(The following essay makes references to the ending of the Playstation Network downloadable game, Flower. The author would suggest you play the game through before reading, if possible. The game will take only one evening.)

Flower is typically understood to contain an anti-urban message, and this comes as no surprise. If the title did not clue us in to the dominance of nature in the work, then perhaps the gameplay did. It gives us the reins of the wind to sweep across verdant green landscapes, collecting flower petals and bringing life to dead pastures. Unless we live in a rural area, the contrasts Flower makes between city life and the natural world are hard to miss. There is nothing horrible about taking the game in that way either. It certainly does not detract from the second and by no means insignificant goal of the game, that of providing a meditative experience withdrawn from the self-important and over-wrought headspaces of the today’s latest blockbuster titles.

A deeper look, however, reveals a more nuanced conclusion that is more rewarding, on a spiritual level, than the simplistic message, “Cities are evil!”

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