Foreword

A dark adventure decryption game "Children of Silent Village" was released on Steam a few years ago. The content design of the entire game is very simple, but the connotation of the game is impressive. There are ulterior motives. The game plot has four endings, and the meaning is somewhat obscure. There is often a scene in the dream of our protagonist Lucy at the beginning. This part of the scene is completely black and white, like It is presented to the player frame by frame like a comic, rather than directly using animation. Although the picture is 2D, the production team still successfully used black and white to show the horror, which directly makes the experience full of weirdness.

(At the beginning of each chapter of the game, there will basically be a scene in the dream of our protagonist Lucy, and the picture is full of weirdness)

The game not only creates a thriller atmosphere, but in the later stages of the game The tranquility and safety of the forest contrast with the danger of the ignorant villagers in the village. At the end of the game, the villagers are deliberately painted with black shadows. The protagonist and mother walking out of the forest, in the eyes of the villagers who have already fixed their minds. Inside, two white monsters came out.

(The protagonist and mother walking out of the forest, in the eyes of the villagers who have already fixed their minds, are two white monsters)

Basic gameplay and creativity in the game Sexual gameplay

The game is completely operated through the mouse, which is similar to "Don't Starve". In Don't Starve, you can also complete all operations with just the mouse. The basic gameplay form in the game is exploration and decryption. The items related to plot promotion can be used directly or combined, which requires players to use more wisdom during play.

There are many interesting little ways to play in the game. The first is the "song system". The song system is not only a representative of the connotation of the plot, but also promotes the development of the plot and forms the core of the gameplay. Through exploration in the game, Players can collect some musical notes. After collecting enough, they can compose three songs: "Children's Song", "Mother's Song", and "Forest Song". Each one has different functions, and some can be used on NPCs. It is used to show some of the NPC's memories, some of which can help the protagonist decipher and pass through dangerous areas in the forest.

In addition, when each song triggers content, it will basically trigger a unique decryption mini-game. The decryption corresponding to each song is different. However, because there are many places where songs need to be used in the game, players need to Carry out extremely tedious decryptions. Some players jokingly call them "intelligence tests" because they are too difficult in the later stages, such as the line punching mini-game and the gear matching mini-game. The decryption difficulty will gradually become more and more difficult as the game progresses. And the game experience is too repetitive, which is a shortcoming of game design.

(The decryption mini-game in the game is too repetitive and too difficult in the later stage)

Use multiple endings to create a fairy tale-like story

The game's The plot design is very simple. In an isolated village, the people living there have not had any contact with the outside world for a long time. They are all very afraid of the surrounding forest. They believe that there are ferocious beasts in the nearby forest. These beasts As a result, a large number of people disappeared in the village, and no one dared to enter the forest to look for them, so the villagers made many rules, such as curfews on time, no loud noises, etc. The new generation represented by the protagonist Lucy The children did not completely believe the legends told by the adults. Finally, due to an accidental incident, Lucy entered the forest and gradually discovered the truth behind the terrifying forest.

(Because an accidental incident caused Lucy to enter the forest, and gradually discovered the truth behind the terrifying forest)

The ending of the game has four endings, and the official did not give any details. There are definite good endings and bad endings. Three of the endings are determined by the player's final choice. At the end of the game, when facing hostile villagers, the player can choose to blow the "Children's Song" and "Mother's Song". and "Forest Song". If you play the children's song, Lucy will infect the children in the village. The children will recognize the white monster as the protagonist Lucy and tell the adults. However, in this ending, the mother will not come back. , play the song of the forest, the protagonist's father will be affected by the song, and then recognize that the two white monsters are actually Lucy and her mother. If you play the song of the forest, no one will be able to recognize Lucy, and she will have to To hide in the jungle like other missing people.

The game also has a hidden ending. According to the game content, getting this hidden ending should be related to the collectibles in the previous process and the dialogue options selected in the villager dialogue. The last hidden ending is a happy ending. I personally think this ending is not good.

A brief inference of the connotation behind the plot

After playing the game, I always feel that there is still some unfinished understanding of the plot. This shows that the plot often contains a little connotation and metaphor. We can assume that the isolated village is regarded as a group in society, and there are many components in the group. The first is the "villagers". The villagers should represent a group of people who are severely bound by the rules of the group, and the forest belongs to the group. In the unknown part of the outside world, people who are bound by rules often regard crossing the border as a particularly terrifying thing, while the "children in the village" represent the new or innovative force in a group. They dare to try and innovate, and are not restricted by the rules. Bound by traditional rules, it is often seen as a drag or a symbol of bad luck by those who stick to the rules. The "songs" sung by the protagonist and his mother should represent trendy ideas, which are completely unacceptable to the "old people", so the village in the game is very opposed to singing as an entertainment activity.

(The forest belongs to the unknown and is a forbidden area for the villagers)

As for those missing people, the author guesses that they are freedom seekers who yearn for freedom and are no longer willing to accept the constraints of the village. , they may have thought about helping the people in the village to get out of self-restraint, but the people in the village would rather treat them as monsters than accept unknown challenges or understand the truth. In the game, we can I learned that all the white monsters in the eyes of the villagers were actually "turned into" those who disappeared. To be precise, they have not changed, but they have become invisible to the eyes of the villagers who have solidified their minds and adhere to discipline and rules.

If you look at it from a more narrow perspective, the game may be a metaphor for some adults who overemphasize discipline and orders on their children due to their own narrow thinking or previous failed experiences, and on their future generations. Children's development is essentially hindered. These adults are completely unaware that there is something wrong with their own ideas. In many cases, being too cautious is a kind of torture to yourself. You should be bolder when you should be bolder.

Conclusion

This game is the first eye-catching game among the games I have played this year. Apart from the difficulty of decrypting the content, there are no other hard features in the game. Damn, the overall background concept is also more creative, and the painting style is also more unique, which can catch the player's attention. Playing through the entire game is like watching a childhood fairy tale and completing a childish adventure.