At the same time we are encouraged to think critically and experiment constantly, because the discovered method to get around a particular obstacle is rarely effective in other challenges. The reflexes we've developed over years of interactive play are used against us here. Antichamber regularly breaks and distorts all the conventions that other games have accustomed us to. However, the fact that you can't jump over a ravine doesn't mean that you can't overcome it by walking backwards.

Therefore, in the tutorial the computer can simply lie to us and lead us to death, and turning right four times will not return us to the original location. The author used Ivan Pavlov's theories of conditioned reflexes, as well as the rules of psychological shaping, and filled the virtual world with reality-deforming effects and physically impossible objects inspired by the paintings of Maurits Cornelis Escher.Īll this creates a game that manipulates the player at every turn, but at the same time teaches him new things regularly. The game is based on modern knowledge of human mind mechanisms, so that puzzles influence player's emotions and his perception of the game. Game is played from first person perspective and consists mainly on exploring abstract locations and solving puzzles. The finished product is much longer, more complex and better polished than the prototype modification.Īntichamber is a project that escapes simple classifications. After the release of the UDK (Unreal Development Ki) toolkit, the author was able to develop the whole thing to the level of a full-scale commercial production.

The project started life as a mod for Unreal Tournament 3 called Hazard: Journey of Life. Antichamber is an indie psychological puzzle game developed virtually entirely by Alexander Bruce alone.

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