PHOTOGRAPHS by EightyEight Games

PHOTOGRAPHS (EightyEight Games, 2019)

Set off in the distance, you’re given a camera, looking to take photos of their lives: whether it be a grand-father and grand-daughter playing their favorite game, a diver perfecting her craft, or strangers working together to survive. Each photo is set with a small puzzle, each style different for each arc, that progresses the time line before taking the next photo. Each photo taken dives deeper into the lives of these five individuals, all the way to the climax of each arc, showing what went wrong, and our character’s wishes.

comment by thatdiesel

[…] As a photographer all the little details were a nice touch- seeing the camera settings change with the scene and even with cursor movement put a smile on my face.

The photographs are just a framing device for the story as it moves along. The experience is all about the stories.

comment by whythecynic

source: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1008920/Photographs/

source: https://lucaredwood.itch.io/photographs

Photobomb by Milkbag Games

Photobomb (Milkbag Games, 2014)

The premise: everyone is supposed to be monitored everywhere, but a city square has been bombed by someone who wasn’t wearing their tracking ID. Six people there were unidentified at the time of the bombing, and we need to figure out which it was. We can wander around inside a reconstruction of the scene, replaying the last seconds before the bomb went off, watching a crowd mannequins move about and, eventually, seeing one drop the bomb.

We have no idea who that person is, but we can tag and track the unknowns by recreating photos which feature them. Everyone’s Instagramming everything nowadays, you know. Once we’ve recreated a shot, the suspects and bomb sites within them are forever painted bright colours as we rewatch events. Eventually we can find clear proof, but may not have time. With people baying for justice, we only have two minutes to identify the guilty. We might need to rely on deduction.

The photo-restaging is tricky to get the hang of, but jolly fun once you’ve figured it out. Watching the crowds buzz about is a lovely thing, as is watching bright suspects pass through them. Our one gunshot is pretty powerful and final, especially at times when we’re not certain. That’s a problem with many FPSs: shooting loses a lot of its power when we’re doing it constantly. And the mannequin shatters, not even seen as a person. Pretty harsh place, this city. It occurs to me now that I’ve never tried not firing or purposely missing at the end.

And! Being procedural means the suspects and square are different every time. Splendid.

source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/11/20/photobomb-7dfps-procjam/

 

Download page: https://milkbaggames.itch.io/photobomb

Snapdragon by Jan Orlowski

Snapdragon (Jan Orlowski, 2019)

Snapdragon is a puzzle adventure  game about recreating photos on an abandoned island. Use the old photos to determine where they were taken and recreate them with your camera. The island has experienced many changes, so figuring out where the photo was taken will be a challenge.

source: https://eaglee.itch.io/snapdragon

 

source: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2019/05/20/snapdragon-photography-game/

thanks Matteo Bittanti for the tip!

A Brand New Camera by Fernando Ramallo

A Brand New Camera (Fernando Ramallo, 2018).

Thank you for your purchase! You are now the owner of a brand new Digital Still Camera.

Explore and capture your surroundings with the future of digital imaging.

Full specs:
320×240 resolution with 128 shades of luminance.
Digital viewfinder with Composition Assist®
4X Digital Zoom
DRAM internal memory with JPG storage
Integrated flash
Power: 0.075 W; Processor: 5 MIPs;
Memory: 7,497,984 bits;

source: https://fernandoramallo.itch.io/a-brand-new-camera

IslandPop Photo by TyNorman

IslandPop Photo (TyNorman, 2018)

IslandPop Photo is a photography game and walking simulator heavily inspired by the City Pop era and the works of Hiroshi Nagai. Explore procedurally generated islands with your camera to take photos and save them to disk.

source: https://tynorman.itch.io/islandpop-photo

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/330849989

Specter Snap

Specter Snap (Tim Ned Atton, 2015)

Specter Snap!
You’re a walking exorcist camera, out to save the world by snapping ghosts. Take a spooky close-up or zoom out to capture large swaths of ectoplasmic baddies. Jump around to get the best shots, for the most points. Only you can prevent a spectral selfie epidemic!

source: https://timnedatton.itch.io/specter-snap

screenshots from game, played on 2018-07-05 (online)

Freedom Through a Lens

Freedom Through a Lens (Nicholas Staracek, Nic Lyness, 2017)

Freedom Through A Lens is a photography exploration game. Created by @nicstaracek and @FeenikxFire for #ResistJam, abiding to the Freedom of Press diversifier, in that the game showcases press and journalism through game play.

source: https://nicholas-staracek.itch.io/freedom-through-a-lens

screenshot from game, played on 2018-07-02 (macOS version)

more info: https://startwiththetitle.wordpress.com/2017/03/15/freedom-through-a-lens-post-mortem/

The Polaroid

The Polaroid (Christopher Ng, Conrad Fay, Michael Lee, Kenneth Ng, Spencer Lee, 2016) submitted to Ludum Dare 36 (August 26th-29th, 2016)

Inside a mysterious room with no door, you seek a way to get out. A set of polaroid photos on the wall hint at the story of this room’s past. With only an old polaroid camera in hand, you must solve the puzzle of each photo by matching them to the scene.

The Polaroid is a puzzle game that connects the past and present through a supernatural take on the polaroid-within-a-polaroid fad.

source: https://dissonent.itch.io/the-polaroid

 

From Light

From Light (Faffinabout, 2017)

From Light is a 2D puzzle platformer that uses photography-inspired mechanics to light-paint your own platforms and rescue your lost penpal.

This short demo allows you to:

• Freeze portions of the world with Freeze Frame
• Light-paint your own platforms with Long Exposure
• Solve challenging puzzles
• Discover Paradise 252-B and its inhabitants

source: https://faffinabout.itch.io/from-light

Tropix

Tropix (cakenuckles and Lynnaira, 2017), submitted to Ludum Dare 39 (July 29th to August 1st, 2017).

what else is there to do on vacation but take pretty pictures to post on the internet?? try not to get distracted, and take the best pix you can before your phone dies! 💕

source: https://cakeknuckles.itch.io/tropix