Off-Peak
Off-Peak
2015 video game
Off-Peak is an adventure game developed and published by Cosmo D. Players explore a surreal train station and attempt to leave a dystopian city. It was released as freeware in 2015. It was followed in 2017 by The Norwood Suite, which shares the same setting.
| Off-Peak | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Cosmo D |
| Publisher(s) | Cosmo D |
| Designer(s) | Greg Heffernan |
| Programmer(s) | Greg Heffernan |
| Artist(s) | Greg Heffernan |
| Composer(s) | Archie Pelago |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Players arrive in a train station, attempting to leave a dystopian city. They have no ticket, but learn that a friend has ripped up his ticket and left the pieces scattered in the station. Off-Peak is a first-person adventure game that focuses on exploration.[1] It is set in a dystopian city reminiscent of New York City.[2]
Greg Heffernan, a professional musician, began making video games in the 2010s under the name Cosmo D. Off-Peak is his second video game. He was looking to create something "satisfying and unsettling at the same time". He was inspired by musician John Zorn to make a surreal world based on improvisation that is grounded in a strong theme.[3] Heffernan credited video games with giving him a "wider creative bandwidth" to talk about life in New York City, people he knew, and the intersection of music and commerce. Heffernan's band, Archie Pelago, provided music for the game.[4] Off-Peak was released as freeware.[2]
Kill Screen said it was fun to explore and a love letter to Heffernan's influences. Describing it, they said "whether or not this is a videogame, a music video or a mood board is a question with no incorrect answer".[5] In another article, Kill Screen interpreted Off-Peak as warning against the commodification of art.[6] Slant Magazine, which called it weird and beautiful, chose it as one of the best games of 2015.[7]
- "Following Freeware - October 2016 releases". Adventure Gamers. 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- Dimopoulos, Konstantinos (2015-02-24). "Freeware Garden: Off-Peak". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- Priestman, Chris (2016-12-01). "Making videogames inspired by New York's musical improv scene". Kill Screen. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- Smith, Ed (2016-11-28). "How Indie Dev Cosmo D Is Humanizing New York". Vice. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- Kotzer, Zack (2015-03-06). "Off-Peak splits the difference between a videogame and a mood board". Kill Screen. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- Smith, Ed (2015-12-21). "Speak Up, Off-Peak". Kill Screen. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- "The 25 Best Video Games of 2015". Slant Magazine. 2015-12-07. Retrieved 2023-04-22.
- O'Connor, Alice (2023-01-13). "Explore a Brutalist city with climbing axes and a trumpet in this great free indie game". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 2023-07-10.