The Trauma-Trauma
Have you ever experienced one or more of the following symptoms: blurred vision, stiff neck, aching thumb, increased heart rate? Take care, you might have been infected with "Nintendinitis" or "Wiiitis".
According to German daily „Sueddeutsche Zeitung“, famous periodicals such as the „New England Journal of Medicine“ frequently report on technology-associated deseases. As the pandemic "Nintendinitis" or "Wiiitis" are mutating over the time, the viral variety has become rich: „Space Invaders Wrist“, „Gameboy- Neck“, „Wii-Knee“. Are those phenomenons just internet myths? Serious warnings? Art criticism?
This morning I woke up at 7 a.m., cold sweated and out of breath. I had been chasing a ghost all night. And still, that spooky soundtrack and the whispering voice of a young woman echoed in my head.
Opening my eyes, I suddenly had an epiphany. I switched on my Macbook and logged into TRAUMA, which I had been beta-testing two days ago. „This is the dream where I am chasing a ghost“, a familiar voice welcomed me. Like being remotely controlled I proceeded through the final level of TRAUMAs captivating game world and finally solved the last riddle.
When the end credits appeared I was close to tears. What a horror and what a catharsis. – I can hardly believe that I now will be forever traumatized by that crazy guy working right next to me in the office.
At CGL we are all looking forward to the upcoming release of our colleague and Indie-game designer Krystian Majewski´s TRAUMA. So taking my job as beta-tester seriously, here comes my first suggestion, Krystian: Rather than just PG-rating, you definetely should indicate: „For risks and side effects read the package insert and consult your doctor or pharmacist.“
Having said this, I have to get back to testing - for therapeutical breakthrough I might have to play TRAUMA over and over again. See you in 2011!
- Happy New Year, Everyone!
More on TRAUMA: http://gamedesignreviews.com/trauma/
Read full SZ article (German): http://www.sueddeutsche.de/digital/krankheiten-durch-technik-der-nintendo-nacken-und-das-wii-knie-1.1039873
Photo: tobeys / photocase.com
KATHARINA TILLMANNS
At CGL Katharina Tillmanns is Head of Public Relations and Funding and has been organizing major events such as The Global Game Jam Cologne 2010-2012 and the NOTGAMES FEST 2011. Since graduating from filmschool she has been working as a freelance film director, videojournalist and producer for linear and interactive media. Today she is a student in the Master´s program Game Development and Research at CGL.
Kontakt: kt@colognegamelab.de
