Jason Rohrer is an American programmer, writer, musician, and game designer. He publishes most of his software under GNU General Public License or into the public domain because he’s a supporter of a copyright-less free distribution economy. His games are said to be experiences that are like no other games anyone’s played before.
Sleep is Death
Sleep is Death is an adventure-game making software. It works with two players only – one as a creator and one as a player. The two players get to build their own adventure by responding to one another’s actions or conversations. This game is played in real time and the players can do, say, or make anything. Every time a story or scene is told, the assets are copied to the other’s library.
Sleep is Death is basically a sandbox for players to build and create their own adventure stories while responding to one another. The possibilities are endless.
Chain World
1. Run Chain World via one of the included “run_ChainWorld” launchers.
2. Start a single-player game and pick “Chain World”.
3. Play until you die exactly once.
3a. Erecting wooden signs with text is forbidden
3b. Suicide is permissible.
4. Immediately after dying and respawning, quit to the menu.
5. Allow the world to save.
6. Exit the game and wait for your launcher to automatically copy Chain World back to the USB stick.
7. Pass the USB stick to someone else who expresses interest.
8. Never discuss what you saw or did in Chain World with anyone.
9. Never play again.
Chain World is a game that was made so it could be a religion. There is only one copy of the game and it’s on a USB drive that is to be passed from one person to another after the player dies in the game. Each player during his lifetime in the game is the only one allowed to modify the world.
Rohrer passed the USB to a random audience member, Jia Ji, who later sold the game on eBay – imposing his own set of rules about who could play Chain World after the auction winner.
A Game For Someone
A Game for Someone was made for nobody existing now or in the near future. It’s a board game made out of materials that would last for a very long time and is buried somewhere in the Nevada desert. It was inspired by the theme of the GDC – “Humanity’s Last Game.”
Rohrer seems to enjoy focusing on a somewhat collaborative effort among the people of the world for his games. All of these games are more than the commercial and more common games.