Daniel Benmergui

Night Raveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans

3 June 2008

My entry for the Procedurally Generated Content Competition of TIGSource.

For an explanation, go here.

What do you think of this game? Let me know!

62 Comments so far
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Lo juego, pero no lo entiendo. Igual siempre es divertido hacer que alguien se suicide.

Es entretenido ver a la gente corriendo desesperada por la ventana y luego saltar. Pero no entiendo mucho el juego, probe cortar relaciones a lo loco y probe cortar poco, también puse una luna por ahí… hay algo mas?

- Hey, did you see that?
- Uhm?
- Did you see someone go past the window?
- What?
- Somebody just went past the window. That way.
- Oh.
- Oh.

[...] Yesterday I sent my current entry for TIGSource’s Procedurally Generated Content competition (Play It). [...]

Well… a really nice game. It’s pretty fun to explore and play with those uruguayan emotions.

Anyway I wonder some things… when you get the moon the game is over? If so, it’d be nice to know it… but besides, why does it give you the moon? When I completely destroyed their hearts it gave me a dark moon. When I renewed all the relationships it gave me a bright moon… is that it?

Poor uruguayans, maybe they wanted to continue their old relationships!

White lines are hard to see between windows. Playing more.

Wow, nice little game. I was only able to get the tragedy and happiness endings.

I really like the aesthetic, and particularly the conceit that you can see the relationships between people. The music is perfect, too.

Did you make this in Processing?

@Darius: actually, it’s a pure java applet. The idea that processing is too much of a toy stuck with me, so I never gave it a chance again…

Thank you for the feedback!

I’ve just updated the game…there are many improvements and fixes, including much better instructions and clearer feedback on the ending.

I try it. Having two possible endings. First with many people died, and the second with all people happy.

Hey I like this update really much better. Congratulations!

I have seen the 3 endings

Thanks

Hey! This is really great! Thanks for the shout out. Very good game, in particular I love placing the moon at the end!

Like a good wine, a good poem or a good piece of art of any kind, this game has an after taste… it’s small, simple and elegant yet with a meaning.

After you play, that first impression of the little guy being a bad person, you realize that he was actually a good person that can help people, if used for love, breaking hearts is a good thing.

And thats the beautiful thing of this game.. of what it has to say about the complexity of human relationships.. what was sad, ended up being good..

And the final touch of putting the moon in the sky..

This game is an interactive poem!

Loved it.

This is indeed a beautiful game.
It puts the over-thought ones to shame.
For in its simple concept; choice,
You can clearly hear a whispered voice,
ask “Will you cut me, end this pain…
or can you make me whole again?”

And phantom answers; “Nevermind, but sleep,
I can do both and by the ‘morrow,
you’ll no longer weep.”
—-
My goodness, this game is nice! As has been said, it’s like good, simple poetry. Not terribly difficult after playing a few times, but I know that’s not the point.

Beautiful, and very soothing, somehow.

@Sylverone: wow… that’s a unexpected post… thank you!

I agree, it’s a very beautiful, soothing game.

I also like the music, it really compliments that heartbroken uruguayan mood.

Cheers!

[...] Benmergui, the creator of “Night Raveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans“, has been releasing three games, one a week, for three weeks. They were created for an event [...]

This is like a Woody Allen videogame

For some reason I can’t play the game. Its just a blank grey square.

my fucking birthdays on june 3! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!@!!!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~~~~@!~!~!~!~!~!~!@!@!~!@~!@~

Great Game and theme, but no matter how muh i tr, there’s always 1 person left unhappy.

w00t! ALL ENDINGS

How come I only get a white screen? :[

@Luis: you need to have java installed:

http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp

I have a soft spot for visualisations of metaphysical concepts.

After a single leap of logic – that ‘connections’ are represented as string – so much else follows naturally. The fact that stronger connections can’t be broken, that weaker ones can…

Though I had to read the rules and play it ‘as a game’ in order to get everyone to be happy, it still gave me a lovely warm, fuzzy feeling.

Why are they Uruguayans? Uruguayans aren’t black?

