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IGF 2009 Main Competition Entrant
Coil
Company: From The Depths (Santa Cruz, Ca United States) Game Website: http://edmundm.com/coil/ 
Description:
Coil
Coil is an experimental "art" game that plays out more like a song or painting then an actual "game". I was basically trying to create an experience that put the player into an open minded space and let them question not only what the game was about, but what a game can actually be.
The game is best experienced without any direction or description and was designed to be something people would stumble across without knowing anything about it. If you haven't played coil yet please dont read the spoiler and play the game first. if you get stuck or want to know more about the game then by all means read it. i just personally think you will get more out of what i was trying to do if you play the game from an untainted perspective.
Controls:
Coil uses mouse movements only, no keys or clicking is involved at all.
-Edmund
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Spoiler:
Coil is a game with no instruction or clear direction. The theory behind this is that the player will get more out of the experience the less his hand is held through the process. I based the idea off the fist zelda, i felt one of the things that it had that many games now dont is that magical feeling that really sucks you into the world, and i think the core of that feeling is based off the fact that your never ever told what to do.
The title screen is the first "puzzle" that needs to be solved for the game to start. You can solve it by following the spinning circle with your mouse cursor, this is also how you pass through all the menus in game.
The game play in coil plays on two parallel stories, the birth and life of an alien life form and the story of a woman whos haunted by death, basically one to fears life because of its unanswered questions and one that blindly lives without fear of the unknown.
The story is dark and vague, ment to put the player in an uncomfortable space, both to set a mood and also open them up to more abstract ideas when it comes to the gameplay.
The core of coils gameplay is set into puzzles where the player must first find out what hes doing, why hes doing it and then finally when he needs to do to solve it. I try to parallel this idea with a story that is setup the same way, as a puzzle to get the player questioning what they are REALLY doing in the game and what meaning the story means to them.
If you seen any information about Coil that needs to be corrected or updated, contact the IGF Chairman.
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