The Awkward Steve Duology
The hero we need
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Can videogames be art? That question has raged since the first time someone said something stupid and someone else said something hyperbolic in response. The late, Pulitzer winning film critic, Roger Ebert said they weren’t and made a lot of enemies. Former senator Scott Ludlam said they were and got love. Now a strange bearded individual with crippling social anxiety enters the fray (and I’m not talking about myself). The Awkward Steve Duology, a pair of surreal and comedic micro adventure games examining the horror of having to open a door are being exhibited in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, so I guess the question or not games are art has been answered.
In the first of the two games, A Stranger Comes Calling, Steve, a dishevelled bearded man (again, not me) is sequestered in his house trying to write the great American novel when he is interrupted by the most terrifying sound one can hear while alone, a knock on the door. Players must try to quell Steve’s anxiety through a combination of hiding, rabbit patting, tea drinking and pretending the outside world doesn’t exist. It’s a brief but funny little game, with simple decisions being made between black and white FMV sequences, and as someone who suffers from severe anxiety (this time I am talking about me), sometimes it feels all too familiar. The second game, Don’t Turn Your Back on the Ocean ups the ante for Steve. His roommate is throwing a party, so Steve has locked himself in the bathroom in an attempt to avoid people, knowing full well that there is a possibility that someone will need to use the bathroom. What is a
maybe form a relationship with an equally awkward person on the other side of the door
strange, bearded man to do (again, not me)? Hide, read the ingredients on a toothpaste tube, check to see if you have any messages? Maybe form a burgeoning relationship with an equally awkward person on the other side of the door.
Neither game will occupy you for more than 10 or so minutes, but they are both funny and kind of touching. The silent Steve is everyone at some point in their lives when the thought of having to face the unknown but there is also a wonderful pretentiousness about the whole affair of the kind usually relegated to bad student films. It’s all very deliberate and works to kind of heighten the experience of briefly clicking through the life and small struggles of a strange bearded man.
So is the Awkward Steve Duology worth 20 minutes of your time and $4 of your hard earned money? Yes. Although it is silly and funny and pretentious, it’s also charming and kind and gentle. It’s also a remarkably clever look at the kind of mental gymnastics people with social anxiety will often put themselves through to avoid stressful situations. So, is Awkward Steve art? Sure, why not. Give it a shot any we might see some more adventures of the bearded shutin. If you suffer from anxiety you will probably relate. If not, you might get an appreciation of the kind of crap sufferers go through. DANIEL WILKS