Limbo: Another reason why we should support Indie games

Limbo, a platform based puzzle adventure indie game, is a simple yet stunning piece of work from Arnt Jensen. Platform games have evolved since the early 90’s classics such as Prince of Persia and Mario Brothers, to more recent richly themed 3D titles like Rayman Origins, LittleBigPlanet or Sonic. But somewhere along the way, platform games lost the classic arcade style and simple gameplay which had us hooked for hours together. Limbo takes us back to the old days, add to that a fantastic theme of artsy black and white, creepy music and a storyline that is so depressing and beautiful, it pulls you into its weird world before you know it.

The story of a boy, unnamed, who wonders through the mysterious world of darkness, facing horrors in every turn, solving puzzles and outwitting creepy spiders and mysterious hunters, to reunite with his lost love, is simply breath-taking. The eerie lighting the game offers, plays with your emotions of loneliness and sorrow, yet has you captivated in moving along from puzzle to puzzle. It was the moment, when I had to creep up slowly towards a humungous dragonfly, feasting on a human corpse, so that I could catch hold of its legs before it took flight, to get to a higher platform previously out of my reach, that I realized the sheer degree of audacious creativity the creators have. Some of the puzzles took me ages to solve, but not in a way that makes you want to cringe and curse at your computer. That is what separates Limbo from the likes of Braid and Machinarium, two other indie-platform games which use similar physics, but had such a high level of difficulty that it just puts you off after a few tries.

The game certainly wasn’t flawless though. Having primarily been made for consoles, the PC port is anything but annoying, especially whilst using a keyboard. Even though the controls are simple, certain actions in the game have been mapped to the same keys on the keyboard which causes annoyance at situations. The game could be completed in less than a couple of hours, which is a little disappointing considering how good the game is. Some of the puzzles towards the end become a little monotonous, and you start to wonder if the developers ran out of ideas for more!

Overall, Limbo for me was a visual treat, a work of art, and a benchmark for future platformers to compete with.

The year that was...

Around this time last year, having just gotten home after a long 6 months in Mumbai with business school and all, I started to really think about what Canada had to offer. I remember thinking "Snow, Ice-hockey, Mountains, Rivers, Snow, Skates, Beer, oh and did I mention Snow?". And yet here i am, a year later, with a Canadian winter behind me, still haven't lost my "fell flat on my face while skating" virginity, nor having trekked through the beautiful country side of this wonderful country. Oh and it wasn't because i was too busy caught up with my curriculum, trust me on that! Money could have been a factor, but more than anything, I guess it was just sheer laziness to get out of the comfort zone and try new things(things you always promise you'd do before you actually reach the bloody place). And I can't believe I still haven't gotten myself a bike!! I should really know better than this! Canadian summers are short, and they roll by in a blink of an eye, and before you know it, your legs are being frozen silly by the spiking Autumn breeze.

But I must say, I had a bit of fun over the year since last August.

It'd probably be quite pointless, writing down every good thing that I had going here, but then that's the whole point of this blog isn't it? Writing pointless stuff no one cares about :) . 

So we touch down in Brussels right...all set for a heavenly week in gorgeous Europe. My first proper trip outside of the homeland (Singapore doesn't even count...bleh). I've had quite an image of Belgium built up through years of reading Tintin and Asterix. We took in some of the architecture, grabbed a couple of beers(European beer made Kingfisher very third-class) and were soon headed to the Venice of the North, Amsterdam. We were treated with a sight for the eyes - beautiful houses, lush gardens, the canals, the million bicycles, and there was something for the nose as well - the smell of cannabis in the air. I can't afford to go into much more detail at this stage, and we soon left for Antwerpen, then onwards to Bruges(the prettiest little town I've seen till now) and finally back to Brussels. I slept the last night at the airport, on the cold ground without a pillow even(am i sounding like a homeless hobo now?), but it was all worth it after a real breathtaking week of European beauty.

The flight to Toronto was uneventful. And so were the first few days after touch-down. It was great to finally see everybody again, times were good. I spent the next month and a half exploring Toronto a little, and just getting the feel of the city. I quite liked the place. Not too small and nothing too big either. Niagara Falls, the most cliche tourist destination in all of the world, had me in awe. Cliche or not, the sheer sight of watching millions of gallons of water dropping over the edge at every second, will have you bow down to the forces of nature. School could't start soon enough, and my 601 team was just starting to roll into first gear. We ended up getting a big client with little expectations. As much as learned about the software industry over the next 8 months working on this project, I think the biggest learning - cliche alert- was team work. I got to say, my team chair had a huge role in pulling us along the way - hats off to Ashley!

The rest of Schulich was eventful in its ways. Some classes were more worth than others. Some simply dreadful. Lot of parties in between, making new friends, making lot of silly plans, all in all, quite an experience. Fuck - I just noticed I wrote a big paragraph for 5 days in Europe and another of the same size for 10 months at Schulich. Haha maybe I just don't want to get into the details. 

I think I should spare a few words for the Winter..ah..the Canadian Winter. So much hype. And yet...what a let down. I must say it wasn't a typical winter, a regular Canadian would confirm this, but I honestly didn't do as much as I wanted to. Ice-skating and Skiing were high up on my agenda. Didn't get to do either. Couldn't even play in the bloody snow!! The snow was less than a feet high, and quite horribly soggy to make a decent snowball. I did see a very eerie, Niagara Falls again in January. Oh and New Years' Eve. That was quite the night. A friend of mine and I chugged a whole keg of Heineken. The rest of the night is a black space. Sigh..good times!

Toronto is such a quaint little city. I'm saying this because I just visited New York recently. And the difference is quite astounding. Kind of reminded me of the Chennai - Mumbai difference that I felt early last year. I love long walks, and i guess that is one reason i find Toronto quite perfect.  It really is a very walk worthy city. With its fair share of skyscrapers downtown, and a throwback to the 60's down King and Queen St. ,the ghetto streets of Kensington Market, the Harborfront, or the busy Yonge line - I've never once gotten tired of walking Toronto.

I must say I've learnt quite a lot over this year in Canada. Friendships and relationships are the big two. Its tough keeping touch with loved ones back home, and I've been put through the mill, but its only made me stronger. I'm glad I have the best of friends alongside me. 

Well...

It's job hunting season. Time to ride the waves - and live the life.(How corny, I know! :P )

Laters!!