This Space Exploration Game Cures Writer's Block

Even the most talented and prolific writers experience resistance or uncertainty now again. Enter Elegy For A Dead World, the video game that's intended to cure Writer's Block, once and for all. For anyone who is either not yet clear on what you're trying to write (NaNoWriMo-ing, anyone?), or you're trying to write it in a way that's too far removed from how you naturally speak or think, this game might just be the ticket to your success. See, the digital age is quite a time to be a writer (some of the most famed in history spent an entire lifetime on one book, or a few essays) but the modern writer usually doesn't have such a luxury. In a time when every bit of content is being processed at lightning speed, sometimes you need something just as technological to cure your angsty procrastination.

That's where Elegy For A Dead World comes in. The game is akin to the classic role-play of a video game, but this time mixed with some dark, creative Mad Libs. Created by Boston-based developer Dejobaan Games, the game exists as a form of visual exploration in which the player is challenged to write their own fate. You begin the game as the only survivor of a wrecked space vessel, and your mission is to document the three lost planets — each based on the works of Romantic poets Keats, Shelley, and Byron. As you move through these three planets, and all of the different scenarios each doomsday presents, you're prompted to narrate what happened.

Co-developer Scott Ziba explained during an interview at the 2014 E3 gaming convention that "It’s all part of the game’s underlying philosophy, in which the dead worlds are merely a catalyst for whatever narrative a player wants to shape them into. What we're trying to do is motivate people so they get into a mindset where they have something they want to put out and write. We found just dropping them into a blank slate is too much. It's intimidating. The roles are about giving them something to play as; to set the stage for their writing.”

And if you're wondering whether or not it's fit for amateurs, the answer is definitely yes. The Dejobaan website explains that Elegy was created so that everyone could have the chance to try their hand (ahem) at writing. The game is not built in such a way that you can either "win" or "lose." It's all about what you put in — and take out. Check out the teaser trailer here, and maybe put it on the backlog for the next time you're feeling totally unmotivated at work:

Images: YouTube; Giphy