Baba Is You is a multiple award winner of 2018 IGF awards, bagging prizes for Best Student Game and Excellence in Design. The game revolves around manipulating “rules”—represented as movable tiles in the game —to help the character, Baba, to clear the level.
Gameplay Link:
FLAG IS WIN = if you touch flag, you win
WALL IS STOP = walls are impassable
ROCK IS PUSH = rocks can be pushed around
Each level comprises of various objects, characters, and movable word tiles. The word tiles generally fall into three categories:
- Nouns: that correspond to specific types of objects and obstacles on the field (such as Baba, the goal flag and walls)
- Verbs: “IS” and “HAS”
- Descriptors: tiles that determine the properties of these objects
- “YOU” – which makes all instances of the object controllable by the player;
- “WIN” to determine the winning object)
When three word tiles are aligned vertically or horizontally to form a valid syntax, they create a rule that governs how the object behaves and is enforced until the string is broken up.
Lenses
#25 Lens of Novelty
BABA IS YOU’s mechanics are extremely novel. Most games rely on a fixed set of rules that are understandable to players, and players hone their skills and maneuver around the constraints of rules to achieve a goal. However, BABA IS YOU requires players to manipulate rules in order to win the game in an innovative way. For example, in Fig1 below, the player controls BABA (BABA IS YOU), and cannot pass through walls (WALL IS STOP). Touching the flag is the win condition (FLAG IS WIN), however, it is surrounded by water, and the player will die if it touches it (WATER IS SINK).
Some creative thinking is required for the player to realize that the descriptor tiles can be pushed around and end up in a configuration like in Fig2. Now, we see ROCK IS WIN, and Baba just needs to touch the rock to win instead of the flag. This level is just one of the 200+ levels available, with new rules thrown into the mix with familiar rules every subsequent levels. Hence, not only does the novelty not wear off easily, there’s still a good balance of novelty and familiarity every level.
#8 Lens of Problem Solving
Fig4
Fig3 and Fig4 shows up just how many types of word tiles there are. The number of permutations of rulesets that can be generated is thus exponentially bigger. This allows for an almost infinite number of possibilities and solutions, which creates a high replayability and encourages players to problem-solve and experiment with different rulesets. For programmers & engineers, this game helps hone computational thinking and problem-solving skills well. Players must understand the implications of each word and rule set on the gameplay mechanics, which creates a unique challenge for them. This necessitates critical thinking and understanding of how the various words and rules interact with one another in an elegant way.
#71 Lens of Beauty
The game employs a minimalist art style, coupled with a simple user interface of the game. While this creates a clean and uncluttered UIUX, this is a double-edged sword because although the minimalist aesthetic allows players to focus on the gameplay mechanics, some may find it unappealing or too basic, limiting the game’s appeal to a broader audience. BABA IS YOU’s sound effects and music are effective enough in creating a sense of immersion without overwhelming the user with too much audio stimuli. Considering all of this, the game still won the Excellence in Design prize in IGF, which is a testament that beauty doesn’t have to be complicated.
#47 Lens of Punishment
While the game appears to be a casual 2D game that doesn’t seem too intense, there are finite states that the player can fall into that are dead ends, forcing the player to restart. Just like many games, the player has to restart the level when the player dies. But that’s not all, even “minor” things like when the player accidentally deconstructed the BABA IS YOU syntax in Fig5 causes him to immediately lose control of BABA, and is forced to restart the level. Imagine doing something like this after 20 carefully premeditated moves in the level and having to restart. There is a fair share of brutality in the game as some critical finite states cannot be reversed easily. This is exacerbated by players having to do things in a trial-and-error manner to find out how to advance in the game.
Elemental Tetrad
Mechanics:
BABA IS YOU’s mechanics set it apart from other games. Players are encouraged to break and bend the rules, pushing around word tiles on a grid to change the game’s rules. This gives the players multiple ways to clear the level. BABA IS YOU is no longer monotonous because players can always revisit levels to combine rulesets and come up with creative solutions for that level. However, because the game requires a lot of experimentation and trial-and-error, some players may find it too difficult or frustrating and be turned off. This is not a game for the casual gamer. The game’s difficulty level may be regarded as a barrier to entry for some players, limiting the game’s appeal.
Story:
BABA IS YOU does not go too in-depth into the story or plot. After all, it is not essential to have any context or background before clearing the levels. The main focus of each level is to provide a unique and challenging gameplay experience for the player. BABA IS YOU’s game mechanics gives it its competitive advantage over other games, a story line could potentially add to the attractiveness of the game, but it could also distract players from the main selling point of the game, which is to experiment with different rulesets to clear the levels.
Aesthetics:
The aesthetic attraction of BABA IS YOU is found in how it employs simplicity and minimalism to provide the player a distinctive and seamless experience. Players seeking a more meditative or minimalist gaming experience may find the game’s clean, uncluttered appearance appealing due to its minimalist art style and straightforward user interface. The game’s color scheme, which mainly consists primary colors against a dark background, also creates a sense of simplicity and cohesion. Furthermore, for typography, all rule words fit nicely in a unit square word tile, yet it is descriptive enough and fairly easy to understand what the implication of the word tile is. This is again aligned with the effective and minimalist aesthetics of the game.
Technology:
BABA IS YOU is a 2D game which does not require advanced graphics. This is also a single player game which does not have online multiplayer support, nor any AI-powered enemies integrated. Hence, it can be played almost anyone who owns a decent computer with basic CPU and GPU. However, the minimalist aesthetics and low technical demands of the game may be viewed as a lack of visual and audio polish. This is especially so for players who are used to playing the latest AAA games (that have realistic graphics and interactiveness) may be disappointed by the game’s basic UIUX and technical features.
References
Night in the Woods, Baba Is You win big at the 2018 IGF Awards | Independent Games Festival