaded the game from Xbox Live Arcade and fell in love with the gameplay, which is unlike any I have ever experienced before. In order to find the different pieces of the universe, players must toggle between a four-sided realm, looking at each side in order to climb higher, find doors to other places or reach different platforms. This forces players to literally think outside the box. They must investigate all sides of the environment in order to find the solution. In fact, they sometimes must physically switch between dimensions and perform actions simultaneously in order to reach necessary destinations.
The pieces of the universe, each one square side of an 8-sided cube, are used to unlock levels and more places on the map of Gomez’s world. With 32 cubes in total, players must find 256 total squares in order to complete the game. However, each level wreaks more difficult challenges and puzzles in order to advance.
Further intensified by the game’s incredible soundtrack, the challenges are supported by differing tones of synth and background noise. Rich Vreeland, aka “Disasterpiece,” wrote and produced all 26 songs featured on Fez’s soundtrack. Vreeland uses 8-bit music reminiscent of the popular games of the 80s and 90s, and fuses past tactics and new techniques to produce a unique mood to each level of the game. Not the typical 8-bit tracks, the songs are complex layers of sounds and tones, often relaxing but sometimes shocking or frustrating, depending on which challenge the player is facing.
Each level is comprised of intricate three-dimensional art and a bubbly yet relaxing soundtrack. This creates an addictive but light gameplay that is perfect to unwind to after a stressful day.
After reviewing these three indie games, I have to state that "Fez" is definitely my favorite. The soundtrack is incredible and is the perfect thing to listen to while doing homework due to its lack of lyrics. The gameplay is fun and challenging yet oddly soothing; out of the three, I highly recommend taking a look at "Fez" to start your venture into the world of indie gaming.
Contact me at adersch@asu.edu or @AlexDersch with questions, suggestions or comments. The more communication I get from you the better Eye Candy will be. Thank you!
