The Future Will Not Save You From the Past | Static Canvas
Terra Nil's absent story is a silence that has been echoing through my brain ever since I first played it. Something missing that brings up an awkward question about how divorced can games be from their intrinsic political nature and how responsible should they be when certain parts of the audience interpret what they want from the ambiguity.
Interviews cited in this essay can be found below:
Jonathan Hau-Yoon on Terra Nil: https://gamerant.com/terra-nil-free-lives-brand-identity-game-jam-diversity-nature-climate-change/
Eli Cauley on Cloud Gardens: https://issuu.com/optopia/docs/issue_3/s/12396440
Music is from the Terra Nil Sountrack composed by Meydän: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2321920/Terra_Nil_Soundtrack/
and the Cloud Gardens soundtrack composed by Amos Roddy: https://amosroddy.bandcamp.com/album/cloud-gardens-vol-1-original-soundtrack
You can find out more about the Montreal Protocol here: https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol
Information on carbon emissions that informed the 100 companies, 71% emissions statistic referenced can be found here: https://climateaccountability.org/carbonmajors.html
Static Canvas is written, recorded and produced by Thomas Ife