I was a bit skeptical going in because while it sounded neat, I didn’t know how it could be implemented in such a way that felt needed or effective. I didn’t really know how the peripheral played into the experience other than the fact that blinking controlled the game rather than clicking or pressing a button. From there, the game is a look back at Brynn’s life from birth to death.įor my first playthrough of the game, I used my laptop and its built-in webcam. While awaiting judgement, the Ferryman requires that he sees Brynn’s life so he can present a compelling case to a God that will determine Brynn’s judgement. It follows Benjamin Brynn, who recently died and was picked up by the Ferryman.

So, for those who can’t or decided not to play the game, you must be wondering what this game is about. Rather than require some obscure piece of equipment or feel like some cheap experience trying to sell webcams, it instead crafts a narrative that fully utilizes the peripheral it’s designed around, which as a result ends up being an experience that is not only impactful but shows just how great the interactive medium can be to storytelling. The last time I remember playing a game that used an accessory was Binary Domain with voice commands, which I gave up on almost immediately.

Xbox doesn’t support the Kinect anymore, VR still has a long way to go, and there are many plastic guitars and Nintendo accessories collecting dust around the world. Some peripheral-based games feel in-service to the accessory its designed around leading to a lesser experience, some peripherals are made for one game, some peripherals are too difficult or tedious to set up to be worth using multiple times, and some peripherals simply just aren’t needed. Peripheral-based gaming isn’t the easiest to trust. In 2021, GoodbyeWorld Game’s Before Your Eyes released, offering an experience that connects with a webcam to track blinking. One of those peripherals involves the eyes, such as Tobii eye tracking or VR. Whether it be plastic instruments for music games or fake bongos for Donkey Kong, developers and publishers have tried various ways to further bridge the gap between the player and the game. Throughout the years, video games have tried various gimmicks using peripherals. I would recommend playing the game (with a webcam, if possible) then coming back here to read.

Before your eyes wiki game