Take your chance as an aspiring artist in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR. What masterpiece will you create?
It is said that art should never be rushed. This is true for anyone looking to create any piece. In the world of Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR, there’s great emphasis on taking things easy. Play some relaxing tunes, cook a simple breakfast, and finish up a piece that’s been neglected for too long. Take your time and enjoy art for its own sake. There is no time limit here, so there’s no need to panic. Experience an interactive fiction game complete with hand-drawn art. From Akapura Games comes a colorful and relaxing look into the life of a hopeful artist.
Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR introduces us to an unnamed artist. An important piece sits next to the window. It possesses on its surface the sketch of a country landscape somewhere in the mountains. Despite the equipment and paint littered about, this canvas lacks any actual color. It is time to finish this piece. Life has been all about art, and recognition has been small-time.
It is now time for a colorful piece to earn its rightful spot in an art festival. Will the colors be right? Will the judges who come across the painting be fair? Why worry when there’s plenty of time to work, though? Kick back and worry about things as they come. It will be obvious if the piece is rushed. All these questions can be answered in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR.
Not much of the story is told from the very beginning. That, however, does not mean that there is no story Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR. Looking around the apartment, one can see possible objects to “look at.” Clicking trigger 2 on the right controller when the eye icon comes up will prompt a short sentence or two from the player character. It gives a great deal of background on her own history and allusions as to why she chose art as a career.
Starting in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR, one is initially introduced to the world with a 2D cinematic. It is very well drawn and doesn’t take up much time. Movement is not all that hard to adjust to with this game. As with most virtual reality titles, one uses the left controller’s thumb stick to explore, with the right thumb stick ‘snapping’ the player character’s perspective. Of course, this will only happen when one ‘flicks’ the stick to the corresponding direction they wish to look in.
Pressing down on the center of the left thumb stick is also supposed to activate the ‘blink’ movement. When pushing the stick upward, an arch appears and that’s it. Usually, when one can move to a spot, the line turns white, or a green icon appears at the end of the line. Unfortunately, this function in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR does not work at all. It isn’t a big deal when considering the title as a whole. But it does take away from the experience when it’s available at all and doesn’t work as intended.
Painting in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR is far simpler than one might think. The first color introduced in the game is red. After applying it to the canvas, one gets a glimpse into the life of the neighbor across the alley. Once that sequence is done, all that’s necessary is to look at the to-do list.
Following these steps, I slowly acquired more and more paints. Each one contained within its hiding space a small newspaper clipping. Only after finding the various pieces and putting them together can a new color be used on the canvas. It’s a great way to ensure the players take a slower approach to things in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR.
Having all the colors in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR, it becomes possible to choose different ones when interacting with the pictures. Some of the pictures/paintings attached to the apartment walls correspond with the newspaper clippings. In order to get all the possible information from them, one must add the right colors. Looking at each one, the player character begins to recount a story she created using the pictures.
A man was walking down the street when he encountered a cat. A woman coming from the opposite direction noticed the pair interacting and knelt to say hi to the cat. Because of their simple interaction, it spurred more and more time together. This is the story that the player character’s walls tell.
One does not simply experience them by hearing the story told. One also gets to stand on the street where this story unfolds. While it is possible to stand on the street with them, the story is told in paused flashes of time. Beyond The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR emphasizes the stories an artist tells through their work.
A great deal of an artist’s work is often inspired by their own life. But, sometimes, as an artist, they can evolve to create entire universes with a handful of brush strokes. What may be a simple piece one day can be an epic scene spoken of for years to come.
The colors themselves are applied in a paint-by-numbers fashion minus the numbers. Simply drag the brush across the canvas in the corresponding spot. There’s seemingly no need to be exactly precise when it comes to applying the color. Fill in enough of the empty space, and the choice is confirmed by an “Aha!” from the player character. Then, the rest seems to fill itself in. While it is nice to hear a confirmation, the ‘aha’ can get to be a little much in a short time. Still, it’s great that Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR gives one the opportunity to paint in virtual reality.
Whenever I forget the colors that went onto canvas, I simply consult the journal by pressing x or a to summon it. Pressing trigger 2 on the right controller will allow the player to grab and set it in the air. This is convenient since it relieves the strain one may have on one’s neck from looking down too often.
After looking over at the neighbor on one occasion, a wall of wood had fallen between us. The world went black, and I woke up in his apartment, apparently existing in his shoes. It was trippy to be in the apartment I was just looking into seconds ago. For some odd reason, there are a few instances where one must experience life as the old man next door to acquire a new color. It feels like something straight out of a trippy anime movie or series, which is an amazing feeling.
Despite the lack of communication between the player character and the old man, he comes off as important. Many sketches that exist in the player’s journal become pieces that he is the inspiration for. It does invoke an odd sense of belonging. People may not always see it, but the people they pass every day can inspire them to do different things.
Seeing the old man and the love he shows his cat can be a great inspiration. What might he do when the curtains are closed? Does he lie down and bat at the toys like his cat does? How often does his cat sit with the old man and observe him paint?
The artwork in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR is beautiful. From the 2D cinematics to each apartment and its furnishings, it feels like one is walking through a slice-of-life anime. A few titles in the virtual reality space use virtually crafted cutscenes to tell their stories. But with Akapura Games, developers decided that it is best to tell the story in between using original hand-drawn artwork.
2D art in the cinematics is no simple choice. Each character design in these sequences feels deliberate. I haven’t seen many of his films, but each design reminds me of characters from Hayao Miyazaki’s work. That’s not to say the artistic choice was bad, though. In fact, seeing what feels like his work makes the experience that much better.
Audio for Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR, personally, leaves a little more to be desired. One can activate a cassette player by inserting an interactive cassette. Press play and some random basic music will begin to play. There’s nothing wrong with having a basic set of tracks available.
It might be nice to add even one or two other cassettes to throw into the radio. Additionally, if one presses the x or any too many times during a cinematic sequence, the journal’s “whooshing” noise will accompany one until the game is restarted. So far, this is the only workaround I found for the issue.
There are also no traditional ‘voice lines’ in Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR. Other than ‘aha’ when something is right and “mmm” when something is wrong, nothing is really said. The lines characters ‘speak’ are presented in the same way as old silent films. It’s a good change of pace and allows the team to focus on other aspects of the game.
Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR has an amazing atmosphere. With a very anime feel to the environment, it is accompanied by Miyazaki-inspired artwork in the form of 2D animations. The change of pace may not be something that everyone is into. The game has a very relaxing air to it, so I do not feel I can recommend this to anyone who may feel slightly impatient with slow progression.
There are a couple of glitches throughout Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR. But there is nothing truly game-breaking about them, though they can be a little annoying. I cannot honestly say many negative things about it, as this is my first foray into using acrylic paint in a virtual space.
Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR is a genuinely pleasant experience that does not need to be played in a rush. I did miss the lack of voices during the 2D sequences. But that’s likely only because I’m so used to hearing something during the cinematic points in the game.
If you are a fan of relaxed-pace games, a fan of anime in general, or a fan of the legendary Mizayaki, Behind The Frame: The Finest Scenery VR is certainly worth checking out. It has an amazing feel, and the virtual graphics do not put too much strain on the eyes. Get your first major piece ready for public view and pave your way as an artist.
