MusicVR Episode 1: Tr3s Lunas

The Good
Excuse me a confusing one-liner. I was trying to come up with something profound and simple that would have explained what I feel about this game and I genuinely found it impossible to do it in one sentence, mostly because my relationship with Tr3s Luna became much more complex than I initially anticipated.

What does Tr3s Lunas look like for a casual observer? An ambitious attempt of a renowned (at least in some circles) musician, who presumably barely knows a single bit about gaming culture, to provide an alternative to violent gorefests, which, in his righteous opinion, all of other games are.

I don’t like this kind of ignorance, and I am disgusted with this man's self-imposing as a savior of the sinned gamers. If there was a man who I would’ve trust with re-imagining the games as we know them, he would, at least, be of a gaming background, so that he would actually know something about games before aiming at such ambitious goals.

Still, ignorant as he may be, Mr. Oldfield firmly believed into what he was saying about Tr3s Lunas, and seemed to be very passionate about the project. So let the comments like: “The technology has finally reached the level for me to flesh out my ideas” slip past our ears and let's take a look at the game itself.

I have to confess I was deeply amazed by it. It managed to capture so many things right, that I have even begun to doubt the lack of any gaming experience behind Mike’s shoulders. Anyway, I believe that it mostly was a good stroke of luck and earnest work that made Tr3s Lunas what it is.

The first thing that Mike got right is the idea of interactive freedom. He decides not to guide the player on the leash, in fear that the little kid may be confused. He isn’t an overprotective developer who intends to show everything his game has to offer in the most redeeming light. Tr3s Lunas is the game that rewards the curious. I might even go as far as saying that this is the most rewarding game I have ever played. And what is the most extraordinary, it is that the game is rewarding without setting any specific objectives, except for one. Explore.

Take a look around, listen to the sounds, to the music, and watch the animals, the shapes, the figures, the stars. Play with them, see their response, be amazed by the results. There are hundreds of mysteries to unravel in the surreal world of Tr3s Lunas. Even the most obsessive of fans haven’t yet discovered all the treats this game has to offer.

However, despite its exemplary non-linear and free-roaming nature, the game knows very well when to take the controls away the player. This might have been a major fault for any other game, but Tr3s Lunas does it with utmost style and performance. The “journeys” is the most apt word for describing these parts of the game. Flying with the birds, swimming with the dolphins, being engulfed into the ballet of crystals under the moonlit sky, hopping on the space arrow taking you to the farthest reaches of the galaxy, or surfing as a silver skater among the planets. The balance between these journeys and free-roaming sequences is amazingly well-maintained.

Of course, neither of that would have mattered if Oldfield had nothing to fill his jar of concepts with. And here is where all the prejudices I have against this game vanish into oblivion. I didn’t expect a game with no story and filled with hallucinogenic surreal imagery coupled with a music trend I have never had any interest in, to be able to make such a strong emotional impact upon me.

I can write thousands of words about the emotions I experienced while playing Tr3s Lunas: anticipation, joy, disbelief, awe, fear, serenity, anxiety, excitement, melancholy and lots of other emotions I simply don’t have words to describe. This game is an emotional roller-coaster, perfectly combining the inspiring music with the artistic visuals for it’s goals. A bigger part of that perfect union is attributable to the way music is tied to the environment. There are dozens of techniques the game utilize to stress upon the fact that music is an integral part of the world. Dynamic soundtrack with instruments fading in or out depending on player’s position. Subtle changes in tunes indicating the differences that happen to the world around the player. The melodies accentuating the mood of the scene portrayed. All of those is delivered in high quality audio with the full support for 5.1 music playback. Needless to say, that I was completely blown away by most of the pieces themselves and shortly after completing the game went to my local music store to acquire a couple of Oldfield’s albums for further listening.

As for visuals – two words - Salvador Dali. Even a direct reference to the master can be seen in the horizon. Real things and creatures from our world are taken together and mixed with completely otherworldly effects and lighting. Sometimes, the game steps outside the boundaries of surrealism right in the realm of the straight-out impressionism. Weird rhombic shapes dancing a tribal dance is something I have a hard time associating with this world.

But whatever artistic direction the game takes, it always hits the emotional notes inside the player. And, yes, I have never felt a so intense feeling towards rhombic shapes in my whole life.

