IGNN–The Imaginary Game News Network

VANCOUVER, B.C.–Tapping into new markets is the strategy for start-up game publisher/developer Critical Limit Games based in Vancouver, and the CLG team thinks they’ve hit the big idea on their first try with the upcoming LifeLeft for Wii. The adventure/action game is based on the premise that you have been targeted by a shadowy, evil organization that has promised to kill you within 24-hours. Apparently, in spite of their evil bent, the baddies are a sporting bunch and they notify their victims of the countdown and their impending demise.

“What makes this game truly original and mind-blowing is that reverses everything you know about control function by mapping the control actions to your non-dominant handedness,” explained Simon Milch of CLG.

In layman’s terms, it means that right-handed players will have to contend with a left-handed orientation for the Wii remote and nunchuk while lefties have the ordeal of playing as righties.

“You play the game opposite to everything you know,” Simon expounded. “In fact, portions of the game are played in “mirror mode” to provide an even more disorienting experience–everything is flipped. And what holds the entire experience together is the compelling story and the player’s desperate search for the evil masterminds and a way out of their death sentence.”

Several game previewers have been less than kind in their comments regarding LifeLeft, calling it “idiotic”, “impossible”, “the worst idea since Bacconaise”, and “so nauseating I tossed chunks on my dog’s blanket.”

“I don’t argue with any of those comments,” says company president, Brian Vass. “LifeLeft is totally radical and we expect the mainstream media to have issues with it. But what we hope to do is tap into the underdeveloped market of gamers who have done everything else. These “super” gamers need a new, almost insanely impossible challenge, and we’re hell-bent on giving it to them.”

Vass estimates that at least 1 million supergamers are out there, hungry for a real challenge. Oddly enough, the team was inspired by two retro titles known for uncompromising challenges that resulted in untimely deaths no matter how skilled the players were.

“The original Spelunker and Prince of Persia were our models,” revealed Milch. “Both of those games were all about the impossible challenge. You couldn’t take a step without becoming toast. And it was all due to virtually unlearnable play control. Brilliant stuff. We think it’s time for today’s coddled players to get a nasty wake up call.”

Several observers have suggested that the Wii, which largely caters to more casual audiences, might seem to be a foolish platform choice for a title dedicated to supergamers. Vass responds to such suggestions with derision.

“That’s what they said about toilet paper, too,” he remarked cryptically, “but see how that turned out?”

Vass, Milch, and the rest of the CLG team flies in the face of convention seemingly at every turn, riding camels to work through the rainy streets of Vancouver, being paid in citrus futures, speaking Florislavian in the workplace–”eem plikto, meesh krupot!”–and exclusively marketing their games via Twitter using the hashtag, #splik, which means “goat cheese noodle soup” in Florislavian.

“We love our splik,” concluded Vass.

Asked to comment on their hopes for LifeLeft, a Nintendo spokesperson echoed Vass, saying, “We’re all big splik fans now. Enjoy the splik!”  — Gideon Chazwit-Stoop