Man’s Multiple Lives Told Through 8-Bit Videogame

An animated short by Lasse Gjertsen gives one 8-bit man the opportunity to live twice.

If real life were a videogame, it’d likely be a pretty boring one. But what if you had multiple lives and could choose different paths each time? Animator Lasse Gjertsen answers this question with an animated short that gives a perspective on the very different paths a person’s life can take, which is presented in the form of an 8-bit videogame.

Thanks to YouTube extending the possible video time limit to 15 minutes, Gjertsen was able to release the video, called Consoul, on the service. Consoul begins with a man’s birth and follows him from childhood to death. It then does it all over again, but with the man making different decisions.

I know 12 minutes is a lot to ask on the internet these days, but the videogame tie-ins make Consoul interesting. The man’s money goes up as he works, and goes down as he feeds his family. When he gets into a fight, life bars appear, and his hearts fill as good things happen.

It’s a little NSFW at one part, but Consoul is one of the neatest 8-bit works I’ve ever seen, and it makes you feel a little something too. Consoul shows you how a hat turned from forwards to backwards can really make a difference.

Via: Kotaku