Cheyenne Dog: Video Game Analysis

Hello, this is Cheyenne Doig and today I want to share with you a video game that I think truly made an impact on my day to day life. To evaluate, It affected me positively in my life outside just playing it. This game is called “Flower” and it was developed by Annapurna Interactive. This first-person, single-player game starts off with a plant on the window sill. As you progress through each of the six levels, more potted plants show up. The story has no dialogue, just soothing music and nature sounds like wind and chimes. As you hold the screen and steer with your phone, you “awaken” flowers which turn their surrounding grass green. In upper levels the wind (which is also you) can start wind turbines. The process of this game is not stressful at all and I would even go as
far as to say that I felt more relaxed after each time I played it. While I would not say this game was overly “fun and exciting” I would say it had quite the emotional element to it. I enjoyed being able to explore as I pleased in this open world and although there was a fairly set way to complete the game, it did not feel that way at all. There was no time limit which allows the player to take their time finding the flowers and exploring the area. You can fly into the sky to have a bird’s eye view or right along the soft-looking grass. With each level, you start with one petal and as you touch more and more flowers, you receive more petals. Along with this, you also gain speed with more petals. This is quite the good incentive for completing the previously set goals of touching all the flowers, if you ask me. It is one of the more satisfying games I’ve played being that the player only wins and never loses. The only way to win is to touch all the flowers and there is no way to lose. Along with the sweeping landscapes and beautiful music, Flower also allows the gamer a different, but just as effective appreciation of the environment and nature.
As far as the eye can see, it is all green grass and budding flowers. The game shows the player how relaxing and good it feels to be surrounded by nature. There’s a sort of humbling feeling associated with exclusively being outside. “Flowers” shows the change and general feeling in the city as more greenery is added. It also shows the use of wind turbines. It subtly hints at humans detachment from the Earth and how it is possible to incorporate industry and nature into one society. At the beginning of the game, everything in the room and the city is grey and dreary. Level by level, color is added and music is happier. This is just another way “Flower” shows how great and fulfilling nature can be. Another way this game positively affects it’s player is the ability of the gamer to choreograph their own music. Every time you, the wind, hits a flower, a chime of different tones, ring which adds variation to the soothing background music. This adds even more incentive to complete the level because of the beautiful immersing chimes you
hear. The only downside to this game is the same thing that makes it so great. It is more of an art piece than an action-packed video game. There’s not much excitement which will probably turn off gamers who enjoy more dark, heavy-duty action/thriller games. However, this is not to say that the same people who enjoy call of duty will not enjoy Flower. In my opinion, there’s something in this game for everyone. In “Flower” you are a composer, a designer and an integrated part of a beautiful Earth-type place and it causes a positive effect on your day to day life more than any other game i’ve played has.
Thank you for listening and today, try and look around and smell the flowers.