What is Flower?

According to Chris Suellentrop of Slate, it is a videogame “set in an asphalt city, inside a room where all that can be heard is the rush of the traffic outside. In this grim landscape, the blur of car lights on the road seems to be the only man-made creation that doesn't come from a palette of grays. Sitting on a table in the room is a splash of color: a yellow flower. The instructions are simple: ‘[T]ilt the controller to soar; press any button to blow wind; relax, enjoy.’ So you do.”

The game’s publisher, thatgamecompany, describes “Flower” as “another concept that challenges traditional gaming conventions” because of how “the surrounding environment, most often pushed to the background in games, is pulled to the forefront and becomes the primary ‘character,’” and explains that “hopefully by the end of the journey, you change a little,” which sounds kind of like a desirable effect of literature, too, no? Which is maybe why Kellee Santiago, the president and co-founder, says it is intended to be “the video game version of a poem.”

If it is in fact like a poem—which I am wiling to entertain because Santiago has pink hair and seems cool—then how and why? “Flower” sounds like something that would relieve stress in the same way that New Age music might, but also in the same way that Windows Minesweeper might. If that is an accurate assessment of the game, and the game DOES resemble poetry, then what does this suggest about poetry? It is interesting especially that Santiago does not identify herself as a poet necessarily, but reaches for poetry as a way to describe the thing she has helped make. What’s that about?