GDC 2015: Hands-on with Breath of Light - a zen-like game about redirecting your energy, maaaan
Realign those chakras
During the madness of a show like GDC - where you bounce from meeting spot to meeting spot, shove through crowds, and get stopped every two seconds to say 'hi' to someone you know - it's nice to play something relaxing like Breath of Light.
The idea is simple. Some plants emanate waves of energy and your job is to redirect those good vibrations to the dead flowers, using rocks to redirect the flow of energy.
You'll soon have to loop the stream around itself, use mirrors to bounce the beam about, futz with gravity to bend the energy flow, and more. It plays like Cipher Prime's Auditorium, if you remember that one.
It also has an adaptive soundtrack where layers of the music - a big bassy reverb track that fills and massages your brain - comes to life as you resurrect more flowers.
The game comes from a studio called Many Monkeys that has, before Breath of Light, focused on art installations and has had innovative art on show at places like the Australian Open and the Scienceworks Museum in Victoria.
And in the beginning, the game was called Feng Shui Master and revolved around furniture arrangement to redirect energy. But the team decided to go for a minamalist vibe and stripped it down to the simple, relaxing game you see now.
This is the studio's first game, and it will hit iOS in a few weeks. Breath of Light will have a one time fee, because apparently adverts aren't very zen. I'll tell that to our sales team.
