Everything (video game)

Everything (video game)
David O'Reilly · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Title	Everything
Developer	David OReilly
Designer	David OReilly
Publisher	David OReilly
Engine	Unity
Platforms	Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Linux
Released	2017
Genre	Simulation, exploration
Modes	Single-player

Everything (video game)

Everything is an experimental simulation and exploration video game created by Irish artist and developer David OReilly, noted for previous work on Her (visual effects), The Simpsons (animation guest work), and film festival exhibitions like Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival. The project synthesizes influences from philosophers and scientists such as Alan Watts, Jacques Derrida, Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins, and Arthur Eddington while engaging institutions like Tate Modern, Museum of Modern Art, and National Gallery through exhibition collaborations. Its design and distribution intersect cultural platforms including PlayStation, Steam (software), and galleries associated with Serpentine Galleries and Barbican Centre.

Gameplay

Players control a range of entities from microscopic organisms to astronomical bodies, navigating procedurally generated environments inspired by ideas from Evolutionary theory, Cosmology, Systems theory, Complexity theory, and writings of Gilles Deleuze. Gameplay involves embodying objects such as bacteria in a local biome, wolf within a temperate forest, oak tree in a meadow, or planet in an interstellar field, with interactions guided by emergent mechanics reminiscent of No Man's Sky exploration and Minecraft spatial freedom. The interface supports free camera movement and object-to-object "possession" mechanics influenced by narrative games like The Stanley Parable and experimental titles from studios such as Thatgamecompany and Jonathan Blow's projects. Players collect "names" and "statements" that echo concepts in works by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Martin Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre, leading to unlocks and transformations comparable to progression systems in Braid and Fez. Environmental transitions reference landscapes featured in Yosemite National Park, Sahara Desert, Pacific Ocean, and Milky Way-scale visuals while offering philosophical prompts aligned with texts by Immanuel Kant and Donald Davidson.

Development

Development was led by David OReilly with technical support from teams experienced in engines like Unity (game engine) and middleware used by studios such as Blizzard Entertainment and Epic Games. The project drew on theoretical frameworks from Information theory, Chaos theory, Phenomenology, and cultural artifacts by Marcel Duchamp, Yayoi Kusama, and John Cage, and it engaged consultants from academia including researchers at University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Oxford University. Funding and exhibition ties linked OReilly to galleries like Tate Modern and institutions such as Science Museum, London while musical collaborators and narrators were sourced from networks connected to BBC Radio and independent labels like Warp Records. Iterative prototyping involved playtesting methodologies similar to those used at Valve Corporation, Nintendo, and indie collectives such as Double Fine Productions.

Release and platforms

Everything premiered on 23 February 2017 for PlayStation 4 following a launch on digital services including PlayStation Store and Steam (software) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. Subsequent distribution involved platforms with curated indie catalogs like GOG.com and featured in events such as EGX and PAX West; archival showings occurred at institutions including MoMA and Tate Modern. Porting and certification workflows mirrored processes used by publishers like Sony Interactive Entertainment and developers who deploy on Linux and console ecosystems maintained by Microsoft and Sony.

Reception

Critical response was polarizing, with critics from outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, Polygon (website), Eurogamer, and Edge (magazine) praising its ambition and spiritual resonance while some reviewers compared its pacing and abstraction unfavorably to mainstream narratives like The Last of Us and Red Dead Redemption 2. Academic reception appeared in journals affiliated with MIT Press, Oxford University Press, and conferences like CHI and SIGGRAPH, discussing its intersections with Aesthetics, Environmental ethics, and Metaphysics. Awards consideration referenced ceremonies such as the BAFTA Games Awards and inclusion in year-end lists from Time (magazine), The Guardian, and The New Yorker.

Soundtrack and narration

The soundtrack features ambient and minimalist compositions influenced by composers like Brian Eno, Philip Glass, and Steve Reich, and includes contributions akin to output from labels such as Warp Records and Ghostly International. Narration draws on readings of texts by Alan Watts and uses voice work comparable to narrators in projects produced by BBC Radio 4 and spoken-word recordings affiliated with Penguin Random House Audio. Audio design employed spatialization techniques used in productions by Dolby Laboratories and studios collaborating with artists featured at Red Bull Music Academy.

Themes and interpretation

Everything foregrounds themes from Buddhism, Taoism, Existentialism, and continental philosophy through experiential gameplay that echoes writings by Alan Watts, Martin Heidegger, Gilles Deleuze, and Jacques Derrida. Interpretations in scholarly analyses connect the work to discourses in Environmental humanities, Anthropocene studies, and debates led by figures such as Bruno Latour and Donna Haraway, situating the game within broader conversations at forums like COP conferences, UNESCO symposia, and university seminars at Harvard University and Stanford University.

Category:2017 video games Category:Simulation video games Category:Independent video games Category:Art games