Passage now passes time on iPhone

by Ross Miller { Dec 24th 2008 at 4:32PM }

We understand your position. You see no reason to pick up Jason Rohrer's Passage on iPhone (or iPod Touch), especially when (a) you don't "get it" and (b) they're charging 99 cents and it's still available for free on his website for PC, Mac and Linux. Art games aren't for everyone, but aspiring game designers take note: This game says more in 5 minutes and 100 x 16 pixels than most games do maxing out a DVD-ROM. If you're into that sort of thing, you might want to consider giving Passage your support (and a hard-earned George Washington at that).

[Via Braid Game]

Download -- Direct link (opens iTunes)

Tags: iphone, ipod-touch, itunes, jason-rohrer, passage, rohrer

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 24th 2008 4:52PM

I dunno, it sounds like Legend of Zelda for people who smoke and people who drink

Shmil @ Dec 24th 2008 4:56PM

tellem!

Ryoga Vee @ Dec 24th 2008 8:37PM

Solja Boy!

Rollins @ Dec 24th 2008 4:53PM

And just like with one of his other games, Gravitation, playing it made me feel depressed.

thanks joystiq. :(

Not that it isn't worth the five minutes, mind you. It most certainly is. Just not if you're having a good day. Heh.

Evan @ Dec 24th 2008 5:21PM

"Passage" really made me feel sad. The game really is deeper than the sum of its pixels, and kudos to it's creator for what he accomplished.

But, I'm still not going to buy it. It's the kind of game you can only play once or twice, which I have, so I don't feel any desire to buy it for my iPhone.

Gavin @ Dec 25th 2008 6:10PM

BULLSHIT....it isn't deep. You walk right and get old.

Big fucking deal.

Evan @ Dec 25th 2008 6:18PM

There's much more than walking right. The way it is compressed at the edges - on the right side it shows how we have less to look forward to as we age, and on the left side it shows how memories lose detail and are lost.

jackbauer @ Dec 24th 2008 5:35PM

there is no emoticon for how i'm feeling.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 24th 2008 5:42PM

Hate to make 2 separate full comments in 1 post, but since the tone is different (serious instead of me making fun of the "rapper" known as "Soulja Boy".)
*POSSIBLE MIND FUCK/SPOILERS AHEAD, READ WITH CAUTION*
This game is better than Braid (which isnt saying much for me, 'cause I hate Braid). Everything about it is a metaphor. When you start, you see your whole life ahead of you, even if it is a little blurry (representing the unknown). Getting married requires you to adjust your strategy of how to get past obstacles. When your about to die, you see all the areas of your past (represents looking back on your life). The way the characters change as you play (at first I was confused as to why they kept blurring every few seconds, then it became clear (no pun I swear)). But what really stopped me was how the game was mapped. Staying at the top removed all obstacles from your path, you were pretty much just holding down the right arrow. But, as you moved down, the maze got harder. Now, this was an obvious metaphor of how the lower you sink, the harder life gets, but it still merged story and gameplay together (something Mr. Blow could take notice of).

This was a true art game. Braid was not. Passage had a clear message that was interwoven with the gameplay, whereas Braid seemed more to be "Here's some random references, try and solve it". Not that there's anything wrong with that, but Braid seemed to use the fact its an art game as an excuse to have a vague story.

Uncontrol @ Dec 24th 2008 5:51PM

Shallow metaphors do not constitute something brilliant. I appreciate what this "game" is trying to do, but it's not exactly difficult to understand nor particularly compelling. If this was in any other media it would be shrugged off as unimportant, but because it's attempting to make art from games it's praised. Gamers are quick to pile praise onto any game with even the faintest ambition at being artistic.

Unfortunately, artistic in this case is making a vague point through some unbelievably simple metaphors with a very cynical view on life. There are many other truly artistic games out there. Ocarina of Time is more artistic than this. Final Fantasy IX is more artistic than this. Hell, most games are more artistic than this; they just aren't full of pretense like Passage is.

Passage is a horrendously overrated game and 99 cents on something so shallow would be wasted. Download it for free on your computer, see what it is, and never "play" it again.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 24th 2008 6:04PM

"Ocarina of Time is more artistic than this"

LOL WUT?

Dude, Im willing to take a bullet for OoT, but this game was WAY more artistic. If you said the story was told better in OoT, I'd agree, but that statement is ridiculous.

"but it's not exactly difficult to understand"

Don't tell me you're one of those people who played through Braid then debated what it was about on messages boards, those people annoy the hell out of me.

"Unfortunately, artistic in this case is making a vague point through some unbelievably simple metaphors with a very cynical view on life"

Now you better not have been one of those guys, because Congratulations! You just described Braid!

"Download it for free on your computer, see what it is, and never "play" it again."

well, at least you were able to find the point of making this game.

Uncontrol @ Dec 24th 2008 6:10PM

I've not played Braid.

I stand by my comment of Ocarina of Time being more artistic. Art doesn't have to be vague and cynical and full of pretense. Ocarina of Time was a beautiful game and lovingly crafted by the people who worked on it. At least, for me, I played Ocarina of Time as a young child and it touched me in a way that no game ever has. It opened up a world of magic to me and continues to do so every time I play it. Ocarina of Time did not have an amazing story; it was standard save the princess, fairy tale fare. What it did have was an amazing world that was thought-provoking and entertaining and, at the time, incredibly beautiful.

But this isn't a post to praise Ocarina of Time. I don't think OoT is the be-all, end-all of artistry in games (and arguably, Wind Waker was a far more "artistic" game than OoT). What it is is me explaining that Ocarina of Time was far more artistic than this shallow excuse for a game.

What does Passage have? The message of Passage is, "To get something you must sacrifice something else, and in the end you die! You don't know what's going to happen in the future but you sure can sort of remember the past." This is supposed to be deep? Aren't these just facts of life that ten year olds already understand? What's the revelation here?

Again, I think people were swift to lap praise onto this game simply because it's vague and seems to fit all our pre-determined notions of "artsiness", but when you examine Passage at its core, there is not a whole lot of substance present.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 24th 2008 6:31PM

"To get something you must sacrifice something else, and in the end you die! You don't know what's going to happen in the future but you sure can sort of remember the past." This is supposed to be deep?"

it is, its deceptively simple, but just try debating that statement in your mind for a few minutes. Then again, it might be that I'm the kind of guy who liked reading Plato and what not. Besides, if you wanna consider Metal Gear artistic, look at the "hidden" meaning in the original, NUKES ARE BAD. It wasnt subtle, it forced itself on you at times, and was probably better left out.

"What it did have was an amazing world that was thought-provoking and entertaining and, at the time, incredibly beautiful."

thought provoking? Unless we count puzzle solving, the last thing I'd consider OoT's story is thought provoking. Chrono Trigger was thought provoking, OoT was just well told and had NPCs I cared about (and Im assuming you did to).

"but when you examine Passage at its core, there is not a whole lot of substance present."

Theres your problem. Yesterday, I was in an argument over whether or not No More Heroes was a bad game. The other person brought up shallow combat, bland open world, and meaningless side jobs. Heres the thing, sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. No More Heroes showed this, and I feel Passage did as well.

Brandon @ Dec 24th 2008 6:34PM

Passage's brilliance isn't from what it's portraying, it's HOW its portraying it. It does it all within the the actual gameplay. There isn't any text in the game, besides the title. There aren't cut scenes giving you info on what's happening, or any sort of back story. A painting doesn't rely on anything but it's title and the picture itself to get it's message across, and this points out that maybe games shouldnt either.

I should also say that personally I'm a fan of all 3 games mentioned (OoT, Braid, and Passage), but it's hard to compare Passage to something like OoT. You spend 5 mins with Passage, you spend countless hours with OoT, you obviously arent going to get the same attachment to it.

