NaissanceE
Storytelling Reinvention:
uses the affordances of virtual reality in order to convey an immersive story that the player must interpret from the surrounding environment
Game Information
Release Date: February 13th, 2014
Developer: Limasse Five
Publisher: Limasse Five
Rating: Everyone
Genre(s): Exploratory, Metaphorical, Strategy, Virtual Reality
Price: $14.99
Website: http://www.naissancee.com
NaissanceE is a first-person exploration game developed for the PC using the Unreal Development Kit –– the free version of the Unreal Engine 3 –– by Limasse Five. This game creates an incredibly innovative play experience with several unique artistic devices, such as the game's visual world, light, and sound.
NaissanceE takes place in an almost M.C. Escher-like geometric world where the player is lead along a linear path though its depths using the gloomy light of floating orbs that illuminate the pitch black depths, allowing player progress. Along the way, the player finds machines, moving blocks, and seemingly living cube-like entities. Throughout this entire journey into the seemingly endless somber labyrinth of lights and shapes, the player is engrossed in ambient and ominous sound-experience created in collaboration by three world-renown musician/artists Pauline Oliveros, Patricia Dallio and Thierry Zaboitzeff (1).
This game revolutionizes storytelling because it compels the player to delve deeper and deeper into its incredibly immersive experience via beautiful visuals and amazing sounds, while also challenging the player with puzzles and quick paced trial-and-error tasks. There are no dialogue or characters to drive the narrative––the only thing that compels the player is the her or his own curiosity to explore NaissanceE's Stygian world.
References:
1. "NaissanceE." NaissanceE. Limasse Five. n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2016. <http://www.naissancee.com/>
Researcher: Bernd Hoffman