After a rushed entry into the game, I ran out of bullets, which led me to a state of panic as the invaders were clearly fast approaching my base, while I was left stranded and defenseless in a cruel black world.
But then, as the invaders started firing shots of their own in retaliation, they started hitting each other and highlighted that indeed, we are all alone in this universe - left to fend for ourselves and face attacks from all sides. Even the invaders could not find peace in this despicable harsh reality and many perished before they reached the bottom.
After a long while, some enemies managed to brave the firestorm of projectiles and reach the screen's lower bound, at which point I saw that nothing had happened. Clearly, this was an allegory to the fruitlessness of ambition; how once we reach the objective we once so enthusiastically strived for and moved towards, we are always left feeling hollow and submerged in a sea of emptiness.
But then I realized that the enemies did not stop, but simply continued downwards. It turns out even you, the player, can move down off screen. And although you do not see yourself, one can only presume that your ship is still floating around in the vast playing field that now has no bounds or limits. Indeed, it shows that true meaning is found not in the fixed ruleset that is thrusted on to us, but instead it is something we create ourselves: a story that only we can tell.
This game brought me on a journey that started at reading the instructions, and ended in the same place - a circular loop. You see, the instructions only gave you the directions for movement and the key to fire: they did not specify your goals, your objectives, your ambitions. I know now that it was my ego that projected these rules onto the art-piece. It is the viewer who invents a puzzle that needs solving, a game that needs to be won, a high score that must be reached.
We are all adrift in our own dark universes: we all move about and fire as if we must win, neglecting that the true nature of our existence gives us no bounds or objectives. This is a stunning artistic production that reminds all of us about what matters in our lives, and allows us a brief moment of contemplation to consider what really matters: it is not winning, but the act of playing.
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After a rushed entry into the game, I ran out of bullets, which led me to a state of panic as the invaders were clearly fast approaching my base, while I was left stranded and defenseless in a cruel black world.
But then, as the invaders started firing shots of their own in retaliation, they started hitting each other and highlighted that indeed, we are all alone in this universe - left to fend for ourselves and face attacks from all sides. Even the invaders could not find peace in this despicable harsh reality and many perished before they reached the bottom.
After a long while, some enemies managed to brave the firestorm of projectiles and reach the screen's lower bound, at which point I saw that nothing had happened. Clearly, this was an allegory to the fruitlessness of ambition; how once we reach the objective we once so enthusiastically strived for and moved towards, we are always left feeling hollow and submerged in a sea of emptiness.
But then I realized that the enemies did not stop, but simply continued downwards. It turns out even you, the player, can move down off screen. And although you do not see yourself, one can only presume that your ship is still floating around in the vast playing field that now has no bounds or limits. Indeed, it shows that true meaning is found not in the fixed ruleset that is thrusted on to us, but instead it is something we create ourselves: a story that only we can tell.
This game brought me on a journey that started at reading the instructions, and ended in the same place - a circular loop. You see, the instructions only gave you the directions for movement and the key to fire: they did not specify your goals, your objectives, your ambitions. I know now that it was my ego that projected these rules onto the art-piece. It is the viewer who invents a puzzle that needs solving, a game that needs to be won, a high score that must be reached.
We are all adrift in our own dark universes: we all move about and fire as if we must win, neglecting that the true nature of our existence gives us no bounds or objectives. This is a stunning artistic production that reminds all of us about what matters in our lives, and allows us a brief moment of contemplation to consider what really matters: it is not winning, but the act of playing.