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
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
Scenography builds mood and meaning into the theatrical production via choices in stage design that accentuates human performance above all else. This emphasis on performance through scenography informs the architectural spaces of Cardboard Computer’s episodic game Kentucky Route Zero too. Point-and-click adventure games like it often mimic the perspective of the theatergoer viewing a proscenium. They … Continue reading The Scenographic South
[Kentucky Route Zero] Act II’s first scene in the Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces similarly collapses the real and unreal, the past and the present. Shannon, Conway, and his dog arrive at the foot of this six-story concrete office block, which sits inside a massive cathedral alongside a river. Hermit crabs, a docked boat, and a … Continue reading Opened World: Kentucky Route Zero Act II
While the world economy accelerates and adapts to the 24/7 demands of global capitalism, these small rural towns remain inflexible, clinging to the desperate, state-sponsored myth of coal jobs returning even as employment opportunities evaporate with automation, outsourcing, and renewable energy sources. The permanent residents of Kentucky Route Zero are few, but Elkhorn Mine stubbornly stays rooted in … Continue reading Opened World: Kentucky Route Zero Act I
In thinking about spectacle and spectatorship in videogames, there’s certainly no want of games with extravagant, thrilling displays of special effects. Look no further than the latest big-budget shooter game for frenzied action heroics and showy bravura. Moreover, there are games about spectacle, recognizing how passivity can be employed as a crucial element of gameplay … Continue reading You’ve Got to Watch: Notes on Spectacle & Spectatorship
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