Every Day the Same Dream

Link to Game

Get up, go to work, go to bed, get up, go to work, go to bed, get up, go to work, go to bed, get up, go to work, go to bed, get up, go to work, go to bed...

Its going to be one of those games.

While I've mentioned that art games can be nothing more than the polish one puts on a turd, a 'true' art game is suppose to demonstrate that interactive media is capable of high art.  Now, my opinion on whether or not this is a game worth your time is irrelevant because Extra Credit beat me to the punch, and who am I to argue with Daniel Floyd?

Seriously, how?

So, anyways, back to Every Day the Same Dream.  Everyone get your razor blades, its one of those games.

By that I mean that, in honour of the Ture Art is Angsty, this has all that any aspiring art game has: its in black and white, its bleak, it does not have a happy ending, and it involves someone losing themselves one way or another.

So, you're this dude.

In your little appartment.  You have a bitch for a wife.

Everyday you must commute to work

At the cubicle farm.

For your boss the jerk.

Yes, it is going to be one of those games.  For gameplay involves walking around from point A to point B, wash rinse repeat... just like real life if you think about it, all while the depressing music plays on in the background.  Course, there is more to it than that, else the Extra Credit crew wouldn't have bothered to mention it.

I mean, there's this:

To translate there are five things you can do at certain points of this routine to make the day different.  Each make the day different in their own awesome way.

Now, this is definitely a 'true' art game, and not a pretentious douche with access to Adobe Flash.  However, I think we all know that this is a game worth at least one peek, so, let me discuss the darker implementation of this game.

First of all this game scares me.  It really does.

You see, I bet there are many of you reading this now who feel that their life is like Every Day the Same Dream?  Everyday is the same boring routine with no end in sight, over and over again.  Now, the thing that gets me is that when I finally finish my schooling and end up out in the world of work the life of the protagonist is the life that I look forward to leading.

Does this scare anyone else?  Is anyone else reminded of their futile life if this is your reality?

Now, for more details.

This one's more fitting to subject matter than the one I usually use.  Yeah, spoiler time.

Ok, so I think that the game is documenting the demise of the protagonist.

How, do the changes in a certain order... it will all make sense.

I mean, check out that brown leaf at the entrance to the work building.  The player, and therefore the protagonist likely noticed that the colour was out of place.

Next the guy gets stuck in traffic and walks out of his car to find a cow.  Only interesting thing to happen to him that day.

It gets to him, so he shows up to work naked!  His boss was not impressed.

Now jobless he goes for a walk downtown where he talks to a hobo, who shows him to a quiet place:

So the protagonist takes the last step: hurls himself from a tall building to his demise.

The interesting thing is, if you notice, at every step the chart at work keeps taking a nose-dive?  Then, when all the steps are taken the company goes out of business?  Something is being symbolized here.

Really, the only escape from the dull waste that is life might be suicide.  The harsh reality is that this is life for some of us... I know it will be for me once I get my BA and be working for some tech firm.  It gets hard to be excited about life when you know this is all you can aspire to.

That is what the game is showcasing ultimately.  Is the only way out death?  I don't know, though it feels like it a lot of the time.  Course, I don't want to endorse suicide, but if there is another option I am open to it.