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Priceless Play - 23 May 2020Persistence, persistence, persistence
Persistence, persistence, persistence
My dad isn’t like most dads. There are many things about him which make him unique, but perhaps none so idiosyncratic as this: the man really, really,reallyloves Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States. I’m not sure how many children have been taken on car trips to Coolidge’s homestead in rural Vermont (where, fun fact, Coolidge was sworn in as president following the death of President Harding), but I bet we’d make for a pretty odd club.
The reason I bring up my dad and Calvin Coolidge at all is that the screen saver for my dad’s computer (or at least, as I last remember it) is a Calvin Coolidge quote about persistence and always has been. The words bounce back and forth on the screen: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.” And so, I find myself thinking a lot about Coolidge’s perspective on persistence lately; that it will be the only thing to carry us through times of uncertainty and hardship. I dunno you guys, but I’m pouring one out for Calvin and my dad this week.
Here are some games about persistence.
Constancia is a good, straightforward example of persistence being put to poignant use. The aim of the game is to climb up a mountain – a common theme in many persistence metaphors. You and another character (a guide, perhaps?) slog your way up and up and up ad infinitum, so long as you keep typing out the lettersP-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E. Frankly, this is harder than it looks because perseverance is one of those words I have always managed to spell wrong and I couldn’t help but wonder if the game would have been easier had I simply played it en Español where the word is simpler. Still, I persevered.P-E-R-S-E-V-E-R-A-N-C-E. Over and over again, until it became and kind of rhythmic zen-like movement. As you climb, the two characters offer insights on the mountain and the nature of perseverance. It’s a good five-minute play, and might even help to inspire a little perseverance of your own.
Have you playedA Good Gardeneryet? The game initially came out back in 2015 or so, though has only recently been made free. The studio behind the game,Turnfollow, has made a few games you might recognise:Little Party, Packing Up the Rest of Your Stuff on the Last Day at Your Old Apartment, and Wide Ocean Big Jacket (one of my Game of the Year contenders, hands down) to name a few. I have been meaning to play A Good Gardener for some time now, and now is as good a time as any.
It’s always a good time to revisit a classic.
