Every Day The Same Dream (Discussion)

RopeDrink

I enjoy games... And movies... I really do, more than some will know - Though despite that I never make space in my head to think about any of them all too much once I finished them - Todays been a little different, suprisingly for me... :eek:

It may be because I've not slept 17hrs but having just checked out the daily Top 5 NewGrounds Flash Submissions, I clicked todays #1 Game called "Every Day The Same Dream" and for the life of me I can't get it out of my head at the moment.

To put it bluntly, calling it a game is stretching it a bit - It's more like an indie, artsy interactive story about 'breaking the mould of monotony' and I must say the first time I completed it, it creeped the hell out of me (in a satisfying way) on a mental level.

I searched to see if there were alternate endings or something I missed but it seems highly unlikely, making it almost definately an open ended thing, and so many people have such varied views and opinions on what it all means.

I don't think this is something that'll remain on my curiosity list for more than an hour but I do feel that some people may get a little satisfaction (or bleak dissapointment) but it could warrant a nice discussion about it.

It's most DEFINATELY not for everyone but I think for something that took 6 days to make, it has a lot of creepy charm and power to it.

I don't think it's particularly hard to figure out what one has to do in the game but I will throw in a few hints for those who may struggle if need be... I strongly suggest you try to figure it all out for yourself, however - It only took me 4-5 runs to crack it on the first go. Most of what can be done is pretty obvious.

I'd be curious to see just how many people actually solve it and see what their interpretation is.

Maybe it was just the fact that some people out there over countless other websites had far trippier speculations of it all but this game really stuck in my head this morning. I find the music loop oddly inspiring as well.

I'm wondering if there are any other games of this ilke out there.

Myrddin

Just ran through it there, good little concept, has a bleak feel to it alright.

johnny_ultimate

It's a fun little game alright, once you get past the initial realization that you can 'change' how it progresses it's easy enough to figure out the different possibilities. It's brief so definitely worth playing through for anyone who hasn't. It's an interesting attempt to tell a story through a very simple gameplay mechanic, in which what you do impacts upon how a particular day plays out. Compelling and probably more complex storytelling than the vast majority of regular retail games! Some of the 'endings' to the day certainly hit pretty hard.

If you liked it, check out the work of Jason Rohrer:
Passage
Gravitation
And more here

His latest 'game' - although that is meant to be stretching it as a description - 'Sleep is Death' is meant to be fascinating but haven't got around to it yet.

phlegms

I liked it. Had a grand oul' time listening to the music, it's quite lovely.

Myrddin

RopeDrink wrote: »

Did you complete it? Just curious...

Regarding the end, it's no suprise to me how X people have branded it depressing while Y calls it very inspirational and uplifting.

Still curious to get people's take on the very simple story

Yep completed it in about 6 game days I think. Id neither call it depressing nor uplifting, sort of a weird in between. More games are needed like this, that break the mold of point, aim & shoot.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

it's like an homage to reginald perrin, but not good at all in any way

maybe you have to be an arts student to 'get' it

Star Lord

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

His latest 'game' - although that is meant to be stretching it as a description - 'Sleep is Death' is meant to be fascinating but haven't got around to it yet.

I've got it, but am not quite sure what to make of it, it's... unusual.

Myrddin

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar wrote: »

but not good at all in any way

maybe you have to be an arts student to 'get' it

Im certainly no art student, but I can appreciate it because it gave me ten minutes of thinking outside the box. Im not sure I fully "get it" yet myself, but if there arnt enough explosions in it for you, COD Black Ops isnt too far away.

Placebo

good find rope
its just like my life,
Nine to Five misery

ground hog day

Fnz

"Sh1t be depressing, suicide is an option."

Myrddin

Fnz wrote: »

"Sh1t be depressing, suicide is an option."

Alt

Everyone has the power to change things

Placebo

Fnz wrote: »

"Sh1t be depressing, suicide is an option."

EnterNow wrote: »

Alt

Everyone has the power to change things

Alt Alt

always wear your PANTS

calex71

Took me ages to to figure out the last step,

press space to get out of the car

:mad:

I liked it, kind of reminded me of those old russian cartoons, I don't think it needs any kind of deep thinking about it though, it was very contrived.

Nice music too.

johnny_ultimate

Placebo wrote: »

Alt Alt

always wear your PANTS

http://www.kongregate.com/games/Rete/dont-****-your-pants

Replace **** with the 's' word in the url. Frickin' swear filter. Also kind of NSFW

Banjo Fella

Great game, loved the music and the minimalist art style.

I found the ending depressing rather than uplifting. Every day is exactly the same, other than the occasional moment where you reach out to somebody or some part of nature. That was presumably part of what the developer was thinking about, as the leaf, the cow, etc are the only objects with any colour. With every possibility in life pursued, you have nothing left other than contemplating your death, and the death of everybody you ever knew.

I can see how you can interpret it in a positive sense too, though. Initially it seems like you have no choices - you have to get dressed, drive, go to work. Then you start to see the other options, and the little splashes of colour! It could be telling you to break out of your rut and enjoy the things you want to do with your life.

Zero-Cool

I found it uplifting anyway, might have had to do with the nice music though. Strange ending. Are you

watching yourself jump?

I was in my jocks so wasn't sure.

