Review: Sleep is Death

This is possibly, from a hypothetical point of view, the best game in the world. Or it could also be the worst.

It is up to you to decide.

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Jason Rohrer, a video games artist, is no stranger to profound stuff. He's done the Passage, which I've talked about in some length before here and here. And now he's done it again - fusing art with video games. Eat your heart out, Ebert!

If you don't know what I'm blabbing on about, let me introduce Sleep is Death. The latest wunderkind from Rohrer, the game is a two-player affair that has one person create a story, a world, and all its inhabitants for the other player to experience. It can be a dramatic story, an adventure game, a murder mystery, a romance, a comedy, a puzzle.... the point is, Sleep is Death is infinite in its possibilities, limited only by both players' imaginations.

People rave on (I do too) about the amazing nature of open-ended games like Mass Effect 2 which let your choices have an impact on the world. Well, Sleep is Death goes one step further. Any action or any words you utter in the game will have a direct and appropriate reaction from the world, all thanks to the fact that it's being controlled by a real human on the other side rather than a set of algorithms. You can literally do and say anything.


It reminds me of a really good book I read some time ago. The Chess Machine by Robert Lohr (not Rohrer, L-O-L). It's about a man who invents a seemingly magical chess machine that is intelligent enough to beat people at the game. How does it work? The secret is that there's a dwarf hidden inside playing (no joke). It feels the same with Sleep is Death. When you're the Player, even if you know deep down that there's someone at the other end of the game responding to your every move, it's still somewhat eerily awesome; that it responds so accurately.

Here's the inherent problem. The game works when both Player and Controller are onboard, crafting an awesome story together, letting it unfold spontaneously. Or if the Player is willing to go along with whatever wild trip down the light fantastic the Controller has in store for them. But if the Player decides to be daft and go against everything the Controller says or does, then the game is broken.

Example: if the Controller creates a sad little drama about a family arguing in the kitchen, and the Player is playing perhaps, the young son, it'd be totally wrong if the latter suddenly started accusing the family of being spies, and that he was actually some CIA spook sent to kill them all. It wouldn't have been the Controller's intended way for the story to go down.

Of course, the Controller could be easy-going and just go with the flow. Like I said, the game works best when both parties are in tune.


Another problem with the game. It works when everything is fun and exciting for both people - but clearly, no matter how long the Controller took to craft the story, how lovingly detailed it is, or how well-prepared they are for the random nature of the Player, the Player may very well just not enjoy the story/game. It may grow tiresome, drag on too long, or the Player may just turn off to the story for whatever reason.

The game's creation kit is also not the easiest to use. 8-bit graphics may be great for in-game, but the toolset could be a whole lot more intuitive. And this is a big deal in keeping the Controller motivated. Be warned, the learning curve is steep. But if you are willing to try, there really is a whole universe of infinite possibilities waiting for your imaginative touch. Along with the sizable amount of resources already preinstalled, there are community sites that allow you to download more bits and bobs to use in your stories. You can even upload your proud creations once they have been played out.

So there's a lot of "ifs" that this game perpetuates. IF the Player and Controller gets along, it'll all be good. IF the Controller can be bothered to build a beautiful story, it'll all be good. Jason Rohrer cannot be blamed for any of that. He's a one-man army showing up the world that games can be more than capitalism, commercialism and big pow wow explosions. This is truly heartfelt "gaming", if you can call it that; reminiscing on the good ol' days when grandparents use to tell grandkids mesmerizing stories, or friends sat around a dinner table, rolled a few dice, and played out a fantasy world. It's all that nostalgia transposed for the modern era, the 8-bit graphics just further emphasizes that.

For some people, it'll be brilliant. For others, they might stick to their awesome shiny graphics and big bang explosions. Whatever it is, people like Rohrer, and games like Sleep is Death prove that the indie games scene is a necessity. Indie game developers are the heroes who will go forth into the dark abyss of our gaming existence, push the boundaries for what we are capable of playing, and show us that in this deeply cynical, money-driven age, there is some love.


Sleep is Death is a mere US$14. It gets you a DRM-free (that's right, Ubisoft) digital copy of the game. It's bite-size, doesn't take much hard drive space, and you can share a second copy with a willing friend to play. It's not much for a playground of joy, and even if the idea doesn't excite you entirely, if you're a little bit curious, it'll still be an interesting nugget of experience.

I've put a link to one of my favorite SiD created stories below. It's hauntingly sad and beautiful, and sheer proof that Rohrer is a genius to have created this game. It is indeed a new era of user-generated content.

Link HERE. Keep in mind that the little kid in the game is the Player, and he has no idea what's in store for him.