Watch the video here, but read the script below.
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After another long
while of either procrastinating, working on my latest project or
doing literally anything else, I’ve finally put together a suitable
analysis post for my game, Banality.
If you haven’t
already, I would recommend taking a look at my previous post on
Homogeny for some context on this one, though it isn’t necessarily
vital. Additionally, you can download and play Banality
for
free, link is in the description.
The
game opens with the character in their bedroom, but unlike as in
Homogeny, they are not sitting on their bed. Where
the bed represents the character’s comfort zone,
the opening line “What now?” creates the idea that they are
beginning to question things outside of their comfort zone.
The opening level
bears a remarkable resemblance to my previous project, Yet Another
Puzzle Game, which could be considered a prequel to the formative
sequence displayed in the main trilogy. “Yet Another Puzzle Game”
draws attention to the ephemeral and simplistic nature of things
commonly heralded as “the standard” - the standard in this case
being an incredibly simple puzzle. The same soundclip of me saying
[puzzle] gets cut off and launches the character into the second
level.
This is intended to
symbolize the fact that after the events of Homogeny, the character
can now realize that a button and a door laid side-by-side does not
in fact constitute a challenging puzzle, and similarly, the things
previously taken as entertaining are being outed as trivial.
The building in the
second level is actually just to symbolize a social institution –
perhaps a school would be fitting, as the other characters visible in
the building represent two states of being. The first two are
lethargically laying down as the player passes, while the last is
standing up, but has their back turned to the exit and is looking
down – they have no aspirations.
Pressing the “A”
button to speak to any of these characters plays a short sequence of
the main character on a platform being lowered into a kind of grave.
They become less “alive” and more like the zombies that surround
them, as shown by the greying of the character’s eyes. The sound
effect – distorted noise – is designed to symbolize the total
lack of meaning in anything being spoken between them.
The third level is
somewhat more difficult. Even being near the other characters at this
time will cause the grave sequence. This is to symbolize that as time
goes on and the character moves further away from other people,
becoming more stoic, they become more aware of the faults and
imperfections and become even more repulsed by them.
There are three
non-player characters in this level, each symbolizing three more
states of being. The first one is stuck in a hole, to symbolize
people who can’t – through no fault of their own – escape where
they are now and achieve what they wan to achieve. The next most
egregious form of bloody normie is, as detailed in the last level,
those who are too lazy or unmotivated to achieve what they want to
achieve.
The final character
is laying prone under the ground, who has become too used to
inactivity and sheer lack of creativity that they have lost the
ability to achieve at all.
The word “regret”
appears on the screen before the game exits. “Regret” in fact
refers to the themes of the third game in the trilogy, Monotony.
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If you have done, thanks for reading. Only time will tell whether or not the symbolic analysis of Monotony is a video or in text. Stay tuned!
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