Background
I worked with a group of six master students from the Centre of Digital Media. We were tasked with creating an interactive game prototype for industry client BradField Company Production that effectively and seamlessly integrated into the Inanimate Alice series.
Inanimate Alice is an interactive visual novel series created by the BradField Company. It tells the story of a young girl growing up and dreaming of one day becoming a game designer. The project was a collaboration between the CDM and the BradField Company to create and design a game prototype, which would continue the series.
Problem and Solution
Due to the time and nature of the problem we had to work closely as group to find a way to engage users while still keeping true to past work. We tried to keep a clear focus on staying true to Alice’s voice and the dystopian feel of the past novels.
We created a brand new story that begins from where Alice leaves off in the last novel (episode 6). Using a branching narrative that folds back into the main storyline and immersive interactive 360 scenes, we created the next step for Alice.
Process
I took on the role as the programmer on the team. We had access to a 360 camera and thought that we might be able to utilize it to create a more immersive experience at key points in the game. Knowing that I would be utilizing Unity, I researched the best way to create the 360 experience and the branching narrative. I first begun by attempting to create a 360 scene with a generic 360 photo. I then added in items into the 360 view, which users could interact with. Then I worked with other team members as their art assets became available, to enfold them into the game. This included the 360 photos which were taken and then painted over to create a cohesive look, as well as the story, which was mapped into a branching narrative based on the storyboards provdided.
Since our project ran only for a little over a month, we had to keep our expectations in check and plan ahead. We needed to think about what sort of ideas would be feasible and what we could accomplish. Initially, we would have liked to do a game in full VR which was what the series was eventually heading towards. We had a few ideas that we would have liked to see, including an AR companion app to use along with the game. Since a lot of what I did relied on other team members work, I had to continuously make sure we were on track and that I wasn't receiving everything at the last minute. Overall the project was a great learning experience, the master students were insightful and friendly and we got to create a fun interactive piece.
