Alien Flora games: Orchids to Dusk
[su_animate type=“fadeInUp” delay=“1”]From the 12th to the 14th May (i.e. this Thursday to Saturday) I am putting on a small exhibition of art games at the Buzz gallery in Rotherham for three days. It’s an informal little installation that I’m doing thanks to Rotherham Open Arts Renaissance, which has made some town-centre space available to members for short residency-like activities. One of the games I’m showing is Orchids to Dusk by Pol Clarissou. [/su_animate]
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Orchids to Dusk feels at first like a game about pushing ahead and exploring terrain. But gradually you come to realise that it is about giving in and letting yourself just be. It is about mortality, but not about loss. Instead, death is part of the creative process.
The alien world of Orchids to Dusk is lush and vibrant, but it is also an uninhabitable wilderness. Brightly-coloured matter dances and twirls beautifully, but only if you learn to sit quietly and take it in. Can you learn to just be where you are, in peaceful acceptance?
One of the things I most love about this game is the subtle “multiplayer” possibilities. Only after close examination do you realise that you are sharing this world with others. This is a lonely place, quietly humming with voiceless music, and it seems you will never meet eyes with the other people who walk within it.