Play We Become What We Behold in Your Browser

We Become What We Behold background

Nicky Case is known for interactive explainers and small games about social systems, including Parable of the Polygons and The Evolution of Trust. Case made We Become What We Behold alone in about two months and released it in October 2016, describing it as a game about news cycles, vicious cycles and infinite cycles.

The game is an HTML5 project built with PixiJS. Case released its code into the public domain under the Unlicense and its assets under Creative Commons Zero, so others can study or reuse them. Besides itch.io, it is listed on Case's own website, ncase.me, and it has been widely played and rated on itch.io.

How to play We Become What We Behold

You look through a news camera at a calm town square populated by circles and squares. You choose what to photograph, and whatever you capture is shown on the big screen in the middle of the square. The crowd reacts to what it sees on the screen, so picking small, sensational moments gradually changes how the shapes treat each other. The game leads you step by step from harmless stories toward suspicion and cartoon violence, and the short session ends with a point about how audiences and media influence each other.

1. Open the itch.io page and click to run the game in your browser.
2. Move the camera frame over the town square to choose a scene.
3. Click to take a photo and broadcast it on the central TV.
4. Watch how the circles and squares respond and keep shooting until the story reaches its ending, which takes about five minutes.