I can dig this game. It needs a refresh button so I can go for different endings, though. And if you could tie these concepts together into one full-length game, that would be swell.

Also, I tend to end up with a lot of polygamists when I play this.

yes! i got all happiness!

i love this romantic attachment you have with love and the moon.

hey man you’re a genius for me..

i would like to have the pleasure to have for advertise my band one of your new game..

soo cool..

my band in on http://www.myspace.com/dearband

dave damato is the drummer and the singer for dave damato, for dear is th drummer..

hope u’ll like my purpose…

dave damato

how the hell do i lay the damn game theres nothing to let me or anything for me to press to take me to the games page

there are lots of afro uruguayan people.
lots. you should think before spouting out nonesense.

Great game, I love the music Stuck on how to get everybody happy though

My girlfriend said it is the perfect example of a social theory called “web of relations”. People who have all their connections cut too abruptly, and cannot make another, tend to depress and suicide. At the same time, if they make new connections, they tend to be stronger then the lost ones.

Anyway, it’s a great game, most of the people who posted here don’t really understand it, I think…

I think what you doing is very important and very beautiful. Congratulations. I made a review for I wish I were the moon on my blog: http://infoblarg.blogspot.com/

@Janos: thank you very much!

I noticed your review of Moon. Beautiful. Thanks for that, too.

I also enjoyed this one greatly, the music has a kind of wondrous night time quality but the semi-psychotic warble effect reminds me of the tragic consequences you can make happen.

So far I’ve found three endings, all happy, tragedy and “survivor’s love”. Are those the only endings or am I missing something?

@William: that’s all! Thanks for playing!

After I’ve done the laundry and I’m matching my socks, sometimes i pretend my socks are people and that i’m God trying to find their perfect matches. hahah, this game reminded me of that.
I’m always a little sad when i can’t find a match for a sock/person.

fun game, i’m glad i finally got everyone to have hearts.

I am Course Leader for BA Games Art and Design, Norwich University College of the Arts. One of my graduating students brought your work to my attention, I am very impressed. Not sure where you live but would you be interested in coming to give a lecture/talk/workshop/video conference about your work to my students during 2009/10 academic year, if so please email me directly m.isaaman@nuca.ac.uk We will shortly have a ‘Student Exhibition Portal’ official ribbon cutting (June 28)…. so from then all will be able to see what they have been doing.

Wow, it’s really hard to get the happiness ending!

Hey, nice work, Still stuck on how to get hapiness

Great game. It took me a while, but I finally got the all happy ending.

This is a great game, but it does’nt show the whole game…

It wont work

All Hapiness Ending.

For me there’s always one sad guy left over…

I loved the game AND the music!

I cant find the link to the game

@ all of the people who complained about the uruguayans being protrayed as “black”, it’s call a silhouette. perhaps you’ve heard of it.

I’ve just recently discovered and fell in love with all of your games. But I can’t find the link to this one. Am I missing something? Help!

Is this game not playable anymore?
where can I play it??

[...] has made several games that explore other concepts in a similar, experimental way. For example, his Night Traveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans explores the consequences arising from [...]

I got three endings.

The game sounds good according to all of the comments, but I can’t seem to get to the end of the game! Everything works perfectly when I first cut a line, but when I try to cut another line the hole game freezes!

Any idea why it freezes at my second cut? Has it got something to do with Java? Please answer quickly!

It’s probably Java… try a different browser…

[...] em três atos envolvendo dois rapazes e uma moça num reino medieval de fantasia – e “Night Raveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans”, que envolve ligações humanas e suas [...]

what r u suposse to do?

my person jumped out of the window XD

[...] other game that I played and enjoyed is called Night Raveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans. Even simpler than Today I Die: you’re a little, floating, ninja-looking (though this [...]

Are there a total of three possible endings?If yes,then I’ve seen them all.If not,I better keep trying.:p

Why can’t I see a play the game button? and I can’t click on the pic either. can someone tell me how I’m supposed to play this game?

i accidentally made them all commit suicide…..

All hearts! Great game!

A nice little game. I have only found 2 of the three endings. But it also has a very intersting concept.

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Night Raveler and the Heartbroken Uruguayans

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