Devil's Tuning Fork
By Erin Bell,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Thought-provoking but scary game about being in a coma.
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Devil's Tuning Fork
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What’s It About?
DEVIL'S TUNING FORK is a free PC download game developed by a small team of college students from DePaul University. Highly experimental in nature and presented in a first-person perspective controlled using a combination of the mouse and keyboard, Devil's Tuning Fork is set in an abstract world inspired by the art of M. C. Escher. The gameplay attempts to let the player experience what it's like to \"hear\" their environment instead of see it. A small town is alarmed when its young children all start slipping into comas. One child (the player) awakes inside the a claustrophobic alternate reality where the player must navigate a pitch-black world with the help of a magical tuning fork to find the cause of the epidemic. The tuning fork grants the player the ability to emit sound waves and perceive them visually as they bounce off of walls and scenery to reveal parts of the shadowy world. The effect is similar to how bats use echolocation to \"see\" where they're going in pitch-black caves.
Is It Any Good?
The concept and presentation are certainly unique, but to enjoy Devil's Tuning Fork is to experience it with an open mind since the premise is really designed to be thought-provoking rather than fun. Once the trick of bouncing the tuning fork's sound waves off of the environment to look around and move, it becomes apparent that the game is at heart a simplistic platformer with moving platforms to ride, crumbling floors to avoid, and swinging hammers and blocks to dodge. The fact that the game relies on puzzles rather than weapons and person-to-person combat is refreshing. Players who are prone to motion sickness should beware, however, as the undulating effect of the sound waves on stripey, cavernous walls can be disorienting. Taken for what it is, a free download that pushes a new boundary in how players can navigate video game environments, Devil's Tuning Fork is worth a look - just be aware that it's likely to go over the heads of a lot of gamers who have been conditioned to expect more traditional or user-friendly experiences.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Many have compared the artwork of this game to M.C. Escher's work. Families might want to look at some of M.C. Escher's more famous sketches, like Relativity, Drawing Hands and Waterfall. What makes this art style notable and unique? What do you like about the sketches?
How does echolocation works, and how does it help animals like bats and dolphins to move around?
What are some examples of humans using echolocation, i.e. blind people tapping their canes on objects, or the sonar of submarines?
What's the difference between being in a coma and just being asleep?
Game Details
- Platform: Windows
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: DePaul University
- Release date: December 4, 2009
- Genre: Puzzle
- ESRB rating: NR
- Last updated: March 21, 2019
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