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"Collage is the noble conquest of the irrational, the coupling of two realities, irreconcilable in appearance, upon a plane which apparently does not suit them." (Max Ernst)

Middens is an exploration game using collage and original pixel art in tandem that takes the perspective of a drifter traversing a veritable x-zone. Roving its interminable wastes the nomad chances upon a sentient revolver beside an ominous pile of remains.
The pistol offers its exploit in exchange for a pledge of inextricable companionship. Espousing to be the player's conscience the dubious weapon directs the drifter to a nearby outpost wherein the story further unfolds.

Despite its appearance as a wasteland the rift is home to many strange denizens---
some volatile and others ineffectual. Whatever their disposition the pistol represents the choice to engage them or to spare them. Aggression and passivity have their appropriate times with rewards and consequences being granted to both paths respectively.


Latest Blog

Where They Cremate the Roadkill



A thread of three lives confront the personification of appearances as it grows from larva to adult.

At the dead-end of the future a telepath assists the embodiment of insanity and is marooned in the mind of a flea.

In the primeval past one quadruped forages for food as a sentient cancer swallows the last of Earth’s living tissue.

Between the present’s many crossroads a jobless coolie that cannot die kills for rebellion and revenge.

All this as a desire for sleep returns in the heart of existence.

Where They Cremate the Roadkill is an experimental action-oriented RPG now available on Steam:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/705610/Where_They_Cremate_The_Roadkill/
  • Completed
  • myformerselves
  • kumada
  • RPG Maker XP
  • RPG
  • 02/27/2012 07:06 PM
  • 04/25/2022 05:20 PM
  • 09/21/2012
  • 782371
  • 171
  • 29180

Posts

Gibmaker
I hate RPG Maker because of what it has done to me
9274
author=Marrend
author=notices
The status for Middens was changed to Completed.
I swear, the status of this game was "Completed" when I was downloading Version 1.7 (which is the version I based my review on, by the way). Maybe I just thought it was completed?

Geeze, even after I finish the game, it still messes with me!

you never stop playing this game
>_>
<_<
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
author=notices
The status for Middens was changed to Completed.


I swear, the status of this game was "Completed" when I was downloading Version 1.7 (which is the version I based my review on, by the way). Maybe I just thought it was completed?

Geeze, even after I finish the game, it still messes with me!
This looks fabulously unique and bizarre, David Cronenberg would definitely jump on the film adaptation heh
is it just me or is there a bit of an "old school final fantasy art" vibe... like the concept images and character sketches? i guess what im saying is, i love the use of color.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
End-game commentary ahead.

The way the game handles how the end-game is triggered is interesting. Using the gun in the inventory? Utilizing the "Exuent Nomad" ability, suggesting that Nomad shot himself? Personally, I'm reminded of the FMV in Shin Megami Tensei - Persona 3 where a character shoots himself in his head to call forth his persona.

When the gun says "You play games when you're bored, right?" I mentally re-phrased it as "You're bored with this game, right? That's why you're here, at the end-game, fighting me." I dunno, I just found this sequence amazingly ironic. That the player has to choose to shoot the character in the head in order to end the game. And it's totally possible that some of that decision might be because of boredom.

author=bargainbinbible
For instance there's a conversation with the gun where it explicitly states that its life cycle is

rooted in the killing of other creatures. Making the Nomad a sort of parasitic host to the gun.


This is part of why I wish so much that this game had a more developed story. I find that kind of thing fascinating. There's a lot of character dynamics that can be implied from that.
author=nin8halos
The hard part for me wasn't figuring out that I need to kill things, but figuring out that I needed to
use the Talking Revolver in the menu after collecting at least 30 Nothings.


What really struck me as odd was that
after killing over 80 creatures and then the Nomad himself, the revolver said my blood tasted like that of a pacifist.


i wish i hadn't read that spoiler, but since i have...I'm fairly certain the revolver is an "unreliable narrator"
Gibmaker
I hate RPG Maker because of what it has done to me
9274
author=Fugue
i like how some of the inhabitants of the rift are not at all innocuous. like "mr. williams/quiddity".


mr. williams rocks
author=Fugue
when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.

