{"id":10183,"date":"2021-10-29T12:00:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T09:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/?p=10183"},"modified":"2021-10-29T12:00:53","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T09:00:53","slug":"what-would-it-be-like-to-shake-someones-hand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/what-would-it-be-like-to-shake-someones-hand\/","title":{"rendered":"What would it be like to shake someone\u2019s hand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Like many of the best small and idiosyncratic games released on itch.io, A Firm Handshake <\/em>feels like a rejoinder to the design norms that predominate in much of the commercial games industry. Rather than superficially complex systems stretched paper-thin over endless hours of repetitive gameplay, it offers a series of concise vignettes based upon a single core mechanic, while still leaving the player room to experiment. In the understated words of its creator, Torfi \u00c1sgeirsson, the game is simply about \u2018what it would be like to shake someone\u2019s hand\u2019. Yet this self-depreciating description, as well as the game\u2019s simple structure, belie an experience rich in humour and semantic depth.<\/p>\n

Each of A Firm Handshake<\/em>\u2019s short acts is very simple. The player must use the arrow keys to guide a businessman in a brown suit towards other identical businessmen and shake their hands. In each act this scene plays out slightly differently. In one, once a man\u2019s hand has been shaken, he begins to follow the player\u2019s avatar. Each new recipient of a handshake queues behind the last until the player is trailed by a snake of identical, brown-suited businessmen. In another act, the player must cross four lanes of sumo wrestlers that move up and down across the screen like traffic. If a wrestler collides with the player as they cross his lane, he will attempt to push the player\u2019s avatar off the screen. If he succeeds, the player respawns in their starting position.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Contemplating the sumo highway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Such intertextual references to both digital (Snake<\/em>, Frogger<\/em>) and non-digital games (Sumo wrestling) are exemplary of A Firm Handshake<\/em>\u2019s subtle depth. Likewise, despite the game\u2019s mechanical simplicity, it still facilitates player experimentation. It was enjoyable to test the limits of its simple interactions and create my own personal challenges within them. This is not to suggest, however, that the game will be of interest only to enthusiasts. Its uncomplicated challenges and control scheme make it accessible to those new to videogames, while the real amusement it offers is found in a form of physical comedy that is intuitively appealing.<\/p>\n

Like slapstick cinema, A Firm Handshake<\/em> makes physicality a source of humour and fun. Its businessmen move with an absurd gait distinct from, but reminiscent of, that of Charlie Chaplin. In contrast to their pumping legs, the men\u2019s upper bodies are held stiff and immobile except for a reflexive reaching of the arm and hand. The result is that they appear ridiculous and uncanny, like aliens attempting\u2013unsuccessfully\u2013to pass for human. The handshakes only serve to double this effect. They are wonderfully rubbery and over exuberant.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The gravy train. Reaching for a handshake as its previous recipients follow behind.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As in Chaplin\u2019s work, the choice of the businessman as protagonist and absurd figure of fun hardly seems incidental. As a social convention the handshake is strongly associated with both traditional masculinity and the world of business. The entwining of these two associations is reinforced by the game\u2019s aesthetic design. The men\u2019s brown suits, the orange backgrounds and potted plants are all evocative of a 1970s office, while the end credits see the men milling about as though around the water cooler. A Firm <\/em>Handshake might thus be read as a critique of the ways in which dominant forms of masculinity have been enforced economically via the workplace. In this context, the handshake appears as an automatic act of a traditional bourgeois masculinity that is both homogenising and absurd. \u00a0The question, \u2018what it would be like to shake someone\u2019s hand?\u2019, might be more complex than it seems.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Game: <\/strong>A Firm Handshake<\/em><\/p>\n

Developer:<\/strong> Torfi<\/p>\n

Publisher: <\/strong>itch.io<\/p>\n

Platforms: <\/strong>Windows, macOS, Linux<\/p>\n

Release Date:<\/strong> April 27, 2021<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Action<\/p>\n

PEGI: <\/strong>N\/A<\/p>\n

Images are screenshots of the game taken by the author.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the words of its creator, A Firm Handshake is simply about \u2018what it would be like to shake someone\u2019s hand\u2019. Yet this self-depreciating description, as well as the game\u2019s simple structure, belie an experience rich in humour and semantic depth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":10180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1472,247,510,206,299,225,1471,1473,464],"class_list":["post-10183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-reviews","tag-a-firm-handshake","tag-action","tag-business","tag-digital-games","tag-experimental","tag-indie","tag-masculinity","tag-torfi","tag-videogames","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tuni.fi\/playlab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}