Saturday, August 27, 2011

Trauma Game Guide

Trauma tries to be such a game, using a series of photorealistic images to immerse you in the dreams of an accident victim. And so you explore this woman's psyche by clicking from one node to the next, Myst style, while searching for photographs and using mouse gestures to "solve puzzles." Perhaps Trauma is solely meant to inspire introspection or reflection on a particular theme.

Trauma opens with a combination of live-action scenes and montages of images from within the game. Some depict moments from the woman's past, while others introduce you to Trauma's single interesting gameplay element: mouse gestures. You also learn vital gestures that let you interact with certain views. Each vignette has one main ending that you reach by performing (in the right place) the special gesture the level introduces to you. Trauma requires no thought whatsoever.

While it takes the form of a traditional point-and-click adventure, Trauma clearly isn't intended to be a "game" as we normally think of them but rather a work of interactive fiction. Trauma wants you to get lost within its heroine's dreams and remembrances. This woman is a shadow. The voice acting is emotionally distant. Trauma's themes are universal. It is nice to look at Trauma's photos and vignettes.

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