Inside

In all honesty l am new to the world of gaming but if the 2016 game Inside by Playdead is anything to go by, l will be following it much more closely. Yes, l am coming the party very late; 2016 was a while ago now and I’ve only just discovered Inside. Almost Film Noir, this game marries a crisp visual language in a dystopian world.

Inside by Playdead, 2016.

Playdead is a Copenhagen based gaming company (founded by Arnt Jensen and Dino Patti) in 2006. With the partnership now split, Playdead is now headed up by Arnt Jensen, with Dino Patti starting up Jumpship in the U.K (with Chris Olsen). Regardless, this story is about the game not the company that made it. Or more specifically, this story is about the games’ design. The first thing l thought upon seeing Inside was the French film Playtime by Jacques Tati. Like Playtime, Inside is abstracted, slightly surreal and relies heavy on the visual language (the production design) to inform the narrative.

Starting from sketches first developed by Arnt Jensen for the preceding project, Limbo, Inside focuses play on a single character, a boy. It is this simplicity or minimalism, that defines Inside. Set in a sparse, grey world, Inside uses less to amplify more. Less light to focus our imagination, less sound to add an eerie silence and less colour to grab our attention. With camera views sharply focused, peripherals remain a fog of shadows, reinforcing the darkness of this dystopian world and the unfolding events.

Not surprisingly, Inside was partially funded by the Danish film institute and it is this cinematic approach that connects character, environment and narrative. Inside shouldn’t just be a gamers favourite, it’s beautiful for anyone interested in moving image like me.

SW.