Alright, so here’s the thing. Picture this: you’re about to dive into this game where – wait for it – you actually become a fly. Yeah, a fly. Ever done that before? I didn’t think so. Anyway, I’m Michael Frei, and I somehow ended up working on this quirky little project called “Time Flies.” It’s fluttering over to PlayStation 5 on July 31st, so, you know, mark your calendars or something if you’re into that kind of stuff.
Now, when you kick off your adventure as a fly – might sound weird, but stick with me – the game first checks where you’re playing from. Sounds a bit stalkerish, but it’s cool, it’s for a reason!
Let’s say you’re chilling in Switzerland. According to the WHO folks, they say your average life expectancy would be something like 83.3 years. But, here’s the kicker – in the game, that translates to just 83.3 seconds! You’re a fly, remember? Life zooms by when you’ve got wings and compound eyes or whatever. So, obviously, your job is to tick off your bucket list before you kick the fly bucket. Now, if you’re in the U.S., life expectancy is 76.4 years, so you get, you guessed it, 76.4 seconds. Got to love math.
So yeah, being a fly in some places? It’s harder! Go figure.
Now we’ve got this thing called a bucket list. You ever wonder what a fly’s to-do list would look like? It’s tricky. But, thank goodness, we’ve put one together for you. All you gotta do is figure ’em out and then cross them off. Easier said than done. But you can always give it another shot, right? Kind of like life, but with way more stone-cold restarts.
Here’s a twist. One of my faves on the list? “Find God.” Yeah, I know, deep for a fly, but bear with me. The journey to create that piece was nuts – no spoilers, though. You gotta find God all on your own.
Okay, back to ideas. Have you ever played a game where you’re a fly that plays a video game? Meta, right? Imagine trying to escape hell to get to heaven. We thought about it, but it didn’t quite fit. Maybe it was the bug thing. Or the hell thing. Honestly, not sure.
Now, uh, our limitations were a story by themselves. Flies only have wings, no hands, which means they trigger stuff by flying and bumping into it. Forget about trigger buttons or combos. You gotta land on buttons and walk over them. Makes sense, kind of.
So, how did we sort it all out? We cooked up a game that’s super simple. Just a directional pad and one button. Who says you need to overcomplicate things to be profound? Sometimes finding God is about going left instead of right. Or something.
And hey, if you think it’s too basic, don’t sweat it. There might just be another game hidden in there. A game where you’re a fly in a game, playing a game. Layers, man.
Anyway, game’s out on July 31 – hope you enjoy buzzing around in Time Flies on your PS5! Fly on, my friends. 🖤
