On one level -- and, to my mind, about the only level that matters -- Rationalization is a simple, one-puzzle game with a starkly minimalist look and a nice feeling of surreality.
On another level -- and the level that has drawn considerable comment, and perhaps is the key element for the interest in the game, it's apparently a commentary on Objectivism (and if you're interested in exploring that, Kieron Gillen and commenters provide their own, ah, rationalizations).
The developer says:
- "I created the game in response to recent events in my life and to help me think through some philosophical ideas of Ayn Rand."
To which I say "Hmph." If I need an "artist's statement" to "understand" a work, then to my mind it fails, since I should be able to come to an equivalent ephiphany through the work itself.
But, you know, it's still an interesting one-puzzle game with a starkly minimalist look and a nice feeling of surreality.
If I were to do a game to "help me think through some philosophical ideas of Ayn Rand," it would be something more like this: Cute puppies keep falling into a pond and drowning, but the only way to win is to ignore their pathetic arfs and build my skyscraper.
Parallelically Correct
The parallel drawn by Costik, expressed in his own design concept alternative, is spot on. Sorry about being semi-offtopic, but it cracked me up for good.
Wait, Toady's an Objectivist?
"Cute puppies keep falling into a pond and drowning, but the only way to win is to ignore their pathetic arfs and build my skyscraper."
That sounds uncannily like my last game of Dwarf Fortress