The Oscar-Nominated Short That Should Be A Game» MTV Multiplayer

The 2011 Academy Awards are scheduled for this Sunday, and people have plenty of opinions on where the big awards should go. In the category of Animated Short Film, however, people outside of the Academy probably have no clue about any of the nominees (unless they saw Pixar's effort,"Day& Night,"at the beginning of"Toy Story 3"). I happened to attend a screening of all of the nominees in New York's IFC Center, and for fans of classic adventure games, there's one obvious stand-out in the pack.

"The Lost Thing"is directed by Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan. It's a CGI tale about a young man living in a destitute,"1984"-style metropolis. Gray buildings, smokestacks, faceless commuters, you know the drill.

The man takes a trip to the beach which is, in keeping with the dreary setting, littered with uniform umbrellas and sunbathers in gray jumpsuits. It's also littered with something else. A lost thing.

At least that's what he calls it. For lack of a better description, it's basically a 20-foot-tall metal teapot with some sort of part-hermit crab, part-octopus living inside. This strange creature just happens to be sitting on the beach,"lost,"as it were, so the protagonist does what any sane person in this situation would do: He plays catch with it.

The charming tale unfolds from there, as the young man attempts to find a home for the massive creature (who follows the man around like a terrifying, yet cute, metal puppy dog).

It was about half-way through the short when I realized just how much"The Lost Thing"felt like a classic adventure game, in the spirit of"The Longest Journey"or"Grim Fandango."You have this surreal world and this bond of friendship between two unlikely characters. There's a touch of puzzle-solving, as the man tries to translate a mysterious message, and there are plenty of odd NPCs to interact with (including a handful of other"lost things"inhabiting the world). Exploration, puzzle-solving, strange creatures to talk to. This is an adventure game waiting to be made!

Unfortunately, like all of the animated shorts,"The Lost Thing"is tough to watch if there isn't a nearby location screening it. You can, however,enjoy the traileror check outthe picture bookon which the short is based. You can also feel entitled about having an opinion on an Oscar category that most around you will be stumped on. And really it's all about making you look smarter.

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