In Bloom

Last week, when the hardcore gamers of the world were supposed to be firing up The Lost and Damned, a new, downloadable episode of Grand Theft Auto IV, I instead decided to spend more than $400 for the privilege of playing a $10 game. I bought a PlayStation 3–a system I had consciously avoided to date in favor of the Xbox 360 and the Wii–so that I could download Flower, a little marvel of a game that casts the player as a series of petals floating in the wind.

What’s remarkable about Flower is the sensation it creates, from start to finish: simple, almost indescribable, joy. Kellee Santiago, the president and co-founder of thatgamecompany, the game’s publisher, says in an accompanying behind-the-scenes video that Flower is “the video game version of a poem” and that its purpose is to create “an emotion” in those who play it. Flower, which at least for now is exclusively for sale on the PlayStation Network of downloadable games, is not unique in that ability–other games successfully create fear, or nervousness, or exhilaration (or controller-hurtling anger)–but it is the only game I’ve played that made me feel relaxed, peaceful, and happy. What’s the point of it? Only that. Which is plenty.

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