Anti-Aliased: What is Love? pt. 2

This is where the config tool really comes in handy. The config tool (a tool you don't start with, by the by, you need to unlock it via a token placement) lets you look at certain objects and display a pane of glass. The glass will reveal an area to insert coordinates, which you can get by looking down at any space in the world. Using those coordinates, you can send the beam of energy to wherever you need it to go. However, the beam does need to be directed around objects via power junctions placed on the map.

The config tool can do more than reroute power, however, as it can assign listening frequencies and keywords to items. Say, for example, you have the proximity sensor item and a door. By themselves, these two things do pretty much nothing. However, if you use the config tool to put the door and proximity sensor on the same channel, and you set the door's keyword to your name, the door will open whenever you walk close. This is because the proximity sensor will broadcast the name of the person who stands close to it onto the frequency that the door hears, and the door will respond to your name, as it is the keyword it was set with.

Items like these can be configured in all sorts of manners — it just takes someone to sit down and configure it all to do it.

Why am I so into this game?

Well, I can tell you why I'm really enjoying this game — procedural generation. Remember how I said before that Love's world changes and evolves? That's thanks to the main server, which uses an algorithm to slowly change things. The client, a measly 65 mb, doesn't generate anything that you're seeing. That's the magic of the server at work. The world I enter now and the world I'll enter in two hours will be different in their own unique ways — from the AI building its own settlements and trying to destroy mine to a bridge being destroyed or a tunnel caving in.

I'm also really into it because it's relaxing. It's not so push push push like other MMOs where you feel a pressure to level or advance your character. Love feels a lot like Myst, where you can explore and enjoy the beauty of the game while simultaneously try to accomplish something. There's no rush (except when the angry AI invades your settlement and starts trying to blow stuff up.) Right now there's no sound in the game, but you can fix that by simply typing in "ambient" into Last.fm and then running that in the background while you play. The music that last.fm comes up with usually fits perfectly with the game's atmosphere and tone, giving you a well rounded experience.

If you have $4.50 to spare, do yourself a favor and toss it towards Love. The game is beautiful, the concept is intriguing, and it's very different from anything else on the market right now. Sure, there are some glitches and errors, but the experience that Love has to offer is well worth it all.