aaron vanderbeek

HEX is a memory game prototype in which you are tasked with determining a series of colors being displayed by an array of squares. Each square displays the same series of colors, fading from one color to the next at a random transition speed.

This game is available for download. Unzip the files and double-click HEX.exe to play.

The design of HEX was motivated by the idea of making a visually stimulating experience without using any art assets. So stimulating that the player may be just as inclined to not play as they are to play. The idea of overstimulation is also used here. The player only needs to look at a single square to solve the puzzle, but the visual nature of the game compels them to look at the entire screen. Only by focusing on a single element might the player solve the puzzle correctly.

One concept that is interesting to think about when playing HEX, is the idea of color memory. Many people when trying to remember colors will assign is a textual name such as "blue" or "red" rather than simply remembering the visual experience of seeing blue or red. This makes the game quite difficult for people that do not have a robust vocabulary for different hues of basic colors.

Designer: Concepted the gameplay and art style, gave a 10 minute presentation about HEX in front of a panel of current game developers.

Programmer: This game was programmed using python in 7 days.

Sound Designer: I chose to use no sound effects so as to not break the immersion created by the visuals, but rather to use the equally entrancing Philip Glass song off of the Colourbox album as ambiance.

This game was selected to be a part of The Poetics of Gameplay Master Class at the art of play conference held at Carnegie Mellon University.