That's a great quote to describe the game. I think much of the meaning of Middens is pivoted on that point. For instance there's a conversation with the gun where it explicitly states that its life cycle is

rooted in the killing of other creatures. Making the Nomad a sort of parasitic host to the gun.


It also reminded me of the quote of how violence begets violence. Weapons create the need for more weapons.

My older brothers are obsessed with the Call of Duty franchise and in that the main goal is to shoot and kill hyper realistic imitations of humans. I appreciated that Middens purposely makes the player uncomfortable with killing at first but eventually the act becomes so routine that the player learns to ignore the pleading of their victims and just go in for "point blank".
The hard part for me wasn't figuring out that I need to kill things, but figuring out that I needed to
use the Talking Revolver in the menu after collecting at least 30 Nothings.


What really struck me as odd was that
after killing over 80 creatures and then the Nomad himself, the revolver said my blood tasted like that of a pacifist.
Ark
Wario's-a number one!
1770
Every time I look at this it reminds me of Erilex.
"On my first playthrough, I was convinced that the win condition was simply turning off the game."

that is true of some rpg maker games but not this one. lol

everything you say is right, btw. it's one of many things that makes this game ve..er..ry interesting.

i like how some of the inhabitants of the rift are not at all innocuous. like "mr. williams/quiddity".
There's some cognitive dissonance, though. You know the gun isn't trustworthy, and he's creepy besides. In order to reach the ending, you have to ignore your gut and rack up an incredible number of kills on the (mostly harmless) inhabitants of the rift. The Nomad doesn't have any motivations of his own, and so this is something the player has to decide to do. On my first playthrough, I was convinced that the win condition was simply turning off the game. I think I might still believe that.
30 nothings is a lot of nothings. it seems like it will be difficult to get that many nothings without killing anything that pleads for its life.

which incidentally i pretty much staunchly refuse to do.

" If I was placed in a game where the focal item was a paintbrush I'd also naturally assume I'm supposed to paint with it. "

exactly. when all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail. i was discussing this with someone watching me play the game.

'what's it about?'
'it's not about anything. you just wander around this bizarre dimension killing weird looking creatures that are basically minding their own business'
'but why do you have to kill them if they're minding their own business? i like weird looking creatures'
'well...i have this gun. and it is the only means i have of interacting with the game world'

exactly.
Thanks Marrend, I've hidden the spoilers as you suggested.

I was able to beat the game without trying to find an ending. To me it made sense that if you're a masked man in a desert with a sinister talking gun for an ally that you're supposed to shoot creatures to progress. Actually if you walk around long enough you'll eventually have to battle monsters because a hefty portion are aggressive anyway. If I was placed in a game where the focal item was a paintbrush I'd also naturally assume I'm supposed to paint with it.

If I was Clowder though, I would probably just add a short blurb somewhere in the beginning of the game hinting at this more overtly.
I never would have figured out how to end the game on my own.
Spoilers on game clear

You first need thirty nothings. Then, you go into the skill menu and select the gun. Then go back in and select 'exeunt nomad.' This puts you into the end-game content. I figured people were going to have trouble with this.
i am requesting the developer send me specific instructions so that i may complete my review in a timely manner.

of course, there is no great hurry, as long as i can write the review with the game's vistas fresh in my mind.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
author=nin8halos
author=bargainbinbible
On a side note last night I finished the game

I must know how you did this.

author=Fugue
where do i go to complete the game? i have explored most of all of the game's three main areas, i think.


It was only because of a PM from the developer that I managed to get an ending. The only clue I wish to give is, has anyone played Shin Megami Tensei - Persona 3?


*Edit: bargainbinbilbe, please use a spoiler tag. Example:

[hide]So much for secrecy![/hide]

Edit 2: Man, that example is totally unreadable without being highlighted!