Articles

Exclusive
Hands-On Preview | Additional
Screenshots

Regarding gaming genres, it’s easy to draw a distinction between Adventure
and Action. However, there are sub-genres within Adventure upon which
gamers base their preferences.

Over the years some game
reviewers have used “Myst-clone” as a description to quickly
dismiss a game. At the same time Myst stands as a high point in game
development and defines a sub-genre within Adventure.

Slip Space: The Burma-Shave
Analogy is definitely Myst-like and is of that sub-genre as I interpret
it. Understanding that, some gamers will be repelled from it while
others will be drawn to it. Allow me to describe my interpretation
as I compare and contrast my game to Myst.

In
this sub-genre, the player, as oneself, is immersed into a universe
and experiences it mainly through non-linear exploration. As such,
the story is not spoon-fed to the player but is there for discovery.
One is not encountering characters in a linear series of scenes that
forward the story through dialog trees.

The environments are central
to the story as much as for how they came to be as for how one transports
to them. Puzzles are mechanical rather than inventory based. They
integrate into the story since they generally represent security systems
designed to hold off the player. Thus, the story progresses as the
player breaks through these systems. Further, this implies that the
player is an investigator or infiltrator acting against one party
on behalf of another.

In
Myst, the story, protagonist, and antagonists emerged from the concept
of Linking-Book technology and the resulting ability to transport
to the Age created by the content of such a book. This created a very
flexible device for the Myst developers. A Myst Age could be pretty
much whatever they wanted it to be as long as it was consistent with
the fantasy vibe that defined the Myst style.

In Slip Space, you are
“you” and are subject to visual and aural hallucinations
thanks to a brain device implanted by the Strategic Intelligence Alliance
(SIA). Your mission sends you after a master of time manipulation,
Webster Wotsletter, and his five sons. Due to the implant, both the
SIA and the Wotsletters can communicate to you. Further, the implant
makes it possible for you to experience the perceptual alteration
of time known as Slip Space.

Much
like the Linking-Book concept, Slip-Space technology provided me with
a flexible device for imagining game environments. My game uses a
hub-and-spoke structure similar to all Myst installments other than
Riven. Game play starts at the spoke that represents our universe
and then proceeds to the hub, a location within the alternate Slip-Space
universe known as the Shave.

As suggested above, the
puzzles are essentially security systems. In many cases the puzzle
fills the environment. A workable approach to solving one is to recognize
that you are inside it, identify the components, observe the results
of the controls and follow the time-tested adage “The solution
to the problem is the problem”.

As
a literary genre Myst is Fantasy whereas Slip Space is Science Fiction.
In Myst the story is developed in part through journals that the player
reads both for story and puzzle clues. In Slip Space, the communications-via-hallucinations
promote the story. The puzzles are slightly more self contained and
do not require clues beyond those provided in the environment.

Understand I’m not saying
that Slip Space: The Burma-Shave Analogy is a homage to Myst. It isn’t.
But Myst is the game that defined the sub-genre I sought to emulate.
Other games that employ this sub-genre include Rhem and Alida. Nor
is Myst the only game that influenced me as a developer. Puzzle-wise
I admire Detalion, the company that developed Schizm.

Understand also that I’m
not suggesting this sub-genre is superior to the other approaches
to Adventure-Game development. It is simply my preference.

Beyond
the elements described above, there are virtues that transcend genre.
A game should be immersive, a state-of-mind that the player reaches
once they’ve bought into the premise, gotten comfortable with the
interface and essentially forgotten that they are sitting in front
of a screen playing a game. A game should be rewarding. The puzzles,
whether difficult or easy, should be logical and solving them should
result in a payoff. In Slip Space, the payoffs are twofold: the player
gains access to additional locations, and further layers of the story
are developed through cut-scenes.

The Slip-Space story is
open ended. As the player learns about the SIA and the Wotsletters,
some questions are answered but many more are posed. Even the identity
of the protagonist is slightly ambiguous. A they-all-live-happily-ever-after
ending is a bit of an illusion. It’s only true until reality enters
in and sets up the premise for the sequel.

Installment
1 | Installment
2