Source: The Conversation – UK – By Jordan Magnuson, Senior Lecturer in Games and Media Art, University of Southampton
Exchanging poems on Valentine’s Day is a long-standing tradition. But poetry doesn’t have to be bound to the page. This February 14, why not try sharing a game poem instead?
Game poems are tiny video games made as a form of poetic expression. They generally only take a few minutes to play and tend to challenge our expectations of what video games are for. Rather than entertaining players with points, competition, or spectacle, they aim to capture a feeling, a thought, or a fleeting moment.
It can seem strange, at first, to consider games as a form of poetry. We often associate video games with speed and large-scale entertainment, while we tend to associate poetry with slowness, intimacy and attention. But games are not bound to the conventions that dominate their mainstream forms.
Game poems show how video games can be used to explore interior life, relationships, and emotional nuance and offer a reminder that creative impact doesn’t always require length or complexity. Sometimes, five minutes is enough.
I’ve been making short video games as a form of poetic expression for over 15 years, and recently launched a playable online magazine dedicated to this sort of work.
If that all of that sounds abstract, the best way to understand what these games are about is simply to play one. Here are five short game poems, all playable in a web browser, that explore themes of love, intimacy, longing and separation – perfect for Valentine’s Day, whether you’re playing on your own, or with a special someone.
1. On Second Thought by Tereza Kotěšovcová
Estimated play time: less than five minutes | Gaming skills required: none
On Second Thought contains no text at all. Instead, it unfolds through simple images, rhythm and the repetition of a single button press. The game centres on a familiar emotional moment: the hesitation that comes with making the first move in a relationship.
As you interact, a seemingly quiet encounter is juxtaposed with the inner tumult that can often seize our imaginations at such moments. In the words of the artist: “You hesitate. You imagine the worst. Miss your moment, and the world will stutter: a coffee spills, a sun is eclipsed, a temple crumbles. You start again.”
Like a lyric poem, the game is less interested in explaining this experience than in letting you sit inside it.
2. Queers in Love at the End of the World by Anna Anthropy
Estimated play time: ten seconds (replays recommended) | Gaming skills required: none
Queers in Love at the End of the World lasts exactly ten seconds.
You and your lover are about to witness the end of the world. In that brief span of time, you can choose how to act: kiss, hold hands, try to say something meaningful – or hesitate and watch the moment pass.
The time limit is a merciless and potent constraint. There is no way to do everything, and no way to “win”. Each play-through becomes a small act of acceptance: whatever you chose, that was enough. Like a powerful short poem, the game lands with emotional force precisely because it ends so quickly.
3. Loneliness by Jordan Magnuson
Estimated play time: less than five minutes | Gaming skills required: none
Valentine’s Day can be a difficult time for people who are feeling isolated, and this game poem doesn’t shy away from that.
Loneliness is an abstract exploration game that I created where the only available input is movement. Explore a flat landscape populated by squares that engage in social interaction represented through patterns of their own simple movement. Do you avoid them or choose to approach? And what about the next group?
Is the way the others react to you real, imagined or remembered? The game leaves that question open, inviting reflection instead of offering answers. The familiar video game convention of exploring a landscape becomes a metaphor for navigating social and emotional distance.
4. The Love Letter by Alex Snyder
Estimated play time: five to ten minutes | Gaming skills required: some
Not all game poems are sombre. The Love Letter is playful, awkward and sweet.
You’re a student at school. A note with a heart appears in your locker. The problem is finding a quiet place to read it while navigating busy hallways and crowds of classmates.
This game poem borrows the language of classic arcade challenges – movement, timing, obstacles – but repurposes them to express something small and personal: the anxious thrill of teenage romance. It feels like a Valentine’s card rendered in playable form.
5. How to Walk Out the Door by Anton Patsi
Estimated play time: five to ten minutes | Gaming skills required: None. But fast typing skills will help.
And for the Valentine’s Day sceptics, something completely different. A game about breaking up. Ending a relationship can be harder than starting one. How to Walk Out the Door turns that difficulty into an intense 20-second loop.
Each round plays out under extreme time pressure and revolves around an unusual game mechanic: typing. With each attempt to leave, you can get a little further – or falter – before time resets and you’re forced to begin again.
The repetition is the point. The game uses rhythm and constraint to convey emotional exhaustion in a way that words alone might struggle to match.
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Jordan Magnuson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
– ref. These five short video games work like poems – and they’re ideal for Valentine’s Day – https://theconversation.com/these-five-short-video-games-work-like-poems-and-theyre-ideal-for-valentines-day-275148