ART GAME: HUNTER JONAKIN'S BEATING A DEAD HORSE WITH A ONE-TRICK PONY (2018)
From the author of Jeff Koons Must Die!!! and Can You Hear Me Now? comes Beating a Dead Horse with a One-Trick Pony, a first-person RPG (ArtPG) with a narrative, mild melee combat, and some platforming elements. The game is a sequel to Jeff Koons Must Die!!! and is set in the same destroyed museum that the previous game ended in. Jonakin developed the game between November 2017 and November 2018. As he explains on Steam, "It was a very personal project that deals with my struggles navigating the pitfalls of the art world and my realizations and epiphanies regarding the complex systems within that world. It is a love letter as well as a Dear John letter."
The work takes place just after the destruction of the MOPA museum in Jeff Koons Must Die!!!, and serves as an overview, critique, and exploration of gallery and museum culture. It features six themed levels that cover a variety of subjects:
Aftermath: Revel in the destruction of days past. Contemplate your actions or inaction.
The Church of Kitsch: Escape the confines of a rigid structure. Visit the church and pay respects.
Art and Commerce: Visit the opportunity hub in order to generate some currency, attend the learning annex, and apply to exhibit at Art Basil Minneapolis. Keep an eye on your relevance though, you will need it.
Art and Celebrity: Visit a mystical land where you will learn how to become an art star. Create your own personal mythology and acquire currency from collectors. Be careful though, you might lose yourself.
Redemption: Revisit the past and connect with your roots. Excavate.
The Road Home: Escape the final structure and light four beacons in order to finish the game.
Easter Eggs: There are multiple easter eggs and hidden areas in the game. Some achievements are unlocked by finding these areas. There are a total of ten Steam achievements.
There is downloadable content available as well.
Hunter Jonakin was born in North Alabama, where he spent his formative years. In his early twenties, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota with a group of friends, where they played, recorded, and obsessed over every facet of underground/indie rock music. Ten years after venturing to the frigid north Jonakin went back to school and finished a BFA in visual art at the University of Minnesota. In 2011 he completed a MFA in studio art at Florida State University. Currently, Jonakin resides and makes art in Minneapolis, MN.
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