The Slow Game Jam was a game jam that challenged developers to make a slow game. The jam website explains this concept well - “Slow games are about getting away from instant gratification and letting things develop and mature without haste. Through this slow games hope to give players a more rewarding and less superficial gameplay experience.” I was able to play and record all of the games entered into this jam in my video compilation series. Below are a few of my favorites, in no particular order.

Seven Doorways is a beautiful exploration game that has you wandering around different environments, interacting with your staff. Your world contains floating wisps of light. You can make your way towards these wisps and use your staff to magically activate them. They will then turn into stone towers, which will stand in the landscape, towering above you.

Seven Doorways doesn’t have an exact goal, like most games from this jam, so you can just explore around until you feel that you have had enough of the wonderful environment, then you can close it down and open it up the next time you spy it on your desktop. Their might be a new environment to explore, or a new and beautiful area to sink some time into, before you close it down and come back again.

The Pokisfiori Museum Installation is an interesting digital museum that you can explore. You start off in a fairly dark world, with small rectangles of colorful light attracting you towards them. You can step into these shapes, seeing the world inside. Each of these small worlds are exhibitions - a little piece of art for you to explore and look around. They all have their own sounds and music that go along with them, providing a full, wonderful experience.

All of these different exhibitions are very unique. Some are floating vegetables, others large microphones, and some are beautiful bits of grass and mushrooms. Exploring the main hall these works of art are located on can be slightly confusing. Sometimes you will not be able to see the different colored shapes on the wall that you can dip into, so take your time exploring the ones you can see before moving onto another one.

Hate This Game - Not is a very simple looking game that holds some mystery. You are a stick figure, who is placed in a black and white world. This game seems to be a sequel to the game Hate This Game by the same developer. I Hate This Game also seems to be on a similar route, but a bit more fleshed out than Hate this Game.

Anyway, in this version, you are not hating the game. Instead, you are looking to discover a way to enjoy the game. You are able to explore the world and add some color as well as figure out the mystery use of the escape key. This game looks small, but it has a really nice story and a little world to explore.

Chill and Chart is a relaxing exploration game where you are in charge of creating a map of an uncharted island. You are a royal cartographer who has been tasked with making a map of the island you have landed on. You can do this by exploring around and drawing what you come across, to document this part of the world for others to enjoy.

You can draw by switching to the map mode, which will show you the paper you are working with as well as a few different colors you can draw with. The island has mountains, sand, forests, and water - all of which you can document on the map. You can even name the island and erase any mistakes you make on it. Exploring around the island is pretty nice to do - so make sure you see enough of it before you start drawing!

Small Circles Round My Head is a slightly unsettling game that has you peering inside someone’s head. You see a person sitting in their room - a wheel spinning quickly over their head. You must be patient enough to unwind the wheel. As you unwind it, something starts appearing in the middle of the person’s lap. This thing will sink back below the ground if you let go, so you must be patient enough. and continue to turn it, to figure out who or what it is.

I found Small Circles Round My Head to be a deeply captivating game. I really wanted to see what this thing was and what it wanted, so I played it all the way until the end. It’s a short repetitive game, but seeing a little window into this person’s mind is worth it.

Utiler Canyon is a mysterious, relaxing walk through a strange land. You can explore around, seeing various beautiful and wondrous pieces of environment, collecting gems, and talking to other locals. These locals all have something to say, which you can take if you’d like.

You can also just collect colored gems that will appear elsewhere on the map around a stone, or just follow the sounds you like and see if they take you to an interesting object. Utiler Canyon is a fun game to explore - turning corners and seeing bright blue tall grass or hidden caves with large white cubes by them or interacting with an all knowing person - each aspect of this world is simply well made and interesting.

#slowgame #SevenDoorways #ThePokisfioriMuseumInstallation #HateThisGameNot #ChillAndChart #SmallCirclesRoundMyHead #UtilerCanyon