About Passage

Passage is perhaps the easiest place to start in terms of an analysis of video games as an artistic medium. While relatively unknown by most, this independent title is perhaps one of the most inspiring in terms of conveying expression and emotion in games. This five minute experience is an analysis of life and the futility of the insignificance of the human experience. Passage places the player in control of a character traversing a maze of hedges, shrubs, and other distinct backgrounds, all while the character is slowly aging and changing sprites to indicate the passing of time. While vivid in color and adopting a classic 8-bit art style that evokes the feeling of nostalgia, the game places the player within a maze filled with twisting turns and treasure chests filled with glowing gems of wealth. What is striking about the presentation is in an intentionally unusual aspect ratio of pixels (600x96) displayed on the screen. The aspect ratio makes visibility in the game a fairly difficult in only showing the player a limited scope or view of the world around them. The view of the screen only ever changes when the player finds a female companion within the maze that will accompany the player for the remaining time within the maze. Regardless of the decisions made by the player or the items acquired, the game ends after the course of five minutes and the character sprite will transform into gravestone signifying the end of the game.

Upon playing this game, it is clear that Jason Rohrson is attempting to convey more here then a simple puzzle or maze game. Designed to be a disturbed throw back to the simpler style of mid 1980's gaming, Rohrson presents a view of moving time which is less than optimistic in looking towards the future. In my own personal interpretation, Rohrson views the search for wealth (represented by the maze and treasure chest elements of the game) in life is useless relative to the short existence of mankind on the Earth. While there is enjoyment in searching through the maze and moving forward, in the end there is no score counter or remaining evidence of your personal adventure for the wealth hidden away within the maze. In the end, your achievements within the game have no merit and lasting impact upon the world around you.

This bleak view of time and the futility of human achievement is very reminiscent of the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley. In this poem, Shelley provides a vivid image of a decaying statue lying in ruin amongst the sands of a vast desert. The haunting words mounted on the bottom of the statue carved to say "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings: Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!" are a testament to the fading away of an empire of whose ruler thought his glory and achievements would remain through time for eternity. Just like in Passage, time is a destructive force in Ozymandias that ultimately dwarfs everything we will ever achieve as humans. The imagery of the broken statue lying half sunk in the sand serves a similar purpose to irony of the gravestone in the end of passage. Both serve to signify the end of human influence of the world as the life decays leaving nothing but ruins.

Any way you interpret Passage, Jason Rohrson's work is perhaps one of the most clear examples art in games. Utilizing imagery filled presentation and metaphorical gameplay objectives, Passage does a fantastic job of making a statement about the expressive ability of games. I encourage everyone to check it out in the links below and form your own opinion. Feel free to leave a comment with what you think the game means and if it is making strong statement or if it is too long winded.

Passage Information and Download Site

Jason Rohrson's Personal Site