Kel (2024, words on screen)

This game features a portrait of a single person, currently resting.

It’s a fairly compact game, arranged in a network of interconnected nodes rather than a linear or branching narrative. Each lingers on a distinct feature of the man in question (I believe it’s a man due to pronoun use).

The writing is evocative and clear, making it easy to imagine this person. The narrative voice seems to care about him quite a bit. And the game is thoroughly polished.

However, despite the clear vision, I didn’t connect emotionally with this guy. Maybe because a purely physical description of a man isn’t something that interests me in real life, unless it were a relative or a friend. Maybe some extra background revealed through hints could carry this even further, or a mystery that can only be pieced together in pieces.

But it doesn’t have to be expanded. What’s here accomplishes several things, like providing a vivid picture of one person. It is labeled as following the rules of the former IF art show, and would be an appropriate entry for that former comp.

Kel (2024, words on screen) is a short interactive piece, describing the portrait of the titular character through snippets, each focusing on a part of a face or movement, before closing on the overall picture. You can really explore in details the face of Kel, as the IF Art Show, the jam inspiring the game, required.

Each section is just a sentence long, small enough to fit the rectangle interface, which mimics the frame of a portrait fixed on a wall. You can move from one section to another through the links mentioning another part of the face.

This entry reminded me of those studies of paintings, that would describe in details a piece with such vividness you could almost imagine it standing right in front of your eyes.