Mountain

Release Date: July 1, 2014

Simulation, indie games, experimental/artistic, singleplayer

89%

Steam

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Independent production, difficult to classify unequivocally, from the borderline of computer game and artistic experiment. The game is limited to observing the procedurally generated virtual mountain and its transformations. Players can only change the perspective of the view and using a simple virtual piano accelerate or slow down the course of events.

Mechanics
Technical aspects

Mountain, released on PC, iOS and AND, is another original independent production combining a video game and artistic experiment, fulfilling the role of a so-called "stress reliever". David O'Reilly, an animator known for his Oscar-nominated movie Her by Spike Jonze, is responsible for the creation of the title.

Mechanics

At the beginning of Mountain, the game generates the titular mountain, which looks like a fragment of a land torn out from a larger whole. The game is about observing the mountain and the changes taking place on it, without the possibility of any interference in the processes. No wonder, after all, in contrast to people who can shape their fate, the mountain has no influence on anything and can only last, surrendering to the passage of time.

The mountain slowly grows with grass, however, with time, trees and other plants and even animals appear on it. The seasons and weather conditions change, and trash appears. Players can observe the rotating object from different perspectives by zooming in or out. Additionally, simple sentences and aphorisms appear on the screen from time to time. The creator has not implemented any tutorial or control instructions in the game. Over time, however, we discover that a simple virtual piano has been put at our disposal. Sounds, assigned to each key, accelerate or slow down the rotation of the mountain.

Technical aspects

Mountain eludes any attempt to unambiguously classify the game and can be perceived as a kind of experiment that forces reflection and allows a kind of spiritual exaltation to be achieved. It also does not surprise with its visual qualities - the graphics are relatively simple, using a small number of triangles, devoid of any effects or even smoothing. All this, however, makes it impossible to pass by David O'Reilly's "work" with indifference.

Last updated on August 22, 2019

Videos and Screens

[0:52] Mountain trailer

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