‘Let’s Play: Ancient Greek Punishment: UI Edition’ Inflicts Torments Through User Interfaces

Let’s Play: Ancient Greek Punishment: UI Edition re-imagines the mythological punishments of Sisyphus, Zeno, Prometheus as hostile sliders, check boxes, and drop-down selections.

Sliding a bar to the number ten is kind of like working a boulder up a hill, right? Having your bath tub never fill is pretty much the same as selecting which fill state to put your tub at, only to have it reset before clicking the ‘Bathe’ button. Each of the torments of Tantalus, Danaids, Sisyphus, Prometheus, and Zeno have been recreated as UI, having you make selections that will never, ever pan out in some way.

Let’s Play: Ancient Greek Punishment: UI Edition is a ridiculous, but thoughtful game that is also an intriguing look at the punishments we mete upon ourselves while fighting with technology that refuses to behave itself. Plus, it’s really neat to see these stories so cleverly recreated as user interfaces.

I never thought of my frequent battles with my computer as something akin to ancient torments, but something about that idea brings me a great deal of comfort.

Let’s Play: Ancient Greek Punishment: UI Edition is playable for free on the developer’s site.

About The Author

Joel Couture

Joel has been covering indie games for various sites including IndieGames.com, Siliconera, Gamasutra, Warp Door, CG Magazine, and more over the past seven years, and has written book-length studies on Undertale and P.T.. Joel is constantly on the lookout for digital experiences that push the boundaries of what games can be, and seeks to delve into the creative process, meanings, and emotion labor that goes into the work of artists worldwide.

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