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Mindfulness in Chaos

  • Kylaila
  • 09/27/2014 08:35 AM
  • 1252 views
Blues for Mittavinda is a short "Mindfulness meditation adapted from Vipassana". It sounds deep and the end part is. However, the format in which it was presented might be questionable.


So it's finally come to this.


Your father is dying and you, trying to search for a way to prolong his life, are sent out to find Tondo, a wise man of your village. So you explore your little village, are given direction, find Tondo, go back to the village, go back again to Tondo and finally hear his advice.

You basically just run around and talk to people .. who for the most part don't have anything to say. Their dialogues are very, very, very similar and all almost pointless save for one advice Tondo gave in the past. They all like Tondo except that one guy in church.


Yes, I'm talking about you!

You spend most of the game talking to them or running through the few maps, unfortunately.

I didn't quite understand the change of scenery/character. Nor what sense that made - I always find changing playable characters midway is a dangerous move and usually does not add much, but that might be seen differently.
Is it adding value to Tondo's wisdom? Exploring the danger of stepping out of your realm? One can only wonder. But these thoughts already crossed my mind before the scene, as I did stumble upon this railway.

The fish passage is similar as well.



The aesthetics are a weird mix of drawn houses (their insides, at least), photos and figures made ouf of modeling clay. While they are pretty beautiful by themselves, the drawn pieces stood out quite a lot and didn't fit too well into the overall style. There are a couple of typos as well, but nothing gamebreaking.

The music pieces playing are different blues, and they all fit the atmosphere of a barren desert area quite well. They clash a little bit with the clay figures, but fit well enough. It creates a nice uncertain atmosphere.

But your actual task is rather lacking. You have no real relationship to your father and you don't return to him, either. You should at least go back to him once you've learned your lesson, or bid him farewell later, given that he is the whole (initial) incentive to getting to this wise person.
The upper layer of the advice you get is .. blatantly obvious. Right from the very beginning, actually, which made not only the backtracking in town after meeting him, but everything you did a little bit annoying and less purposeful.

The lower layer digs deeper, exploring chaos in a mindful matter. I know many wouldn't appreciate meditative sessions, but I very well do. It's certainly an interesting outlook to take on and does give the seemingly random actions some kind of frame. Not the best one, but one nonetheless.
It breaks the format of the game and does enhance the experience. But it doesn't really serves as an ending and leaves you there.

Yet you wonder what the point about the game before that was. There is little food for thought, little to see, little to talk.

It's interesting atmosphere-wise, and for a little meditation. But the actual major game part is rather lacking and makes for a small game without impact or major enjoyment.

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