Antipsychotic

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Short and free art game revolving around bipolar disorder.

Antipsychotic is a very unusual experience, and I was not really sure what to expect when I started it. Rather than feeling like a traditional game, it is more like an interactive piece of art that lets me explore an abstract representation of a mind dealing with bipolar disorder. I liked how personal and experimental it feels, because the game is clearly trying to communicate an emotional experience rather than give me a conventional objective to complete. The gameplay is deliberately simple. I explore the nonlinear environment in first person, move between different spaces and interact with strange objects and speakers that reveal pieces of poetry, personal reflections and narrative. I enjoyed taking my time with it because the experience rewards curiosity more than speed. There is no complicated combat system or elaborate puzzle structure getting in the way of the central message. The audio is probably the strongest part for me. The music, voice work and environmental sound are closely tied to what I see on screen, with the visuals reacting to the audio in ways that make the different areas feel almost alive. I really liked this connection because it makes the experience feel …

"Antipsychotic" is not a game. Games contain meaningful gamelike interaction and game loops, which are absent in this "art experience". Instead of being a game, "Antipsychotic" is a software application that presents a poorly made art exhibition, in this case the "artist" in question is also the worlds foremost expert on diagnosing and treating bipolar dis... wait a second, no he isn't. But he thinks he is, and therefore uploaded this crap art gallery to personally cure the disease through the medium of a crap art gallery that you can walk around in for 15 minutes. We get this non-game shovelware on Steam whenever your usual Starbucks barista/McDonalds frycook art school dropout finally gets a restraining order from the local art galleries so turns to Steam Direct to try get their art published somewhere so they can finally dream of moving out of their parents basement. It's true that games can be art... art is where the pinnacles of craftsmanship and quality meet vision and narrative to create an experience far greater than the sum of the parts. This isn't a game at all, and the craftsmanship and narrative are terrible. This isn't making art better, it's just making gaming wor…

I appreciate how creative the visuals are and that you have a thesis you are implementing thoroughly. My issue stems from feeling that it wasn't implemented as effectively as it could have been. There's a lot of interesting artistic choices here but I felt detached from the story being told.

This was a really cool experience! I particularly enjoyed the themed music along with the visuals. It was a bit hard to keep track of which audio clips I had triggered, but the disorienting environment can be seen to add to the experience. Great soundtrack.