The NYU Game Center Showcase 2024
˚✦★⋆. ࿐࿔ .˚ *✦ ˚.˚ .✶ -͟͟͞☆
⟢Thesis
⟢Capstone
⟢Studio II
⟢Major Studio
⟢Mosaic
A Person Stands on an Empty Stage
⊹ ࣪.⋆~⊹₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆✩࿐
T-Pose Rat Games.
For MFA Thesis
A Person Stands on an Empty Stage is a digital, single-player game that adds a surrealist take to the aesthetics and structures of performing on stage in order to explore questions around identity and the self, how it’s constructed and deconstructed, and what it takes to devote one’s life to a craft.
A Person Stands on an Empty Stage - Trailer
Interview:
✧In one or two sentences, what is your game about?
A digital, single-player game that adds a surrealist take to the aesthetics and structures of performing on stage in order to explore questions around identity and the self, how it’s constructed and deconstructed, and what it takes to devote one’s life to a craft. A Person Stands on an Empty Stage embodies our journey to approach the question: what is lost and what is gained when one practices art?
✧What was the inspiration of the game? What made your team decide to make this game specifically?
We have a ton of inspirations for our game! The project grew our shared obsession around the theatrical space and the art of stagecraft. Some of us are regular theater audiences, other are trained actors and directors. On top of that, Kentucky Route Zero, Edward Hopper's paintings, Roy Andersson's "Living Trilogy" are some of the big ones.
✧Were there difficult moments when developing the game? What led to those difficult moments? What did you learn from it?
We pivoted a lot and had many moments of designer's block. Which is to be expected for developing an abstract, experimental game from scratch with a team of designers, and we have prepared ourselves for that. After overcoming them with the help from friends and advisors, we learned much about how to communicate abstract ideas, arrange workflows, and how to rapid prototype and let go of them. A key learning step was to try to do much with little: to focus on a single gameplay loop and mechanic and push it to its furthest, and iterate from that.
✧Were there darlings that you had to kill? What were they? Why was the decision made to remove them from the project, and what were the reasons that you like the darling so much?
We went through at least 3 distinct major versions of our game, with all of them approaching the topics of theater, identity, and performance in different ways. We started off with a 5-level abstract 3D game focusing on stage crafting, each themed around the limitation of one of the 5 senses. Then, our desire for narrative made us shift to a heavily-narrative game focused on the play Orlando, where we found the prototype of our current word-exchange mechanic, among many other mechanics packed into the same game. Finally, we arrived at the current version that is narrowed down to a manageable scale and conveys our main themes more clearly and explicitly.
✧Talk about your teammates! What was everyone’s role?
We are a team of four, and we designed this game together. When it comes to specific responsibilities, Attilio is the narrative designer, Irene is the developer and producer, Sia is the main artist, and Skylar is UI designer and project manager.
play this game on itch.io
Atti: www.glitchworks.org
Irene: https://irene-li.itch.io/
Sia: https://www.siayang.net/
Skylar: https://skylarairw.com/