Game Poems (ft. Every Day the Same Dream and Under a Star Called Sun)

In this atypical episode of Pixelated Playgrounds Josh and Bryan talk through a couple of “Game Poems”. A “Game Poem” (as defined by Josh) is “An experimental/artsy/short game or some combination therein. A game that the player can play once, for five or thirty minutes, and experience a distinct sort of message." Two such games are Every Day the Same Dream, released in 2009 by Molleindustria and Every Day the Same Dream released in 2020 by Cecile Richard. Every Day the Same Dream bills itself as a game about alienation and refusal of labour, while Under A Star Called Sun is described as a sci-fi bitsy game about grieving, holding on to fading memories, and carrying the world on your shoulders. Both are able to be played in 5-10 minutes or less and are readily available online, so if you’ve ever been wary to listen because of our spoiler policy, now is the time to subvert it!Bryan and Josh also take a tangent into the history of browser games and reminisce a bit on some of their favorites, so boot up your ancient laptop that still has a running version of Flash and listen in to this episode on Game Poems!Show Notes:Every Day the Same DreamUnder A Star Called SunMolleindustriaThe Actor and the Audience by Josh GaleckiI Am Sitting in a Room by Alvin LucierThree Word Reviews:Under A Star Called SunBryan - Smelling Digital RosesJosh - Actor and AudienceEvery Day The Same DreamBryan - Potent Fading MemoryJosh - Treachery of Memory