Trees in Proteus

I just got Ed Key and David Kanaga’s game Proteus, and so far have found it to be awe-inspiring. The subtitle of this post, “Another World”, has to do with being reminded, oddly enough, of the title of an unfortunately out-of-print book of haiku by Richard Wright, Haiku: This Other World:

Look, look, look!
These are all the violets
Left by last night’s rains!

The poetic genre’s many references to blossoming cherry trees might be one reason for such a connection. Another might be simply the sense of other-worldly-ness one feels with Proteus. In this game you are not the hero, but rather merely a tourist in a world of living things that have been at play with each other for what seems like a great expanse of time. Although you are only a visitor, you seem to be welcome. And just as you are curious about this world, the world seems curious about you. Flowers dance and react to you. Flies benevolently swarm you and carry you about. There are even times when it appears that you’ve been honored with invitations to ancient, mystical rituals.

The aural properties of the world reveal an additional level of depth in the game, in which the soundtrack seems to be formed out of your adventure within the virtual space. I don’t think a reference to “kosmische Musik” would be out of line here, given its similar sense of wonder.