The Void, Ludo-Psychological Ruin, and Ecological Self Destruction

The Void is a 2008 game from the Russian studio Ice Pick Lodge, set in an underworld that is slowly dying. Its only resource is Color. You need it to stay alive, but the story only moves forward if you give it to the Sisters who live there. Marina Cone reads the game alongside the climate crisis. Her first playthrough took about a dozen restarts, and she uses those failures to think about how people make decisions when there isn't enough to go around.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Washington State University
Published
2026-10-27
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7273/as23-v521
Primary Topic
Digital Games and Media
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

The Void, Ludo-Psychological Ruin, and Ecological Self Destruction

Marina Cone
2 links
Washington State University
Digital Games and Media
article

The Void, Ludo-Psychological Ruin, and Ecological Self Destruction

Marina Cone
article en

Abstract

The Void is a 2008 game from the Russian studio Ice Pick Lodge, set in an underworld that is slowly dying. Its only resource is Color. You need it to stay alive, but the story only moves forward if you give it to the Sisters who live there. Marina Cone reads the game alongside the climate crisis. Her first playthrough took about a dozen restarts, and she uses those failures to think about how people make decisions when there isn't enough to go around.

Washington State University
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Digital Games and Media
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The Void, Ludo-Psychological Ruin, and Ecological Self Destruction — Marina Cone · Washington State University (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS