Anthony Ra – Looking Outwards – 01

“Monument Valley” is an extremely popular tablet-focused game created by UsTwo Games, a digital design firm. The storyline of this game follows a Princess Ida through labyrinths and mazes. This game stands out to me because of its illusory effect and philosophy of each frame being a public display. This project was developed over a ten-month span using Unity, a game engine and tool suite responsible for the operation of the game.

UsTwo Games described their inspiration of the development of this game from artist M.C. Escher, who implements impossibility into architecture, and one of the challenges of that stage was how to tell the computer to recognize these impossibilities in a gameplay setting.

One of the breakthroughs of this game that does not show in other popular games is the length. This focuses so much on visual quality and sound tranquility and focuses less on the number of levels or the difficulty. This allows the users for a condensed experience that would eliminate frustration and stress and create a less-anxious peaceful experience for the user.

I have no doubt because of its recognition and major accolades in the gaming and design industry, future games developers will be able to look at this game and see the visual and auditory stimulation of the user that is necessary for the overall experience of gaming. This is where the hard, pressing work of completing a game is eliminated and a condensed but artistically beautiful representation is laid right before your eyes.

Monument Valley – Behind the Scenes