KNYTT Stories

I have long held the belief that PCs are not for games. "If God had meant us to play games on a PC" I would say in my haughtiest tone, relishing the looks on the faces of the 5 or so people who were about vehemently disagree with me "He would have put joystick ports on them".

I have learned my lesson, by which I mean, in a shocking turn of events, my facetious comments weren't, in the strictest terms, truth. It is not the compulsive charm of a game in which I click on things and tweek numbers that has brought about this transformation (these are the kinds of games *they* like to play), but the plethora of awesome, shining hand crafted nuggets of burning spirit real people (by which I mean, largely, ones who don't make games for a living) give away for free on their webs. Watch the intro for Dwarf Fortress. If you are not freaking out and partying at this point, the doctor suggests you may be dead inside.

KNYTT, the original version, is one of these games. It's "best" described as a 2D exploration focused ICO, if ICO had been made by Hudson in 1991. It's meandering, goal-less, a bit confusing, and engrossing. The author has just released KNYTT stories, which uses the same engine to tell more focussed, level-like "stories", 5 of which are available from the website. I've yet to play it, but I suspect it's a real treat. Go on, give it a try yourself. This will be on the test.

http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php?main=02Knytt_Stories