Maintaining and holding onto any sense of community is held in utmost importance, as Act V acknowledges the fragility of a vulnerable public. WEVP-TV producer Emily can be found crouching over the destroyed Video Databank archive, grieving the loss of the town’s communal library of artist videotapes, home movies, and filmed dream diaries. As backstory … Continue reading Opened World: Kentucky Route Zero Act V
Interview by Miguel Penabella Originally conducted over two days: December 9, 2017 and December 10, 2017 Edits and introduction written July 31, 2019 With the premiere of the final act of Kentucky Route Zero increasingly close at hand, I revisited old conversations with composer Ben Babbitt that we shared back in 2017, just weeks before … Continue reading Player Two: An Interview with Ben Babbitt
The Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic of Donut County and and the sterile, featureless city blocks of Nova Alea seem mutually opposed upon first glance, but both games share an interest in examining the deleterious effects of gentrification. Donut County allegorizes gentrification via puzzle game mechanics in which homes and buildings vanish into maneuverable holes, transforming lively city blocks into empty lots … Continue reading Opened World: Erasing Places
Journeying as passengers on a boat, characters find themselves at rest and quietly contemplative, though a state of tension underlies this entire act. Shannon worries for Conway, who seems resigned to his indebtedness to the Consolidated Power Company; Johnny waxes poetic about the uncertain road ahead, imagining what his future looks like with Junebug; Ezra … Continue reading Opened World: Kentucky Route Zero Act IV
In an interview with scriptwriter Jake Elliott on the dialogue mechanics of the game, Alex Wiltshire differentiates Kentucky Route Zero from other classic adventure games like those of LucasArts, in which dialogue options typically double back on themselves so that players can explore all possible options. And unlike the world-altering choices of BioWare titles, Kentucky Route Zero avoids foreclosing “good” or … Continue reading Opened World: Kentucky Route Zero Act III
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