All the game elements work together to foreground this truth and keep it active in your mind.

(Stop right here if you don’t want spoilers.) Your bird friend starts to die, and you are forced to grapple with the truth of impermanence.Īs taught by the Buddha, impermanence refers to the truth that everything-physical, mental, and yes, even virtual-is in flux, unreliable, and subject to decay. But the thing that sets the game apart is its second half. There’s enough here to keep you surprised each time you return to say hello, something I found myself often looking forward to. You’ll also write poetry together, make music, cherish memories, and exchange contemplations of some of life’s biggest questions. You’ll name your bird friend (I chose Lotus), feed it oranges, even rub its belly. Bird Alone is one such video game that encourages you to explore not as much what’s on the screen as what’s inside you.īird Alone can be best thought of as a simulation-think Tamagotchi pet, but with a more philosophical bent. Some bend the rules, even break them, on their quest to surprise us, make us feel something, or free us from a fixed mindset.

Not all video games fit our expectations of what video games are or what they are supposed to be.

Puppy love video game game play