Zero-Cool

I noticed the graph go down and down. I like the theory that the company went bankrupt,

your wife left you and all your colleagues jumped off the roof (you witnessing the last of them)

It seemed that you were always moving left to right and when there was no more work to be done, everyone just kept moving right which led them to the roof.

Whats the deal with the homeless man showing you the cemetery?

skelliser

what was the

significance of the pedestrian crossing always being red.

Fnz

sheehy83 wrote: »

I found it uplifting anyway, might have had to do with the nice music though. Strange ending. Are you

watching yourself jump?

I was in my jocks so wasn't sure.

Totally open to interpretation - could pretty much be any mix of the following

people watching/jumping:

[1]Yourself
[2]Co-worker
[3]Second-last person alive

... or none of the above.


Music is great - made it seem as though my character was striding forth with purpose, at times.

Skerries

Cherche la vache!

Sisko

I'm not going to use spoiler tags as anyone who's not beaten the game wouldn't/shouldn't be reading this far...


If you have, this is your warning.^

I really enjoyed the game, it represents what I fear from life, ending up in a dreary , soul sucking job where your life just seems to become meaningless.

My character killed himself many times

1st thing I did was sit down and work

2nd was suicide

3rd getting fired

4th was finding the homeless man.

5th petting the cow

and finally the leaf on the tree.

I tried waiting at the stop sign for a bit to see if it would turn green.
I guess I was hoping for something a little more from the ending, almost .... an answer , but it fit the whole theme.
I see it as him watching himself die as that's all he's doing in the job, instead of watching himself live.
Maybe this is his dream of which he wakes and decides to quit his job and do something else with his life.

Thanks for posting this ropedrink, I don't check newgrounds enough.

SeantheMan

Where did my wife go ?!!

Back in the Kitchenz and keep makin dem Eggz woman !!!...

I don't know what to make of it. It honestly didn't touch me on any sort of level, intellectual or emotional.

Better than MW2 though

James Howlett

Okay this was my first impression:

It's an anti-suicide message.
Life may be the same boring thing everyday but at least you have people to share it with.
If you kill yourself all you have left is the same monotony but you have to experience it alone.

Bit of optimism eh?

SeantheMan

How/Why are peoples opinions listed as spoilers..when the below isnt..and lists EVERYTHING need to *complete* the game ?

Sisko wrote: »

I'm not going to use spoiler tags as anyone who's not beaten the game wouldn't/shouldn't be reading this far...


If you have, this is your warning.^

I really enjoyed the game, it represents what I fear from life, ending up in a dreary , soul sucking job where your life just seems to become meaningless.

My character killed himself many times

1st thing I did was sit down and work

2nd was suicide

3rd getting fired

4th was finding the homeless man.

5th petting the cow

and finally the leaf on the tree.

I tried waiting at the stop sign for a bit to see if it would turn green.
I guess I was hoping for something a little more from the ending, almost .... an answer , but it fit the whole theme.
I see it as him watching himself die as that's all he's doing in the job, instead of watching himself live.
Maybe this is his dream of which he wakes and decides to quit his job and do something else with his life.

Thanks for posting this ropedrink, I don't check newgrounds enough.

Fnz

SeantheMan wrote: »

How/Why are peoples opinions listed as spoilers..when the below isnt..and lists EVERYTHING need to *complete* the game ?

Listed as spoilers to prevent anyone's experience with the game being influenced by others. People are looking to share the 'message' they derive from the game or question whether the game deserves it's 'deep-thinking' status.

Sisko, is just lazy.

C.D.

My interpretation was that life is monotony with brief moments of escapism which are ultimately futile- in the end there is nobody and you die alone

I think I'm definitely one of the ones who took it to be something depressing. Perhaps I will pick up a leaf later.

cherryghost

I felt the isolation as soon as I walked into the kitchen for the final time, with the wife not being there. Kinda affected me in a way I suppose.

It had a very surreal ending to it. Not as if the wife left and the company went out of business, but almost as if humanity itself was wiped off the face of the earth. The final guy jumping off the building was committing suicide for a reason that's beyond my thoughts though. As if it's a reaction to the near wipeout of humanity.

Just my 2 cents

Myrddin

cherryghost wrote: »

I felt the isolation as soon as I walked into the kitchen for the final time, with the wife not being there. Kinda affected me in a way I suppose.

It had a very surreal ending to it. Not as if the wife left and the company went out of business, but almost as if humanity itself was wiped off the face of the earth. The final guy jumping off the building was committing suicide for a reason that's beyond my thoughts though. As if it's a reaction to the near wipeout of humanity.

Just my 2 cents

Have to say, thats near enough dead on with what I thought the first time I reached that particular point in the game.

thewheel2.0

cherryghost wrote: »

I felt the isolation as soon as I walked into the kitchen for the final time, with the wife not being there. Kinda affected me in a way I suppose.

It had a very surreal ending to it. Not as if the wife left and the company went out of business, but almost as if humanity itself was wiped off the face of the earth. The final guy jumping off the building was committing suicide for a reason that's beyond my thoughts though. As if it's a reaction to the near wipeout of humanity.

Just my 2 cents

Yeah I felt the same way as if every human on earth was dead. It was a very isolation feeling alright!

Colm!

My interpretation:

The "dream" is actually a recurring reality. Different workers leading the exact same lives went to jump off the building. At the end, you, about to do the same, see someone else living the last part of the "dream".