FLASHBACK: 'Air Pressure' by Bentosmile (2010)
Air Pressure is a Flash game that explores the darker aspects of codependence through the medium of a visual novel.
FLASHBACK is a series of articles that look at notable Flash games and their legacy in an often overlooked and forgotten era of independent games.
Content warning: This article discusses allusions to drug use and self-harm in the context of interpreting the game's themes. Reader discretion is advised.
On the surface, Air Pressure is a simple visual novel about the deterioration in a relationship between a protagonist and their girlfriend, Leigh. Leigh has been with the protagonist since they were teenagers, but now they have reservations about her still being around. On a sombre and uncelebrated anniversary of their relationship, the player is put in a position where they must confront whether they want to stay with Leigh.
As a visual novel, the game follows branching, choice-based dialogue made in the Ren'Py engine. The story follows a series of encounters on and after the ill-fated anniversary with Leigh, where the player is ultimately guided towards a path of distancing or maintaining their relationship with them. Of course, Leigh is unhappy about the prospect of a separation, and taunts the player to stay, not least of all because deep down, both the player and Leigh wonder if they really need her.
The narrative threads in Air Pressure unite into three endings. In the first, the player maintains an uneasy and unhappy commitment with Leigh, but accepts it could continue forever as they are scared to leave her. In the second, the player makes a firm resolve to leave Leigh and finds they are happy and free. In the most revealing third ending, the protagonist decides to double down on the relationship and 'be closer', leading them to be hospitalized but elated they can rely on Leigh.
Maintaining the illusion that Air Pressure is a story about a failing interpersonal relationship, the game presents many interesting dilemmas about navigating independence and co-dependence. The protagonist's concern about how to raise these conversations feels uncomfortable and awkward in a painfully realistic way, with the player given options to ignore their private doubts or avoid confrontation.
However, as should be obvious by this point, Air Pressure is a metaphor. What it is a metaphor of is intentionally elusive. In the third ending, the protagonist is reassured by a nurse in the hospital that they are lucky they didn't hit any nerves or arteries. Paired with direct metaphors about how Leigh wraps herself around the player's arm, Air Pressure reveals itself to be a game about dependence, and most likely one that relates to drug use or self-harm practices such as cutting.
Many players of Air Pressure have fallen into the trap of attempting to understand the game through identifying what self-harm it intends to represent. I think this is not the most important message to take. What is more important is that Air Pressure is a game that captures the complexities of co-dependence for those with an addiction that hurts them. Its metaphor is about conveying an understanding about how psychology and emotion play a role in the reasons that people find it difficult to walk away, in particular the fear that they will lose what feels to be an invaluable coping crutch.
Air Pressure is a very dour, dark game, but at least in its most positive ending, it offers a message of hope for those that are able to escape. If the protagonist is able to leave Leigh, they gain their independence: I'm happy now! The future feels uncertain, but I'm excited to be free. I hope the day will never come when I want to see her again. Even in its most depressing moments, the game leaves open the hope that anyone trapped can make choices that lead themselves to freedom.
Air Pressure was developed in 2010 by Bentosmile, a Cambridge-based independent developer, ported to Flash by Raitendo. Bentosmile started out developing around 2009, creating games for jams including Miner Distraction and Duct for the Ludum Dare. They discussed Air Pressure was a "serious" title that they had been working on some time. The game was followed by The Life Of A Pacifist Is Often Fraught With Conflict, another visual novel in which the protagonist is an employee of a game development studio who begins to express discomfort at the violent themes of the game they have been working on.
Air Pressure can still be played on sites like Newgrounds or using the Flashpoint Flash game archival project.
