Saturday Edition no es un juego particularmente original, especialmente para el entorno de Playdate, pero eso no le impide ser uno de mis preferidos. Como aventura gráfica, este juego adopta el estilo de una historia cotidiana como la de Zack McKracken para narrar una experiencia de aislamiento, paranoia e incomprensión. A lo largo de los días que componen la semana de este relato, se nos invita a habitar el espacio vital y emocional de un abducido que se sabe incomprendido por la sociedad, pero que al mismo tiempo desconfía de sus propios recuerdos. Como hacen las mejores historias (de las que no hay tantas, por desgracia) de abducciones, Saturday Edition abandona las teorías de conspiración y prefiere centrarse en las secuelas emocionales que una experiencia así podría provocar en un individuo o una sociedad. Para enfatizar este punto, el juego te invita a participar en un sencillo pero significativo juego de confianza: ¿Te fías de que la prensa vaya a ofrecer una versión de los hechos que empatice con tu experiencia personal? ¿La motivación de la policía es proteger a los ciudadanos o guardar la ilusión de un orden social inexistente? ¿Te llevas bien con tus compañeres de trabajo, o la relación que estás teniendo con la vendedora de rocas mágicas es la más significativa que has tenido en años? Todo ello se ve atemperado por un ritmo lento y pausado que casi te invita a jugar también durante la semana, guardándote de empacharte con la historia.
Saturday Edition es el tipo de juego que desearía que tuviera más reconocimiento, si no ya dentro del limitado ámbito de Playdate, cuanto menos fuera de él.
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Saturday Edition is not a particularly original game, especially for the Playdate, but that doesn't stop it from being one of my favorites. As an adventure game, it adopts the narrative of a jaded everyman like Zack McKracken's, and uses that to tell a tale of isolation, paranoia and absence. Throughout the days that make up the week, we are invited to inhabit the vital and emotional space of an abductee who feels misunderstood by society, but who is at the same time distrustful of his own memories. As the best stories of abductions (which aren't that many to being with) tend to do, Saturday Edition avoids falling into conspiracy rabbit holes and focuses on the emotional aftermath that such an experience would have on an individual or a group. To emphasize this point, the game invites you to participate in a simple but meaningful game of confidence: Do you trust the press to offer an empathetic version of the events? Does the police want to protect its citizens, or does it merely want to maintain the illusion of a social order? Do you really get along with your co-workers, or is the relationship you're having with the magic rock saleswoman more meaningful than anything you've had in years? All of this is tempered by a slow, leisurely pace that almost invites you to play during the week as well, keeping you from getting bogged down.
Saturday Edition is the kind of game I wish had more recognition, if not at the very least within the limited scope of Playdate, but also outside of it.
Saturday Edition es el tipo de juego que desearía que tuviera más reconocimiento, si no ya dentro del limitado ámbito de Playdate, cuanto menos fuera de él.
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Saturday Edition is not a particularly original game, especially for the Playdate, but that doesn't stop it from being one of my favorites. As an adventure game, it adopts the narrative of a jaded everyman like Zack McKracken's, and uses that to tell a tale of isolation, paranoia and absence. Throughout the days that make up the week, we are invited to inhabit the vital and emotional space of an abductee who feels misunderstood by society, but who is at the same time distrustful of his own memories. As the best stories of abductions (which aren't that many to being with) tend to do, Saturday Edition avoids falling into conspiracy rabbit holes and focuses on the emotional aftermath that such an experience would have on an individual or a group. To emphasize this point, the game invites you to participate in a simple but meaningful game of confidence: Do you trust the press to offer an empathetic version of the events? Does the police want to protect its citizens, or does it merely want to maintain the illusion of a social order? Do you really get along with your co-workers, or is the relationship you're having with the magic rock saleswoman more meaningful than anything you've had in years? All of this is tempered by a slow, leisurely pace that almost invites you to play during the week as well, keeping you from getting bogged down.
Saturday Edition is the kind of game I wish had more recognition, if not at the very least within the limited scope of Playdate, but also outside of it.