Polaroid Pete
This is a sequel to a PC Engine game that was almost released in Europe. The localization was nearly finished and the review copy floats around on the internet. Like No One Can Stop Mr. Domino! and Incredible Crisis it is the kind of off-kilter game that feels like it could only have existed on this scale at this particular time. I had my wedding in about 2 hours but there are a lot of secrets to capture.
I received cases from the head editor of a newspaper. He says things like, “Hey, I heard there’s a flying train,” or “Could you take a picture of women in the bathhouse?” So yes, I’m not a professional journalist but a lapdog of lurid sensationalism.
Playing the game is a bit like flipping through a richly detailed kid’s book like Where’s Waldo or The Eleventh Hour. My eyes scan the screen looking for something interesting. If I’m fast enough, I can catch moments that only last for a second, like when a dog gets sucked up by a street cleaner. My favorite facet of the game is how I can jump and the whole world’s perspective tilts. I could see things I wouldn’t otherwise find, like a man sunbathing on a roof. The game hints where these opportunities are by showing characters with their backs turned to you, peeking at something. I like being rewarded for my perceptiveness.
I could never be a photographer in the real world. I don’t want people to see me seeing things. I don’t want people to wonder, “why does he think that’s worth taking a picture of?” But as Pete, I can take pictures of poop floating in a bathtub and no one will judge me.