TIGSource: Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's

Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's

Derek Yu — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 19:42:00 +0000

Andy Schatz offers up a great gift for the holidays: his ecological sim Venture Arctic is free until 2009. In his own words:

Somtimes it takes a little while to get to know a game before you fall in love with it. This is one of those games. I just want everyone else to be able to get to know it as well.

Merry Christmas!

TIGdb: Entry for Venture Arctic

"Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's" by renkin

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 06:55:04 +0000

So he wants you to fall in love with it, and then he’ll separate you from your love unless you pay money? ;)

"Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's" by crukid

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 20:53:59 +0000

Thank you thank you!

"Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's" by MisterX

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:44:23 +0000

I downloaded it right away when I read this on the forums as it sure sounds interesting. It always made me wonder why I only heard so little about the “Venture” games, while whenever I did it was only praise :)

"Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's" by Andy

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 22:52:44 +0000

Wow Mischief! Thanks! And thanks for finally posting about the game Derek! ;)

"Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's" by Mischief Maker

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:46:27 +0000

If I were ever to get in a debate with Ebert over whether video games can be art, I would bring a copy of this game as an example of videogames as art in a manner that cannot be duplicated by any other media.

You control the forces of nature in a delicate arctic ecosystem. It’s pretty darn hard keeping a sustainable population of all the species even when the game is on the easier settings. Then you turn on the climate change setting to ramp thing up a bit and go through the motions, only for fall for come to an abrupt and premature end.

“Hey!” you think, “I didn’t have time to stock the depths with plankton! Without that plankton the fish populations will starve, with the puffins not far behind, then this species, then that, etc.” Then you take a sidelong glance at that oil derrick, quietly pumping away, and wonder what kinds of mischief that damned thing will wreak on your carefully maintained ecosystem.

And right then and there, without any preaching, just through having the player performing key components of the energy cycle as gameplay elements, the player has his eyes opened to the dangers of global warming and habitat destruction that a thousand “Day after Tomorrows” couldn’t accomplish.

That’s a new kind of art.

"Venture Arctic Free Until New Year's" by Mark

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 20:53:49 +0000

What a cool thing for these guys to do. I have a friend who was obsessed with this game. I guess I’ll finally be giving it a chance! :)