Another point I would like to make is a bit unusual. I found it extremely fascinating that the game pays as much attention to the microworld as to the macroworld. Let me explain: at one point in game you’ll be chasing bugs with a size of your fingernail and then, a moment later, in a brief sequence of events you will find yourself gliding among the celestial bodies helping Mike to flesh out his own symphony of Space. The transition effect is seamless, and it’s very amazing that a game from a musician shows so much technical professionalism and integrity.

And let's not forget a complete control the designers have on the game scenes. Lighting, texturing, music – everything is chosen manually to create the most authentic experience possible in each of the game’s instances.

Weird and confusing as it may be, in time, you grow accustomed to the world of Tr3s Lunas, but you don’t want to leave it. You feel secured in its boundaries and discovering more and more about your new home feels very thrilling and very exciting.

The Bad
Upon completing and contemplating on my experience with it, I couldn’t disregard the fact, that the way Tr3s Lunas thrills me, the way it pulls my emotions on the surface is very artificial. Yes, I was experiencing that gigantic range of different emotions I was talking about earlier. But once, these emotions have passed, there’s nothing left. The game has no message, it’s about nothing, it leaves me exhausted, satisfied and blank at the same time.

It’s a bit frightening to see how the game juggles with human emotions by using blinking lights and otherworldly sounds. It’s pleasant, but, in a way, it is very wrong.

Actually it’s the same fault I can ascribe to surrealism and impressionism. Sure, they can thrill, excite and make the viewer experience different feelings, but they don’t make him learn something from these experiences. They don’t make him a better (or worse) person.

It’s like a sophisticated version of a pure action movie, which saturate the hunger for thrills in the same artificial manner, but with a more elitist audience in mind.

But is it so bad? Taking into account the fact that I’m raising all these issues while talking about a video game, I would say “No way!”. It had to be done, and thank God it was done in such a great manner.

This game is, evidently, not for everybody. Try it, maybe it will be to your liking. It’s a fifty-fifty deal. If the game manages to have an emotional impact upon you, then it’s a terrific success, if not – a pathetic failure. Considering it’s been freeware for sometime now, I can’t see what is preventing you from downloading it right now.

The Bottom Line
Let’s draw conclusions, using my uber rating system ;-)

Talent: 5/5

I can’t deny any bit of musical talent to Mr. Oldfield. But the fact that he proves to be an able game designer is just remarkable. The man really feels and knows how to convey those feelings to the audience regardless of the media he chooses, be it music or a game.

Ambition: 5/5

While most of the ambition comes from ignorance, I can’t stress more upon the fact that Oldfield does everything his own way, taking huge risks and not settling for compromises, not for once.

Pteity (Pushing The Envelope - ity): 3/5

Tr3s Lunas does an outstanding of pushing the boundaries of what a video game can be. But original as it may be, I wouldn’t want to see more games following this way. It takes too much talent to deliver great pieces for such kind of art direction. It can’t be achieved in procedural manner.

In the world of art painting we are now facing the situation with many “genius” painters considering their “red paint splattered across the yellow one” paintings masterpieces worthy of millions of dollars. I wouldn’t want to see that happening to gaming.

Effort: 5/5

Every sequence of the game feels like a game on it’s own. There’s nothing showing that Tr3s Lunas could have been more. It’s already grand, magnificent and extremely saturated.

Adequacy: 4/5

That’s a risky deal. Either you are (as I was) overwhelmed by emotions and don’t need any rational or adequate explanation for the things you’re witnessing. Or you might just say “What the hell was that? I wonder, what was this guy smoking.” and proceed to delete the game off your hard drive. There’s no third option here.

Total: 4.4/5

Tr3s Lunas made me remember that I am a living and breathing human being. It made me feel the feelings I was never aware I am capable of. As Data from Star Trek I felt as if I have acquired an emotion chip giving me an access to my humanity.

Still, I will never have any use for most of these emotions. I haven’t learned anything substantial about me or about the world I live in. Yet I enjoyed the experiment. Tr3s Lunas is clearly an art-game, even if its priorities are not exactly to my liking. As for you, my reader, I can only say this:

Take a ride on emotional roller-coaster and see how many emotions you are capable of yourself. Take a test and see how much of a human you are. And after you do so, come back to the real world, the world where you would have feelings towards real people and not rhombic shapes in fancy lighting.