Ever play a game that made you think about death in its very real corporeal sense? The Graveyard is simple and quick to play, but the simplicity of it gives you the opportunity to “fill in the gaps.” The Graveyard is a game that’s less about gameplay and more about expression and exploration of mood.

On a sunny quiet day in contemporary Europe, an elderly woman enters a graveyard. She’s there to sit at a bench, hear a song and leave the graveyard. You assume her role. That encompasses the entirety for the gameplay of The Graveyard, yet that straightforward explanation doesn’t show all of the game.

As soon as the game begins, a mood and tone is set with the noir style. The movement of the elderly character is slow and patient, and I felt like I could see the weight of her years as she moved along the path toward the bench. Her animations added to the realism of her character, showing that at her age it was a struggle to even quickly make it to her destination.

I found myself inventing a story for her, curious as to why she was there. Why the daytime? Why this graveyard? As she sat at the bench and the song began, her story seemed to slowly unravel. Perhaps she was there to remember those who had gone before her, to know they were finally at peace.

I’m not sure if the part of creating a reason why she was there was my being a writer and relating to the character, or if it just felt natural to fill in the pieces that were “missing,” but it helped me gain a different connection to the elderly lady than another person might. I’d created an exclusive experience similar to the way someone might read a novel and have different reactions to the same story.

The graveyard itself had a gentle feel about it. Sunny and calm, the occasional sound of a dog barking, a car passing by or the chirp of a bird can be heard while you travel slowly through it. It feels tranquil and bright, a place perhaps not merely of the end of life but a place to let worries fall away in happiness and calm. Not quite the usual image for most graveyards in popular culture.

At first I’d thought that since the game was set in a graveyard that I’d encounter zombies or some other dark evil force. The thought of the graveyard being a somewhat pleasant place you might go just for a bit of time to think things over was different.

After reaching the bench, the song played, and I felt emotion, empathy for the old woman. Perhaps she was remembering friends on this bright day filled with life, but the ones she cared about were already gone. Again, these were questions that hit me as I played and weren’t at all spelled out in the game.

In the final version of the game, the old woman has a possibility of dying. Having played both the full and trial versions more than once, the elderly woman’s passing was expected.

Although, I kept trying to figure out just what about the game had struck a chord with me. Why did the sudden passing of this elderly lady, who I knew could die, touch me as it did versus any other game avatar? Because the setting, the tone and the feel of the game had a real-life quality to it. It created a reaction in me; I invented a story for this woman, and I gave her a reason for being there — maybe she felt the beautiful day surrounded by friends was the time to join them in slumber. All of this speculation was from my own thoughts. Who knows why she really died other than because it was programmed?

But the fact that even now the image of her slipping away with the song hitting my ears stays with me shows that this “interactive painting” creates feeling in you. I’ve never played anything like it. I’ve seen game characters die repeatedly, but she was different, I’d created a personal connection just through hearing the words of the song, watching her movements and piecing together my own tidbits of story.

All I had to do was sit an old woman on a bench in a graveyard then leave, as the art style, the writing, the song and the general atmosphere mixed together. Seems simple enough, but they formed a cohesive experience that’s more than just those few actions. It created a feeling and a contemplation of the song's lyrics; I’d suggest playing it if only to experience it. The Graveyard is a very unique piece that leans more toward artistic expression through a game that hopes to stir emotion in its players. I felt it succeeded very well in that. And that’s pretty darn good for a game that takes less than 15 minutes to play.