Not many of the IGF finalists have been released at this point in time, so most impressions have been based on screenshots, gameplay videos, and word of mouth. So the nominations perpetuated a feeling of mystery that can only be cleared up through actual hands-on time. Trauma, from Krystian Majewski, was one of those titles.

Broken into four chapters, it’s a mystery title that takes place in a series of photographs. The screen is a patchwork of these photos, leaving the edges jagged, and as you move the mouse over the screen, elements light up, indicating they can be clicked. So you click your way around the levels through photographs searching for clues and a solution to the problem at hand.

The level I play required saving a teddy bear from under a giant circular stone. I clicked my way through the photographs, finding hidden Polaroids that revealed secret mouse movements that could be used to make certain actions happen. By wandering through the different pictures, I discovered a huge pile of these stones, all marked with a firey insignia. The narrator’s voice indicated that I had to find the stone without the marking, which it took me a minute to realize was the same stone I started on. So I made my way back to the starting photograph and tagged the stone with the flaming mark by tracing the mouse in the pattern. The screen lit up and the stone was pulled out of the screen, freeing the teddy bear.

The sound design was eerie, and the narrator’s voice spot on. I wanted to play through the entire game, and while Krystian said it’s not an overly-lengthy experience, but I just didn’t have the time on the show floor. I asked him if he had taken all the photographs himself, and he nodded to the small camera slung over his shoulder, which was indeed the main tool in bringing this game to life. His blend of animated elements in the photographs to the pictures themselves is quite intriguing. It’s slightly reminiscent of adventure titles such as Myst, but a truly unique experience with the design and sound work.

Each chapter of the game is split into starkly different visual locations. The title screen is made up of four vertical bars, each a preview of those locations, and the colors alone make them absolutely unique from one another.

He doesn’t have a release in mind just yet, but in its current state the game feels polished and ready to ship. I’ll be talking more with Krystian about his experience and this unique title’s future.