Ambience In Action: Proteus Live
We've posted surprisingly little about audio-visual wunderkind Proteus, which I suspect is to do with the fact that, as a primarily sensory experience, it's far more difficult to describe than it is play. Certainly, Ed Key's ambient exploration game has at least three staunch fans in Castle Shotgun - myself, Jim and Adam - and it would be remiss of us not to encourage any and everyone who is introspection-inclined to play it.
Of course, to do so involves spending money on the current unfinished version without being entirely sure what you're in for - no demo as yet, alas - so as an alternative why not watch Ed and the game's musicman David Kanaga play Proteus live on stage at GameCity last week?
I can't tell you how down I am that I didn't get to go to GameCity this year. It sounded like just the right middleground between excitement and quiet, low-key cheer, attended by a small army of genuinely fascinating and non-mercenary people from the gaming world. Instead, I stayed at home in a cold, silent house, furiously playing Hotline Miami by myself. I really should have played Proteus instead - soothing my soul with the simple joy of discovery, rather than inflaming it into a fever-pitch of bloodlust.
More details on Proteus Live, and how it differs from the currently available build, are here. And for a slightly more visible look at the game's moodscapes, here's the beta trailer:
You can pre-order Proteus, with immediate access to the current pre-release build, right now. You should do that.
You should also get hold of Kanaga's 80-minute mix created to get the devs in the mood for demoing Proteus, which is right here.