Dreaming of Bad Milk
Bizarre new puzzle game emerges from New York developers Dreaming Media
One of the more unusual games to come across our desks in recent weeks is "Bad Milk", a surrealistic "interactive video art game" which begins when you take a sip of coffee tainted by sour milk and "slip into a dark abyss populated by haunting characters". These include a "dismembered bald head, a disembodied voice, a drowning man, and chronic smokers", who will help you find your way to a new life. Described as a mixture of puzzle game and Myst-style graphic adventure, inspirations are said to include everything from Monty Python to video art installations, by way of Coney Island's haunted house.
It certainly sounds .. interesting, and it came as no surprise then to find that its developers are frustrated artists rather than veteran game designers. "We wanted to create video installation art, but couldn't afford loft space in New York City", co-founder Ted Skolnick explained. "So instead we built virtual installations and worked out of our apartments in Queens."
If you're curious (and who wouldn't be), a fully playable demo (28Mb) is available, along with a rather odd Bad Milk screensaver featuring a bald rotating head. If you like what you see, you can buy the game from the Dreaming Media website.