Progress and Decline
Gareth Damian Martin（Citizen Sleeper的制作人，以前是从事游戏批评的撰稿人）在接受Point 'N Think的采访时提到了Inside的空间设计。他当时一边玩游戏，一边随流程绘制出了游戏大致的空间结构，通关以后发现，整部游戏的空间结构是一个向下的结构：
GDM在采访中的观点（懒得翻译了）：
PnT: Can you tell us about a fascinating or srprising experience you’ve discovered while analyzing architectural spaces in games?
GDM: Certainly, a fascinating discovery took place during my analysis of the architectural spaces in the game Inside. In a meticulous process, I played through the entire game, hand-drawing its map on several sheets of paper as I went along, then digitizing the representation. This exploration led to a remarkable revelation: the mapping of the game’s spatial structure revealed a continuous downward trajectory. The game’s horizon, the level of the environment, constantly descends, creating a visual graph that depicts a journey in perpetual decline. This unique spatial logic became a focal point for discussing the game’s thematic elements, in particular the way it intertwines notions of progress and decline.
Inside is set in an industrial capitalist society in apparent decline. The unconventional spatial progression, where the game’s traditional left-to-right progression is replaced by a continuous descent, served as a metaphor for the societal decay depicted in the story. The game’s conclusion, where the player escapes in the form of a terrifying creature, rolls down a hill and reaches the sea shore, further reinforces this thematic exploration. The satisfaction derived from this discovery stems from an initial intuition that turned out to be right. Creating the map allowed me to delve deeper into the game’s theoretical structure and explore its underlying themes. The card subsequently gained recognition, with Jacob Geller incorporating it into one of his videos. Seeing others refer to and draw inspiration from the ideas presented in the analysis was extremely gratifying, a testament to the impact and resonance of critical exploration in the field of video game architecture.
