Auriea L: CCpresentation2006

ProofOfMyExistence OutsideSomeplace CCretreat2006

introduction slide 01 - ToT
1. Hi, I am Auriea Harvey.
ToT
1. I have a history in Internet based art and design.
  But in 2002 I along with my partner, Belgian, Michael Samyn started a studio called Tale of Tales dedicated to making realtime 3D interactive entertainment software, more commonly known as video games. I am co-designer, lead 3d artist and Art Director on the games. Our projects tend to be narratives told through innovative, interaction design.
  I will tell you very biefly about our past 2 projects just so you know how the Creative Capital one came to be.
8 slide 02 - 8
1. Our first game is called 8. It’s about a little deaf-mute girl in a white dress that gets lost in the palace of Sleeping Beauty. We spent about 2 years on that project and got more and more ambitious about it. It is through this project that we started thinking more imaginatively about our work process, funding and distribution methods for our games.
endless forest slide03 - TEF
1. Our second game is called The Endless Forest. Its a multiplayer online game which we distribute as a PC screensaver. It is freely downloadable from our website.
2. In The Endless Forest everyone plays as a deer. You just run around in a mythical forest environment and see what happens. There is no chat and it is a non-goal-oreinted play space. A social space, a relaxing atmosphere meant to be played casually.
3. In addition, we stage performances in the forest where Michael and I play the role of the “Twin gods.” We have created a system for realtime intervention in the gameworld called ABIOGENESIS. ABIOGENESIS allows us to control in real time things like the weather and spectacular, fireworks-like, displays of flora and fauna.
4. We have about 8000 registered players. On average you will find around 15-20 deer playing at any given time. The game is quite popular in its niche and its through this positive experience we are developing our Creative Capital sponsored project, which is a kind of spiritual sequel to 8 called 144.
144 slide04
1. So far for 144, we’ve got the design finalized, been working last month to develop concept drawings and we’ve made a first interactive prototype.
2. 144 is a real challenge for us because we are wanting to deal with a different set of emotions than in our previous work.
  Again, its is based on old folk tales, the story of Red Ridinghood in this case.
  The older versions of this tale are more raw and symbolic also more violent. And 144 IS meant to be a horror game. We want it to be unsettling. But there will not be any acts of violence carried out by the player. As with our other games there is no spoken or written text.
3. We’re working in collaboration with a composer and sound engineer to score the whole thing. In many ways it will have alot in common with a silent film.
  slide 05 - 144
4. The charcters are the 6 Red Girls who one by one will become your avatar, 6 wolves, one Grandmother and the same Girl dressed In White from 8, our first game, only now shes a bit older. All characters have their own expressed personality.
5. In terms of structure; This is a game played in 3 Acts and 6 episodes. 3 acts because there are only 3 environments in the whole game. 6 episodes because you will play the game 6 times.
  slide 06 - wolves
6. The Wolves are not necessarily animals. 2 of them are more like fantasy creatures. But the rest of them are just men. Men who are in the forest, supernatural in their way, and up to no good. But more about them in a minute.
7. You start out inside the apartment of the 6 Red Girls. They are sitting around, waiting for something. You select one girl to be your avatar.
  slide 07 - city
8. The game is set in present day and as soon as you get outside you will be able to see that the girls live on the outskirts of a big city. You will also immediately notice the path which leads into the woods.
9. There is only one rule in the game, and that is “Stay on The Path!”
  Now you can just take the path straight to Grandmother’s house. slide 08 - playground If you stay on the path, you end up at grandmother’s fairly quickly. You find her safe and well and everything is good. Game over. Begin Again.
10. If you stray from the path, however, you can explore and play with the many attactions in the forest. Such as the abandoned playground, or you may end up in a field of georgeous flowers and pick a few.
11. Of course, wandering the forest like this, you WILL become lost. slide 09 - girl in whiteEventually you will meet the Girl In White. She knows the forest, she can take care of you, she’ll take your hand and lead you safely back to the path, if that is what you want....
12. Playing in the forest like this you will meet the wolves. You have a 1 in 6 chance of meeting the wolf that will eat Grandmother, all the others are... innocent. All of them charming in their way. Inevitably you will tell him about your errand.
13. When you’ve explored to your hearts content, you go with the Girl In White back to the path and continue your journey. At night you rreach Grandmothers House slide 10 - gmhouse but once inside you discover things may not be as you remember them. It is a memory of a house, of a relationship between two generations, and possibly another more sinister presence. You head through the corridors to the Bedroom. If you haven’t met the murduring wolf GAME OVER. Begin again.
  If you have, you find grandmother dead. And you are murdered as well. SUCCESS! Begin Again. Only this time, there is one less Red avatar to choose from.
14. 144 is a game turned inside out. You can only have fun, and truly play the game, by not following the ONE and ONLY, very explicit rule. “Stay on the Path!”
  And you can only get the most interesting tales told byfailing in your objectives.
outro slide 11 - lastslide
1. Currently our biggest challenge is getting this project fully funded. While we will most likely sell 144 through digital distribution channels.
2. We’ve had some interesting experiences wih The Endless Forest that we don’t want to ignore.
3. for example, the multiplayer server is hosted for free by the MUDAM (the shiny new modern art museum of luxembourg) They also believed in that project enough to comission the initial prototype. And many features in The Endless Forest were commissioned by arts organizations, acting as co-producers, that wanted to show the game or have us do an in-game performance projected live.
4. With 144 we hope to again find interesting ways to partner with festivals and institutions. We want to catch both the gamer audience, the art audience and people who are wanting to try something different from both mainstream games and cinema. A new art form.