A Fitting v2.3 at the Pheonix Art Museum - The Art of Video Games Exhibit

This weekend a new version of A Fitting will be a part of special showcase at the Pheonix Art Museum in The Art of Video Games Exhibit.

A former professor of mine, Theresa Devine, invited us to be part of this showcase and we immediately accepted. Although we could not be there in person, Theresa and one of her students, Brianna Shuttleworth, set up A Fitting in the space. Here are some pictures they have shared:

We are so thankful not only to have the game be in such a beautiful space, but to share it with such dedicated and talented artists. If anyone reading this happens to be in Pheonix this weekend, we hope you have time to experience these games.

Another post about the exhibit and possibly even video to come soon.

GLS, post GLS and new addition to the team

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/

A Fitting at the GLS Art Exhibition and new team members

A new and improved version of A Fitting will showcase at this year's GLS Conference in Madison, WI on June 12 at 7:00pm.

The theme of the exhibition is Worlds Collide: Fantasy and Reality. Learn more about the GLS Conference here: http://glsconference.org/

The new version of A Fitting will feature a new judge, art and more. 

Although Blair is no longer working on the project we are glad to announce new additions to the team, Anthony Sixto and Matthew Farmer

Anthony Sixto - Anthony Sixto is a Chicago based professional artist who works as a 3D and 2D artist in games, apps and animation. Independently he works on political cartoons, comics and films with a focus on cultural sociology. His goal is not only to master his art but to find a space to create entertaining content that also carries a strong sense of social commentary. http://sixtoart.com/

Matthew Farmer - Matthew Farmer is a professional game programmer who works for a Dallas-based mobile games company. He is a graduate of the Computer Science department of Arkansas State University. He has been developing games for over half his lifetime. Outside of game development, Matt is an avid musician and enjoys recording music with his wife. http://mynameismatt.net/

We are extremely excited to share the upcoming versions of A Fitting and plan to have more frequent updates soon!

Scary Beautiful

Game designer Erin Robinson brought this video to our attention a few weeks ago. "Same design principle between shoes and a video game, how strange is that?"

In an article featured in Shine, fashion designer Leanie van der Vyver comments:

"After working in fashion for seven years, and therefore being well aware of the manipulation images in fashion suffer for a perfect result, I still compare myself to them and other current beauty ideals...  My frustration with my own inability to overcome these feelings of inadequacy was what brought 'Scary Beautiful' into fruition." 

View the full article here

A Fitting's Kickstarter has come to a close, but A Fitting will go on!

Hello everyone,

We cannot thank our backers and those who helped spread the word about A Fitting enough. Although the Kickstarter campaign was unsuccessful, we are going to work to finish A Fitting and try our best to share it in a public space. We may not be able to join the Off the Beaten Path exhibition but we plan on finishing the game and finding other ways to raise funding in order to share the game in a like-minded setting.

Please stay tuned and follow us:
https://twitter.com/amandaDittami
https://twitter.com/Baalair

Thanks again,
Amanda & Blair

Article featured on The Feminist Revolution

"When one finds a woman character taking the lead of a game, it is often that her representation betrays the positive impact of the stage. The “women” in these games are not real, but there is a real damage to one’s psyche from constantly being bombarded with the same reoccurring images. They are difficult to avoid, when exploring the game library of any platform. They are discovered in supposed “Mature” rated games and even those rated “E” for everyone. Perhaps the most disheartening of them all, are the games directed at pre-teen girls that carry messages of promiscuity and materialism. Although it may be unintentional, it is a direct assault on the development of young children.  It is of no surprise that many women gamers will have their body issues reinforced by the games they enjoy. Meanwhile, all gamers will be conditioned to think of women as not much more than sexual objects."

Check out the full article by Amanda Dittami

Gone From an Age: A Fitting

A Fitting featured on Games For Change

"At one point in your life, you may have tried chemically altering your hair, tried on a pair of pants that were way too tight, or focused more on fashion over function. All for the goal of achieving a specific look.

