Hey, so today I wanna talk about a video game that has been a part of my life since childhood and apparently everyone else’s too! Coming out originally in 2008, De blob is a platformer that has a small irregularly shaped blob (hence the name) that has the power to color the world that he lives in with the power of paint. This being especially useful as Chroma City, the place he lives(?) or sleeps(?) in, is being invaded by INKT, a corporation entirely bent on taking the world’s color away, leaving nothing but empty, barren black and white landscapes. It’s essentially a fight between those who want to live a life of freedom in color and INKT who want a world without it.
Right, but this ain’t about that. This is about what this game does artistically. First, its presentation. I think, while in today’s standards, there’s absolutely no doubt that it doesn’t look all that appealing. Oh god, the character models. But what stands out about this game is its style. The UI (User Interface) is always important in a game, as it’s used to translate to the player how the game operates. Animation helps a lot with that and it makes up a big part of this game’s personality. Everything that moves on the screen is wonderfully spaced so you get enough of what you’re and what you need to do. And from the way that everything jumps when you touch it, to the characters themselves being expressive and showing you how they feel through their movement, this game does so much with what little it has.
And my favorite part has GOT TO BE THE MUSIC! When you gain color, it plays a little ditty. Each color has a specific sound to it for each song and the more color there is, the more music you hear. This type of progression of the music helps make doing anything in the game more immersive, as the sound that plays follows along with the music playing throughout the level. And all of it culminates together to create a gaming experience that you seriously can’t forget. Which is probably why so many people remember it from their childhood. Nostalgia everyone.
GREENSBORO COLLEGE ART COLUMN 