Yume Nikki

While we're on the subject of weird things, indie game Yume Nikki presents a gaming experience like nothing I've seen before. It's been described by a reviewer as "a poem written in a video game", and that's as good an approximation as I can think of.

The protagonist is a female hikikomori named Madotsuki. For a reason which is never made clear, Madotsuki does not want to leave her room, and so the game takes place inside her dreams. The game features no dialogue, and the aim is unclear, except that in order to complete the game you must collect 25 different 'effects', which change Madotsuki's appearance and sometimes grant her new abilities. That's pretty much the extent to which you can define Yume Nikki as a game - rather than a player, you feel like an intruder in Madotsuki's subconscious. Much of the game is spent walking through large, empty areas, occasionally meeting other characters, few of whom can be interacted with, and none of whom speak (with the exception of one set of characters who merely recite digits). Madotsuki cannot die, and the only 'enemies' are freakish 'Toriningen' (bird people) - women with bird heads who chase Madotsuki and banish her to a small 2x2 square room, from which the only escape is to wake up.

The appearance of the game is similar to that of old '80s games like Mother, and this lack of detail and the fact that Madotsuki and the characters she encounters are simple sprites, somehow adds to the eeriness. When meeting a new character, it's sometimes frustrating that they don't speak - some don't do anything, even when you try to interact with them, and yet many of them seem to have their own story. One character, named Poniko by fans, lives alone in a house, and appears to be a hikikomori like Madotsuki. However, she doesn't even notice Madotsuki is there, no matter what you do. This is part of the reason the game is so spooky to play; that feeling of helplessness makes you feel like you're really in a dream - the way nothing really makes sense, and you're always on the brink of understanding, but you'll never actually learn the truth.

The game is somehow charming and relaxing to play, despite creeping you out a lot of the time - or at least, that's how I found it. If you want something fast-paced and full of action, this probably isn't the game for you, but if you want to give it a try, sit back in a comfortable chair, and allow yourself to be absorbed into the world.

The game is freeware, and there's a link to download it below, along with instructions on how to play:

Download Yume Nikki (English)

One thing I should mention is that this is version 0.10. This is a complete game, in its tenth incarnation, but there is the possibility that the game could be changed at some point in the future. Not much is known about Kikiyama, the creator, but after being emailed by a fan about whether the game would be updated, he revealed that the game would make it past version 0.10, though it could be a while yet, and it's doubtful whether a v.1.0 will ever be released.

I wasn't aware, until I started doing some research on the game this morning, just how much speculation there is on the internet about this game - what the dreams mean, who Madotsuki is, and why she doesn't want to leave the house. Despite being a short game, it has its own wiki, which includes an interesting page on theories about the game and interpretations of different characters and events. I highly recommend playing the game before visiting it, mostly because it won't make any sense, but also because it's full of spoilers.

The films of Jan Švankmajer

One of the most famous animators in the world, Czech surrealist Jan Švankmajer has produced a great number of bizarre and disturbing short films, as well as five equally weird feature length films (with another coming out in November).

I spent a long time trying to decide what my first post should be about, and eventually my love for the weird and unusual led me to choose surrealism. But surrealism in itself is a lot more than just weird art. The movement started as a reaction to war with Dadaism, which rejected rational values that they believed led us into conflict and war, and the Dadaists produced a kind of 'anti-art' in order to portray this philosophy. In many ways, though, a painting that depicts an abstract concept or idea, as opposed to a painting of a realistic object or scene, is somewhat closer to the reality of human thought. At least, that's what surrealists believe, and I'm inclined to agree. Paintings like these (below) by Salvador Dali portray the chaos and horror of war more vividly and more accurately, perhaps, than more traditional styles could:

Salvador Dali himself produced a short film entitled 'Un Chien Andalou', but Švankmajer made his career in surrealist stop-motion film-making, with his famous début Alice (Něco z Alenky), in 1988, being perhaps his most well-known work.

There are so many of his films I could choose to write about, but I'll just pick a few of my favourites. Firstly, Dimensions of Dialogue (Možnosti dialogu), the most famous and celebrated of his short films, consists of three scenes showing the limitations of communication between people. It has occurred to me that people reading this might want to watch these videos first, in order to interpret them in their own way, so I'll post the videos below before I start blabbering on about them. If not, feel free to ignore the links and continue reading~

Dimensions of Dialogue - Part 1

Dimensions of Dialogue - Parts 2 and 3

The second and third scenes are the most interesting to me. While the first scene, 'Factual Dialogue', shows humanity's innate desire for the destruction of all that is different to ourselves, the second scene, 'Passionate Dialogue', shows how we can overcome our fear of each other in order to love each other. The object that comes between them, however, is something born out of themselves, and is thus inescapable. In the end, they destroy each other. The third scene, 'Exhaustive Dialogue', on the other hand, shows how our communication relies on a correct response from whoever we are communicating with, and shows the danger of miscommunication. Hence, shoes are covered with toothpaste, butter is spread on a pencil, and the clay faces collapse with the effort of trying to make themselves understood.

Food - Part 1

Food - Parts 2 and 3

Most likely due to his difficulties with food as a child, and the traumatic methods used by his doctors and parents in order to try to fix his dietary problems, Švankmajer seems to be obsessed with food. I think Food (Jídlo) may be my favourite Švankmajer short film, because it showcases that typically dark surrealist humour, particularly in 'Lunch', where the two customers in the restaurant are kept waiting so long for their food that they end up eating everything in sight.

I made the mistake of watching Food while eating my lunch, and I wouldn't advise doing the same - in fact, that goes for most Švankmajer films. Somehow, watching his films, I often feel awed and disgusted at the same time. But if you're not too sickened, and not put off by the creepiness of his films, it's impossible not to appreciate Švankmajer's imagination, the impressiveness of his animation, and the uniqueness of his films.

If you're interested in seeing one of his longer films, I recommend Little Otik (Otesánek), an adaptation of a Czech folk tale in which a couple who are unable to have a baby decide to carve one out of wood. The baby comes to life and demands food, but its hunger is never satisfied.

Little Otik - Trailer

Well, that's all for my first post. I will continue searching for more good things, and I'll be certain to post again when I do~

Euphilia

Hello, and welcome to Euphilia!


"But, what is this 'Euphilia'?"

I'm glad you asked, mysterious voice. Well, the word "euphilia" means, quite simply, "a love of good things", and so, as you may expect, the intention behind this blog is to celebrate everything that is unique, original, inspired, thought-provoking, emotionally engaging, well-written, well-designed or just... well, good.

This isn't a place where you'll find reviews of the latest blockbuster or chart-topping album, but I hope you'll find something here you might not otherwise have come across. This is a blog for shedding light on unacknowledged masterpieces, and things that really should have more attention and praise than they receive.

In each post, I'll be writing about something unusual or unique that I've come across in my search for good things. I'll be exploring music, literature, film and television, video games, art and the Internet to try to give you something that will interest you, surprise you, entertain you, or inspire you.

Now that's said, I hope you'll join me in discovering both the weird and the wonderful in a search for the very best that the world has to offer.