Flower, a Different Sort of Game

Playstation 3 - Flower

Sometimes a game is released that takes you completely by surprise, making you sit up and pay attention to what you are doing in the game. Flower, released in 2009 by Thatgamecompany is just such a game. Featuring nothing to kill, no maps, no wrong moves which result in death, no high scores and no avatar, this game seemed to be destined for oblivion and the ‘bargain bin’ with thousands of other games which do not capture the game playing public’s imagination.  However, playing Flower was a revelation.

The aim of Flower is to grow healthy flowers on a windowsill in a Cityscape. There are 6 levels to complete and a playable credit sequence; each level, with the exception of the credit sequence has the player being situated within the dream of a flower and each flower/level represents a different dream, which ranges from the wind to darkness. The game has a basic story arc running through it which is evident as the game is played, despite there being no explicit narration; each level starts at the end of the previous one and the player is able to change the dying and dismal landscape into a healthy and colourful one as they progress through the game. However, the way of doing this is interesting – and certainly novel. The avatar for the game is the wind – which the player controls through moving the control pad, tilting it to change direction and speed to travel through the game’s environment. This is a series of valleys, enclosed by boundaries, so that the player does not venture too far outside the playing area. As the wind, the player travels through these landscapes collecting flower petals from a variety of flowers, which become part of the wind/avatar and the player can use light to ‘paint’ the grass and any water in the landscape at particular points in the game. When ‘collecting’ petals, having a certain number of a specific colour activates further flowers, another enchanting aspect to the game and something that made me smile more than once.

The visual aspect of the game is stunning, blades of grass and flowers are individually rendered and react to the player moving around them, and I was enchanted to find that as I passed each flower, it made a musical note, which changed the subsequent game music. According to the game design company, Flower is intended to be an emotional experience, which I found to be so. I was enchanted by the visuals, the music, the play and by the way that this game made me relax. Instead of running round solving puzzles and finding bad guys to kill, I had to move slowly and gently through the landscape, especially as I collected more flower petals which made turning more difficult. There was also a freedom that I have not felt before in other games, aided by the fact that there is no physical avatar and I was free to move in any direction without constraints such as gravity (within the game structure).

This game has a clear cultural message attached to it; nature is good and some man-made items such as power pylons are destructive. This can be particularly seen in the 5th level of the six, where I encountered something harmful for the first time. Here the pylons ‘burn’ the flower petals, making them smoke and fizz – which made me feel almost sad for destroying something pretty and gentle, especially as I had been interacting with the game for about 2 and a half hours without any destruction. Similarly, the flower representing the night-time (level 4) ends with the dream becoming a nightmare, and leading into the 5th level, with the toxic pylons, which is another emotional point in the game. Coupled with the aim of the game seeming to be the reinstating of nature in a dying landscape, there can be little doubting what the game is saying. That said though, the ecological theme is not overt, the game can be played without paying much attention to its message.

At £6.49 this game is a lot cheaper than most other games on the market, and is a lot shorter too. Playing can take between 1-3 hours depending on the attention to detail and collection of flower petals. However, there is a replayability in this game that is not always present in other games; revisiting the landscapes to just play with the wind is an oddly satisfying experience, which when coupled with the visuals and audio, makes for a surprising, yet substantial seeming game.