Those whom know me, know I love a one man band game. Thirty Flights of Loving is Brendon Chung’s ode to story telling by ripping out almost any gameplay mechanics and presenting you with an utterly linear, whirlwind tour of a short story.
It takes about 10-15 minutes tops to get through. It has no narrative, no voice over, no real text to speak of – its just the occasional music and what you see on screen. I imagine that it’s here to remind people that actually we can tell a story through the medium of gaming in a variety of ways but whilst I enjoyed it, it felt a bit like someone had also ripped the heart out of it too. There’s some genuine comedy to be had and that’s a bold statement. Comedy in gaming? A rarity that! I will say though that it didn’t strike an emotional level with me as say Dear Esther did, nor intrigue like Trauma. I certainly found it more interesting and invigorating that Dinner Date however!
Positives
~Excellent use of jump cuts and film making camera techniques
~Genuine tongue in cheek humour goes down well
Negatives
~Overpriced for the experience it provides
Conclusion
Essentially a ten minute tech demo/story hybrid that’s trying to show new ways of borrowing from the film industry to improve games. It’s difficult to recommend this because for the majority of people, the point will be utterly missed. Perhaps that really is the point.