The Most Beautiful Indie in the World – What is Weakless?
Weakless is a Polish game that uses many emotions to tell the story of two creatures, one of which is deaf, the other blind. I talked to the creators of the game, which instead of being impotent, talks about love.
Table of Contents
Love indescribable
The Deaf creature is closely watching the reality – you can see it sat down to draw the scene in its sketchbook.
Let's talk about the answers I got from Ania and Agnieszka, the two girls developing the game. Why did they only amplify my feeling of weakness? The ladies called my attention to the second, next to disability, important aspect of their production:
The second topic we wanted to address in the game is preservation of the environment.
I read this sentence and thought: I love this game. I share its priorities, interests and pleasures. And to top it all off, it's beautiful. Ubiquitous vegetation, rocks, and warm light build the world of the Weavelings – they themselves also seem part of the flora.
LOVE METAPHYSICS
You should to know that writing about love is a hell of a challenge. That's why this article is intertwined with the story of my struggle. And that's mostly because love – at least that's my impression – is one of the indescribable things. It's like the revelation of true god that religions speak about – you have to experience it yourself. You can't express that with words. No one will understand. And here I'm supposed to write about it.
Above, I wrote about the underlying anxiety of the game. You see, that's because of the Rot. Corruption creeps into the beautiful, natural habitat of the care-free creatures. Degeneration of the environment caused by excessive exploitation. Eventually, it’s not only audible – it becomes visible, and its form takes on the appearance of an almost living organism. Evil, deadly, corruptive. Lurking. Overrunning new areas with its dark tissue.
Magically beautiful.
The parallel between this vision and our reality is rather straightforward. Weakless is a commentary on modern times. But it's not provocative, drastic and merciless – that's what we're used to, and perhaps that's where the resistance and denial derives from. Weakless assumes a positive attitude. It doesn't try to be intimidating, but rather encouraging. "Come," it seems to be saying. "See how beautiful the world can be when you choose companionship, help, and appreciation. See how easy it all becomes when we share a common purpose, kindness, and friendship. Can you see what we can achieve?"
If you've read my text about China and pop culture, you know I tend to be a bit idealistic about games and the industry. I have certain expectations that in the world of big money are nothing short of naive. Well, Weakless is neither a big-budget game, nor a game for everyone. But it is a game that validates my idealism, gives breathing space for the architect of an unrealistic vision of the world. Weakless is what games should, in my opinion, be like.
Love understood
Is there a solution for the notion of indescribability evoked by this game? Apart from being a pleasant adventure, it almost exclusively focuses on the senses – sight and hearing. It conveys an interpretation of the environment of the people who have these senses impaired. But don't think it's out of touch with reality – the game was created in consultations with people like that. The main features and capabilities of both protagonists were adapted to the true capabilities and abilities of people with this kinds of impairments.
The deaf person is the explorer. Briskly traversing the environments and climbing obstacles – its world is colorful and pretty. The lantern, which it carries on the head, revitalizes plants and fungi. Under its influence, life comes around and develops, opening new passages, creating paths. The nimble Weaveling is an artist. It paints everything it sees, immortalizing it on paper.
Corruption crept into the magical realm.
The world of the Blind is devoid of color, but surrounded by the beauty of music. The majestic horns on its head must collect all the surrounding sounds, because when we enter its body, we hear all its reality. The stoic character moves with caution, aided only by the guidance of its companion and the cane, used for echolocation. The Blind plays percussion instruments. Collects sounds.
The Blind and Deaf become your eyes and ears. Use this, and you will understand the indescribable – absorb the environment: observe the beauty of nature, listen to the sounds, and over time, you will begin to appreciate it more. And then go out, and do the same thing. Maybe you'll do something good for the environment.
