Bad Machine

Well, I've been working with a few of the different works in the Electronic Literature Collection Volume 1.

The first one I'd like to talk about is Bad Machine. This one puts you into the mind of a robot that is supposed to be doing some kind of work, but has instead become a 'Bad Machine,' or rather has become sentient. I much enjoyed the way that Bad Machine twists the traditional text-based RPG. This is a format that was the forerunner to games like WOW and Fallout and Mass Effect—a sort of textual maze that required the player to both translate a text-only interface into the perception of an imagined three-dimensional world, and be familiar with necessary commands in order to manipulate this imagined environment accurately.

Bad Machine uses this ancient interface to its advantage, producing a believable, code-like appearance that adds to the realism of the work rather than detracting from it. The player must adjust his character's internal systems to correct errors and avoid detection. He must 'scan' the environment instead of looking around. He can retrieve information about other units present in the environment, like serial numbers, actions, and intent. What is most interesting, however, is the cohesive syntax that the Bad Machine interface uses. Phrases like "good machine" and "bad machine" and "compliance" permeate the work. Everything comes down to whether or not these working robots are doing their tasks without question; ironically, Bad Machine does not allow the player to pretend to do work, or even describe the task that the character is supposed to be doing. This means that there is no tricking the Drones that come searching for you, and beyond that, it means that this whole game is about searching for purpose and meaning. The concept itself plays with an existential thematic that provides a fantastic foundation for this work.