“Guru Meditation” is an iPhone/Atari 2600 game from mid-2009 that you probably haven’t heard of, and as far as I know it’s the kind of indie-art game that people point to as being “unfun” and “pretentious.” While I can see the “unfun,” I can’t really see the pretension. Made by Ian Bogost, the game appears to be a commentary and an homage about/to games that attempt to be relaxing, but can be unintentionally stressful. A good example of this is thatgamecompany’s “Cloud,” their first release, which is supposedly relaxing, but I found hair shreddingly difficult. The other item that the game is meant to refer to is the Atari’s balance board peripheral, a sloppy early implementation of what would later become the Wii Fit Board.
It’s interesting to see a game that intentionally comments upon the art form, and the game is extremely successful in its efforts to be incredibly annoying yet look like it should be calming. You hold the iPhone with both thumbs pressed down on two corners while maintaining a completely flat position and the slightest movement leads to failure, then it times you to see how long you last. Couldn’t go 30 seconds…think my record is 29.
For 99 cents I’m not disappointed. And it hasn’t stopped me from being intruiged by Bogost’s next project.
However, I would like to quickly address the idea of “fun” being an essential element to video games. “Unfun” games have frequently been called out for not being immersive enough, the problem I have with these statements is that they act as counter productive nay-saying. Bad design tends to be the true Achilles’s Heel of gaming, while one has a hard time calling “Silent Hill 2″ a fun way to spend the evening. Fun is for toys. Interesting, deep, and meaningful are words I tend to look for to describe my games. While “Guru Meditation” is interesting, I can’t advice people from the Kill Zone crowd to jump on it. It’s designed almost for academic reasons, as an exploration of old mechanics and certain philosophies within the medium, like one would study Joyce, Chekhov, or Fellini – their works aren’t “fun” but they need examination to understand their mediums. This is why “fun” doesn’t work as a selling point for all art: Fun things don’t usually make us think, they often prevent thought. I don’t say this to decry fun games, just to say that there is more to life.
“Guru Meditation” is probably the most recent game out for Atari 2600 to be released, it is also for the iPhone and iPod Touch, though I wouldn’t recommend purchasing it unless you are familiar with and enjoy the works of Ian Bogost.
Thanks for this nice piece. Just a few comments and clarifications.
First, the balance board-type peripheral to which the game pays homage was made by Amiga, before they got into the computer biz. It’s not exactly fair to call it sloppy, but it certainly was simple. One of the reasons I made the game (a minor reason, but a reason nevertheless) was because nobody seemed interested in or aware of the history of controllers like this when Wii Fit came out.
Second, about the sensitivity of the iPhone version. There is a setting (accessible from the main Settings app) that allows you to adjust this. It’s always somewhat sensitive, but it turns out that different devices have different accelerometer sensitivities, so you may want to experiment with the slider to suit your taste.
Finally, about the balance between annoying/calming and earnest/meta: it seems that different folks have different reactions to the game. Some find it legitimately relaxing (some give it to their young kids; apparently this is really effective at getting toddlers to be quiet for a short while). Others see it more for its commentary on games and game design. I’m happy with any of these reactions and more, and gratified to see that such a simple-seeming work can support a multitude of reactions.
Thanks again.
I feel like I should probably apologize to you. My original intent in the article was to put up a more insightful opinion on the game, but I wrote it fairly late after a long day and (upon rereading) it feels like more of a rant, which it was never intended to be.
I personally found the game more of a meta reaction to other works, but I was planning (and still am actually) to show it to a friend of mine who’s into meditation and relaxation exercises to see what he thought. I think it would be really interesting to hear the opinion of someone who finds it more relaxing than I had.
No need! Your piece was fair and thoughtful. I simply thought to add a few comments. Thanks!