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the mountain is as it always was

by christine mi

2023

Web Site

(based on 5 ratings)
2 reviews

About the Story

A tiny interactive fiction game about mountains, emptiness, loss, and remembering what it means to be alive.


Game Details


Awards

Winner, Outstanding Bitsy Game of 2023 - The 2023 IFDB Awards

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Number of Reviews: 2
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A poignant story of love and loss, November 14, 2023
by Sean Huxter (Massachusetts)
Related reviews: 1-bit jam

First, let me say that the one-bit art brought me back to my roots, drawing on my Commodore 64.

Simple but effective imagery that evokes 1980s pixel patterns is used here to put a very basic yet meaningful UI on a short story that seems very personal.

I was not used to an IF story using sprite avatars to move around and trigger story elements, but it is well used here in a minimalistic way.

As to the story itself, I can relate to how nature can hold and reveal your personal history, having grown up in such a place.

The story is not long, and plays out on various car trips to a mountain, and is well written and heart-felt, dealing with the loss of love, and the loss of the first love.

I'm not normally a fan of Choose Your Own Path Text stories, but I have to say this one does it rather well and unless I missed something, repeats when it ends, rather than giving other options. And when it comes down to it, the nature of the story might be best served by looping back onto itself, so I liked that.

I enjoyed myself enough to break with my normal routine, and actually write a review.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
... and it grounds us all., February 12, 2024
by manonamora
Related reviews: independent release

the mountain is as it always was is a short kinetic piece made in bitsy, as a reflection of memories, loss, and what it means to be alive.

With its minimal 3-bit palette and concise prose, this tiny piece follows a little sprite struggling to find meaning in their life with a job that doesn't inspire them and struggling with their finances. Their thoughts (and feet) keep bringing them back to Nature, with its calming and unchanging state. Away from the drowning surroundings of the city, the sprite get to take a moment and meditate on their life.

Through the reflections of relationships and heartbreaks, loss of trusted parents, or their ever-lasting fears, the short piece is very touching and resonated deeply with me. The return to nature to find-oneself might be a trope, but the calming factor of being away from everything, disconnecting with our complicated lives, and just be there, present, surrounded with things that were here before us and will probably be here when we are long gone...

It made me quite emotional.

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the mountain is as it always was on IFDB

Polls

The following polls include votes for the mountain is as it always was:

Outstanding Bitsy Game of 2023 by MathBrush
This poll is part of the 2023 IFDB Awards. The rules for the competition can be found here, and a list of all categories can be found here. This award is for the best Bitsy game of 2023. Voting is open to all IFDB members. Eligible games...




This is version 2 of this page, edited by cxmi on 14 November 2023 at 7:39am. - View Update History - Edit This Page - Add a News Item - Delete This Page