Many of us partake in these practices to achieve a standard of beauty in modern society. Too often, we do so without considering why, the social costs if we don’t, or what physical and mental harm these activities are causing every day. Some would argue that beauty is purely for the benefit of those who are gazing upon it, disregarding the discomfort of the ones who have to achieve it.

To give others this distinct understanding, game designers Amanda Dittami and Blair Kuhlman teamed up to create “Gone From an Age: A Fitting“, a motion controlled game that asks players to contort and perform for an audience, in what Kuhlman calls “a cross between a game of Twister and Vogue magazine.”"

Check out the full article by Jeff Ramos

"A Fitting" Game to Explore Body Image

A Fitting: Interviews from our second prototype

On September 27 we shared our second live prototype during an open playtesting exhibit. Along with gathering valuable feedback that will help us develop the game we also asked playtesters what they felt while performing.

Mood board, art and our next playtesting session

We have been working with two amazing fashion designers. Claire Henry and Sadie Monroe are donating their time to make a physical version of the garment worn by the main character. It is inspired by harmful fashion trends spanning multiple cultures and time. Sadie and Claire put together these two mood boards as one of the first steps toward making the dress:

Currently, they are putting together the muslin for the dress, which is used as a test before using the final fabric. The muslin, along with a new prototype is going to showcase during our next playtesting session: next Thursday Sept. 27 at 916 S Wabash, Chicago, IL 60605 in the Project Room from 5-8pm. If you are in the area and can make it, we would love to see you all there.

For the next prototype we are going to try out some new poses and we also hope to have a rough audience and young woman in the game. As a teaser, here are some of the rough pose silhouettes that we have:

We'd love to see/hear some pose recommendations from you all. Whether its images you find on the internet, or a blocked out picture of yourself. Feel free to tweet us: Amanda & Blair

 And last but not least, we'd like to share a piece of art work donated to us by Anthony Sixto. Anthony is a very talented 2D/3D/concept artist that Blair and I have worked with and continue to work with on a variety of projects. Here is his take on A Fitting:

Once again, if you can: Come join us on Thursday September 27th from 5-8pm at 916 S Wabash, Chicago, IL 60605 in the Project Room for our next open playtesting exhibition.

We have 16 days left in the campaign, help us spread the word if you can.

 Thank you all for your support,
-Amanda & Blair

Today I Conversed With...

"A Fitting was a Feature from a larger game Blair and I started working on shortly after we first met a couple years ago called Gone From an Age. A Fitting has become our first installment of a hopeful series. The young woman featured in the game has a whole backstory. We have only shared the original Game Concept document  with a few people but it could be neat to share now that more people know about the project..."

Check out the full article at the blog "Today I Conversed With..."

Blair Kuhlman and Amanda Dittami

A Fitting first open playtest

On September 06, 2012 we had our first open playtest exhibit in the Project Room at Columbia College Chicago with live performances by Caitlin Rafferty, Dylan Roth and last but not least: our playtesters.

A Fitting featured on Kill Screen

"A young woman models an elaborate dress in front of a shadowy and judgmental audience. As she contorts her body into increasingly untenable positions, the audience rewards her with their approval. If she stops, they scowl, then leave.  

This isn’t a description of a fashion show. It’s the premise of the new Kinect game and art installation, A Fitting, which asks players to put themselves in physical pain to gain the admiration of others."

Check out the full article by Joseph Bernstein

This art game actually judges your body

A Fitting Kickstarter launches!

A Fitting's Kickstarter has officially launched! Today is the first day of our campaign and we couldn't be more excited.

A Fitting is a Kinect-based digital art installation that explores the relationship between cultural and personal expectation of body image. Essentially we are using the motion control capabilities of the Kinect to discomfort players physically and the persuasive power of games to mentally coax them into playing more. The game is a satirical piece where the game itself represents societal pressure, and the participating player represents the human will to sacrifice personal comfort for an imagined ideal. The installation has the chance to travel with the Art Works For Change exhibition Off the Beaten Path: Violence, Art and Women. However, we need to raise money for the equipment, shipping and development costs.

We hope that you can help support our project, whether it's pledging a donation or sharing the Kickstarter page with others, we really appreciate any help that you can offer!

A Fitting's first prototype

A sneak peek at our first prototype: