The Endless Forest is an indie multiplayer game I've never heard about before, but acclaimed metaverse artist Bryn Oh just posted a review, and now I have, and I'm pretty intrigued:
You arrive to a forest as a baby deer or foal. Above your head is a unique glowing symbol which is you, and what others recognize you by. You will come across other deer and will realize quite quickly that there is no way to communicate with them. There is no typing out text to one another but instead you have a variety of ways to communicate with body language. Shake your head, rear up onto your back legs and so on. It is a community embracing the absence of normal communication, and then what happens in that environment.
The wordless, magical communication aspect was a powerful element of Journey, and I'd love to see it in other MMOs. Or why not a Second Life sim where text and voice chat were forbidden, and only gestural communication allowed? What a fricking relief from the voices you hear in Second Life's Welcome Area that would be.
By contrast, here's what interaction looks like in The Endless Forest:
I remembering trying it out back in 2008 and again in 2011. You do indeed start off as a clueless fawn trying to learn how to communicate. I can't say I remember much about learning to talk as a child but I think this MMO would be a good approximation.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gospeed_racer/6278395114
Posted by: GoSpeed Racer | Wednesday, January 07, 2015 at 04:07 PM
I would be shocked if the multi-specists weren't playing or even behind this game. I wonder what Donna Haraway thinks of the game. #sts
Posted by: Kitty Revolver | Wednesday, January 07, 2015 at 04:19 PM
The Endless Forest is very relaxing. I recommend it.
Posted by: Kim Anubis | Wednesday, January 07, 2015 at 04:44 PM
I'd love to try this out, but it looks like I have the wrong OS. Sigh. Looks beautiful, though.
Posted by: Cicadetta Stillwater | Wednesday, January 07, 2015 at 10:47 PM
:) I don't think I even care what happens in VWs now - this is much better =^^=
Posted by: shirc desantis | Thursday, January 08, 2015 at 03:12 PM