"Space Funeral" is a game made in the infamous RPG Maker engine. If you were around for it's popularity boom in the 2000s to early 2010s, you'll know what I'm talking about. It was created by Irish developer thecatamites, who has continued to make a plethora of more video games after this one. However, this game is considered to be his magnum opus, and it's really not hard to see why.

I came across this game from a website called Backloggd (the Letterboxd for gamers). It got recommended to me somehow through my research into new RPG Maker games to play. It was very popular in the scene around the time of its initial release, but overtime kinda lost its popularity a bit. It isn't referenced as much as other incredible works like Yume Nikki or OFF. I wanted to have a brand new experience, as well as figure out why this might be the case.

Overall Plot

The story revolves around a manchild of sorts named Phillip. He is known for profusely crying all the time and wearing pajamas. He is tasked with leaving his parents' house to find something to do with his life. He travels the glitchy, eye-strainy, bloody world he occupies in, defeating some enemies that block his path.

On his random journey, he meets a creature called Leg Horse. He was once the prince of their world, but after the Great Change, he was transformed into a horrifying abomination, and watched his kingdom go to absolute ruin. He doesn't so much accompany you on your adventure, but rather command you to travel to different places to figure out how to revert the world back to what it once was, and hopefully save the people from their grotesque or otherwise not ideal forms.

Initial Thoughts

First of all, I mean, look at it.

Some people may call the aesthetics horrible things like unsophisticated, sloppy, or, may I dare say, BAD. I however am not one of those people.

Firstly, the art, the music, the writing, the overall "vibe" is so immaculate. I'll go more into depth what I mean regarding each piece of this game's design, but one thing I will say right off the bat is that it all feels incredibly deliberate. Some may assume that its simply a cacophony of madness when they first start. It is, but none of it feels like this is due to a lack of technical skill to draw sprites or to compose original tracks. All of it is clearly to fulfill the game's narrative, as well as set you in the wacky, truly fucked up world your characters must adventure through.

Secondly, so what if it is objectively bad? Just because something isn't to the taste of what should be considered "good", doesn't mean it deserves to be thrown to the wayside. I have subscribed to the notion that as long something has genuine passion and is created simply for the purpose of creation, or to express a deep and profound emotion/message, then I believe it deserves to be celebrated, even if isn't something that affiliates with my own aesthetic tastes. "Space Funeral" most definitely is a game that falls into this category, and I just so happen to enjoy it very much!

Ok, I didn't mean to go all out right out the gate like that. Let's talk in detail about some of the things I'm a big fan here.

Art

The art of "Space Funeral" is one that is incredibly unique. That term typically gets tossed around a lot, but I really do mean it.

One of the main visual ideas is the use of blood. This game is very bloody, not so much in the sense that there are a lot of guts (with the exception of some character designs like Leg Horse), but that there's just splotches of red everywhere. The game is very self-aware about this fact, as blood is referenced constantly both in dialogue and within settings in the world.

While that is the defining feature of the overall visual design, it's far from the most interesting part of it. One thing that sticks out is the attention to detail with color and textures. There is very deliberate choice in regards to how these things coalesce. In most parts of the game, the colors are slightly dulled, but are very much not realistic. The grass shouldn't be blue, the the water shouldn't be pink, etc. The textures are crusty, almost harsh in a way. This makes the world feel very unfriendly, as if something very terribly off is occuring.

These observations are also present when it really matters, as a way of storytelling. For example, the Blood Cavern is nothing but red and black. In the final area, the colors go from kinda subdued to extremely bright and almost painful to look at, all while the textures clip and distort around each other.

The battle segments have a very simple, yet quite effective aesthetic to them. It's simply sprites against a lack background. It really helps the enemy and your characters pop out in the foreground, especially since the colors are sharpened more in these parts of the game.

Another thing that stands out is how the artstyle of different locations and characters are somewhat different. Some sprites feel blockier than others, or have more simple shapes in their designs compared to other characters in the game. While that may feel odd at first, it does work well together, especially because other aspects such as color and overall "bitness" is consistent.

Music

A majority of the soundtrack is not originally composed music. Rather, it takes previous compositions and weaves them into the game. Some of the songs have a prog rock slant, while others are more electronic based, more specifically classical electronic music from the 1960s-1970s. You would think that the music wouldn't mesh well with the game, as the music was obviously not composed for this specific setting. However, there are many moments where it blends in really well. There are even moments where the music truly enhances the game, creating a real "wow" factor.

One of my favorite instances of this is when you first enter the Blood Cavern. A piece titled "Spleen" (by the revolutionary eletronic composer Ruth White) plays in the background. In the piece, White recites a gruesome poem, while in the background, samples of pained moans and bells play as the poem describes certain characteristics. It's a really unnerving piece, and it's paired so incredibly well with the dark red bleakness of your new surroundings. Seriously, my jaw dropped when I first heard it.

There are other moments where this use of pre-composed music is used for more of a comedic effect. The most prominent example is before you fight the Criminals in the later parts of the game, a low quality MIDI version of the Pokemon pre-battle theme plays before you engage in a fight. Most of the other music is very upbeat as well, and somehow feels right at home with the more retro aesethetics of the game's art design.

Writing

One of the game's strongest parts in regards to writing is how it shifts tone. One minute the prose can be quite poetically disturbing, the next it can quasi-satirical nonsense. The group of quotes below is a prime example of what I mean by this. Note that these groups of text occur exactly one group right after the next.

Specifically in this case, the enemy is referencing a poem, than the lyrics to a song. This sort of copy-and-paste ideology that surrounds the game is included in some of the writing. It represents how what is occuring in the world is complete chaos and ridiculousness, and shouldn't necessarily be taken extremely seriously.

Also, you get incredible moments like this. How can you say that's not just peak quality?

Ok in all seriousness though, the overall writing style fits the strange, chaotic, and arfully sloppy world it inhabits. The references to outside works/inspirations work incredibly well here too, helping to continue the string of themes and ideas the game overall presents.

Conclusion

"Space Funeral" really takes the concept of a game being haphazardly slapped together, and runs with it. The art is dramrtically sloppy, the writing is tonally all over the place, hell even the music isn't even original to the game! But I don't think this is done in a way that doesn't hinder its message at all. On the contrary, I believe that it shows that just because something can look conventially "bad" or "poorly made", doesn't always mean that actually is. There are times where it works to further a point, or to help enunciate the passion the creator has for their work. In my opinion, this game does both of these things, and does them extremely well.

It's a shame that "Space Funeral" fell through the cracks once the RPG Maker boom died off. I do understand why, but I think it embodies the spirit of the movement really well. It shows what one can do when they create something simply for the sake of creating it, and in turn they can produce something that is seriously impactful. If there ever is a resurgance of RPG Maker games within the collective conscious, I sincerely hope this game gets its flowers by the greater community.