The Endless Forest.

Like most gamers I love video games due to the ability to disconnect from reality and enter worlds that we can only dream of. Whether it's defending Earth against evil aliens or becoming the world's greatest Formula 1 driver there's something for everyone. Now, if you would have told me that there was a game that involved you playing the part of a deer and doing nothing more entertaining than running around a forest a few years ago then I might have been surprised. These days I've been on the Internet long enough to have grown accustomed to seeing things a little out of the ordinary. Did I know about furry culture before the Internet? Nope! Do I understand furry culture? Not in the slightest! However, I know there are a large number of people (If games like Furcadia and Second Life are anything to go by) who enjoy playing the part of animals. Outside of dressing up as one I guess this is the closest a furry can get to becoming an actual animal.

I'm not going to rant on about how odd I find furry culture and, to be honest, I'm not sure you can even use it as a context for this game. However, the fact the deers have human faces not only strikes me as a little freaky but also establishes a furry connection in my mind. No doubt furries will cream themselves at the possibility of acting out the part of a deer but, for the rest of us, you have to wonder what the appeal of The Endless Forest really is.

The Endless Forest is a massively multiplayer screensaver (that's a first) by a small Belgium games development studio called Tales of Tales. The studio has a few games in the works but The Endless Forest seems to be the one generating the most curiosity. As we've already established you play the part of a deer whom - predictably - runs around in a forest.

So, why is it a screensaver? Well, the game pops up whenever your screensaver is supposed to pop up and, thus, lets you have a jaunt around a peaceful forest while you take a break from whatever you were doing. The trick is to play it in short bursts to appreciate it the most since, as you'll quickly realise, there really isn't much to do.



Describing it as an MMO is a bit of an exaggeration since you'll rarely come across another player. When you do, however, you'll quickly realise that you can't even talk to them. Why? Because deers don't talk of course! Ok, so now we're getting less furry like but we still have the odd idea of giving the deer a human face. Instead you interact with the world and other deers through a series of actions. You can make a strange calling sound, stand up on your hind legs, bear your antlers (no fighting with other deer though!) and even take a nap. Taking a nap is what most of the deer seem to do but that's largely because that's what your deer gets up to when you exit the screensaver. Occasionally you'll spot more than one active deer and go for a run through the trees with them. This may not sound terribly exciting but it's strangely alluring.

The fact is that the game isn't supposed to be exciting. It's supposed to fill in those small gaps of time you find during a busy work day. It's supposed to help you relax by spending a few snatched minutes in a beautiful forest. Those who love fighting to the death or insulting and griefing other players will bore of the game extremely quickly (as members of the Age of Conan forum discovered). It's not a game you'll play constantly and it will never have a large audience. However, there are those who may grow to love the game and appreciate it for what it tries to do.

It's a nice attempt at a truly frustration free game and it's something different. For someone like me (who enjoys shooting someone's face off) it's a nice little distraction that I'll quickly tire of.

Download the game over at the Tale of Tales website.

Got a game you want me to take a look at? Email me or comment in the comments section!