"At least, for me, I played Ocarina of Time as a young child and it touched me in a way that no game ever has."

Super Mario Bros 3 did that for me too, but I wouldnt necessarily consider it to be any more artistic because of it. Don't underestimate the power of nostalgia.

Uncontrol @ Dec 24th 2008 6:43PM

Thanks for indulging me in a pretty interesting discussion, guys.

@ Moptimus: I never said anything about METAL GEAR ...

I do feel Ocarina of Time was thought provoking in a lot of ways. No, the story wasn't one of them. But you did truly care for NPCs (Majora's Mask did this better though), and your actions did have a clear impact on the world around you. And of course, the puzzles. :)

Chrono Trigger is an awesome game so I'm not going to disagree that it was thought-provoking, however, the beauty of its story came not from its observant nature but from its simplicity and fluidity.

@ Brandon: I'll agree that Passage's methodology for displaying its message is pretty clever, but it's hardly brilliant or worthy of the praise that's lavished upon it at its every mention.

I would also argue that Super Mario Bros. 3 was a pretty artistic game; the artwork and construction of the world was incredibly creative. Not all art is serious business!

Morisato @ Dec 24th 2008 6:52PM

@ Moptimus Slime

You're willing to take a bullet for OoT? I have an original copy sealed in original packaging that I'm ready to fire with a gun. It's yours if you stand in front of it. I suggest you place the thickest part of your body in front of it because if you stick just your hand in front of it, the bullet may penetrate and go straight through... damaging OoT.

Markez (Anti-Panda Death Murder Squadron) @ Dec 24th 2008 10:51PM

This "game" blows, it's a cheap, quick, and crappy gimmick.

I think it's pathetic the way some people fall all over this this game. Personally, I think it's moreso an issue of videogame snobs wanting to make a big deal out of an indie game, and annointing it as something awesome when it's really just a quick pile of shit.

(a) I "get it" and I think it's cute, fine for a minute, and that's it.

Lee @ Dec 24th 2008 6:50PM

What on dudes earth was that? I dig some art games but this, there was no game? There was a goal but... No game?

A smidge under $1 for that? Shit on a stick. I don't get it. This guys some hippie dude who lives in some forest commune or something, yet now he decides he wants to start making money? Err. No.
I'll delete this game off my laptop now and never look or think about it again.

aj @ Dec 25th 2008 8:32AM

For this game to have any emotional impact the viewer/player must first place meaning on a bunch of squiggly lines in a box.

And if the viewer/player is capable of doing that, then EVERY VIDEO GAME will also have the same emotional impact as this game, because the viewer/gamer is already looking for meaning in it.

If this is art, then I feel very sad indeed about our culture.

+peter @ Jan 1st 2009 6:51PM

Yeah, I agree AJ. The marriage metaphors in Crysis really benefited from omission of any abstract forms during its presentation.

You know me @ Dec 25th 2008 8:58PM

This game was good i guess, two things bad about it though was it gave me a major headache and the girl slowed me down too much

RabbidMickeyMouse @ Dec 26th 2008 1:51AM

Art to me is like a box of chocolates. More specifically however, a Christmas advent calender.

I see no point wasting my time anticipating the upcoming amendment to the plot of something (the story of the birth of Christ, or in art's case, life and the universe) when the story already exists in a more readily available form (eg The Bible, or in art's case, the world in actuality). Getting a candy for each step of the way (to 'get' the message of a film, poem, novel what have you) is a waste of time and effort.

Eventually, am I looking forward to that piece of candy, or the story being told? Art like Passage kills my attention span. I may like the quaint message in its 5 minute packaging, but it's not satisfying.

A lot of art to me is a diet of candy from an advent calender. Interesting story, but I'm better off reading from its primary source (The Bible, or in art's case, life itself) than to get drip fed candy like an ape learning sign language.