Way

Constructive Communication and Collaboration

—The Game's Tagline

Way is an sidescrolling experimental game made by Coco & Co (hence the tagline) about bonding with a complete stranger to complete a series of simple tasks. While this is far from the first time this concept has been tried (Portal2 famously employing it in co-op campaign), the game takes the concept to a whole new level by removing any form of spoken communication between players.

The game revolves around two players, a red Eskimo and a blue Arab, starting at the far ends of the map. After a brief bit of roaming around, the game splits into two screens, showing both the player and their companion. Using hand motions, simple grunts and facial expressions, players have to instruct their companion to complete otherwise impossible to solve.

The game was famously played by Deceased Crab and can be found here. It is currently in a playable alpha stage and is available for free on PC and Mac. Needs More Love.

Tropes used in Way include:

• Color-Coded for Your Convenience
• Cranium Ride: Once both players have reached the center this is needed to solve a puzzle.
• Emote Animation: One for happiness, confusion and annoyance. Until they are interrupted,
• Featureless Protagonist: Averted to the extent that both characters have vague nationalities, but otherwise they are blank slates.
• Heroic Mime: Both of them, though grunting is allowed.
• Invisible Block
  • Visible Invisibility: When standing on them or in the other player's shrine.
• Obvious Alpha: It is in the testing stages, and while playable, offers little replayablity other than coaching other players. Which is sort of the point, after all...
• Ragdoll Physics: The arms and head tend to spaz out when the mouse moves around.
• Pressure Plate: Several of them.
• Video Game Caring Potential: The very purpose.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: If you're feeling particularly cruel. You can even crush your ally with a block!