“Fugue in Void” by Moshe Linke.
“Explore all kind of mysterious places and dive into a world full of atmosphere. Let this experience unfold in your head. Let it inspire you. This project […] is the result of my creative chaos. It is my all and everything.”
“Fugue in Void” is not a story-driven game, where the developer tries to communicate something personal with words. Also, it is primarily labeled as an artistic, atmospheric experience. But I still see a very important narrative in there. In 2017, I had my first encounter with the work of Moshe Linke, as “Wonder between Dunes” had blown my mind. His passion about – or maybe even obsession with – brutalist architecture fascinated me and it still is a recurring theme of his games.
For me, “Fugue in Void” is a metagame about his creative processes. The game starts off with a roundabout nine minutes long cinematic intro. That might seem much for a game that can be finished in under an hour, but it sets the tune exactly right for what will be happening afterwards. For me, the intro seems to be the starting point of a journey. We begin in the darkness, thriving for the light, going on a quest to find structure inside of the chaotic universe. A longing for clarity, or to be more precise: To bring ideas to life. First, it is all black, like a blank, but suddenly the shimmering inspiration appears. The vision gets clearer.
After the first nine minutes, “Fugue in Void” allows the players to become active. They follow a vivid bridge and reach the entrance to a gray fortress-like building, which they can explore at their own pace. Eventually, they will step inside the rabbit hole and thereby reach a new space. Wide hallways, lightning artworks, rooms that could resemble a cathedral, the sizzling sounds of pink light circles, kind of organic sculptures floating in the air, a walk in the desert towards a strange city – that are just some things that will cross your path.
All those are another hints that my hypothesis might be correct, as the objects and places inside of “Fugue in Void” become more complex and colorful over time. It is exciting to see this progress unraveling with that theory in mind, because the small details fall perfectly in pieces together. It is not just a “result of my creative chaos”, as Moshe Linke put it – it is about the creative chaos and finding a way to make something out of it, to form something out of nothing. However, even if that is not true, I am sure you will find some beauty in there, while you wander through all those mysterious places. [PLAY]
