Burn

Burn is a 3-week Game Studio I project developed in Unity for the NYU Game Center’s MFA program. It’s an abstract little metaphor for working hard to chase your goals, burning out, and trying to restore the energy to carry on.

The button-mashing “ignition” action signifies the first spark of creative fire that we get when we come up with an idea, where the flames throughout the world represent our search for continued inspiration, and our need to constantly feed our creative fire. As we grow more immersed in our work, we tend to block out the world around us, signified by the charred poem in the background. It’s only when we complete the work and take a step back when we can see what we’ve missed.

Controls: Mash spacebar to ignite (and reignite), and use WASD or arrows to move and collect all of the little flames.

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback, insight, and inspiration. Y’all are important to me.

Song “In Medias Res” by Nctrnm. Poem “What do I Care” by Sara Teasdale. SFX are public domain clips from freesound.org.