On the way to GLS, we did not know what to expect. When we first came in, we were concerned that people wouldn't get what we were going for since we didn't have an artist's statement on display. This was not done on purpose, but it ended up being valuable as it tested the game's ability to deliver the message, even in its early stage. I thought people might think that it was just another Kinect game where you flail your arms in front of the camera, no questions asked. It was just the opposite. People often discussed the strange mix of emotions while playing and the questions that they stirred. We even had people walk off stage bashfully, while others were unwilling to perform, insulted by our new, (un)delightfully condescending, judge/guide character.
Players hated him, which is exactly what we were hoping for. He is meant to be a very slighting character who at one moment tells the player he misses her, and in the next moment scolds for not being centered on the stage. In a swirl of jarring mood swings, players found themselves endearingly referred to as poppet and in the next moment scolded for being pathetic.
On a related side note: we are currently casting a voice actor for this creepy character, so if you know someone who can embody this Tim Curry/ John Water / Vincent Price fusion, have them email adittami@gmail.com
Along with seeing what worked, we also ran into some valuable problems that will help us with later iterations. A new bug we had never seen before rendered parts of people with darker colored clothes invisible! For example, players with black pants would see the silhouettes of their torso floating above an empty space where legs might have been otherwise. Although we have improved the game in this third iteration to account for different heights, we found that it does not accommodate for the unusually tall, something that is hard to test for when you have only grown so averagely. We also didn't get to test any new poses this time, but we are currently working on those. We will have a new main character to share soon!
Overall, GLS was very informative and helpful to the progression of the game. Most importantly, it was fun. We got to make a lot of people uncomfortable, which is always good. And there was a lot of interesting conversation, which is even better. Here are some pictures:
Post-GLS: We are going to submit a new version of the game to indiecade this month and hope we get the chance to share a finalized piece at the festival in October. We are also incredibly happy to announce that we have a new addition to the team, sound designer Craig Deskins! Anthony, Matt, Craig and I have worked together on several games over the past three years and it is great to be working together again. Craig has been in Vancouver almost two years, soaking up knowledge in order to bring it to your ears. Check out his portfolio here:
http://craigdeskins.com/
