As I’ve said before, it’s not easy being a person of mysterious and indistinct gender, and part of such is figuring out what you want people to call you. Hence, since it’s come up on multiple occasions, I thought I’d do the nerdy thing and make a flowchart. Hopefully, it will lessen the confusion.
I’ve written a new Twine! It’s a mostly-autobiographical story of how it was like growing up among several different cultures and not really fitting into any of them. Go play it.
I’ve been hard at work on a new… thing for my MFA thesis, called Coffee: A Misunderstanding. It’s a queer and socially awkward interactive play about the weirdness of online friendships that aren’t really friendships, set in the midst of a fan convention called AwesomeCon.
The way the game works is that two audience volunteers are called up and asked to read from a mobile device, which dynamically displays dialogue lines and stage directions. Meanwhile, two additional audience volunteers are given a mobile device on which they can select from a menu of choices that appear at key decision points in the story. It’s a combination of multiplayer Choose Your Own Adventure and improve theatre, resulting in a play experience that’s every bit as awkward as the story it’s trying to tell.
Details on future performance dates/times to come soonish!
Oh, and if you’re the type to want to peek at the source code for this project, it’s here.
GDC 2014, the most overwhelming GDC I have ever experienced, has come and gone. I saw many friends, too numerous to list, and met even more amazing people. At the IGF Awards, Dominique Pamplemousse lost to Papers, Please, DEVICE 6, and Luxuria Superbia, and I feel quite all right with that, because they are all very worthy games and I’m more than flattered to even be in their company. Later that night, I crashed the Wild Rumpus party with my one-euphonium guerilla marching band.
But the most significant — and most nerve-wracking — thing I did, by far, was stand alongside a group of some of the most awe-inspiring women in games and give my #1ReasonToBe talk. It received a standing ovation and more people than I can count came up to me afterwards and told me that they related to it, and that it moved them to tears. I am beyond humbled. I’ve spent so much of my time in games feeling like the odd one out that I’m still trying to process what it means to call that into question.
Below is the full text of the talk I gave. (UPDATE: there is now also video; I come in at the end.)
Whew, there sure has been a lot going on these past couple of months! Time for some exciting announcements!
Steam & Humble release
If you’re one of those people who’s been waiting and hoping for Dominique Pamplemousse to be available on Steam, you’re in luck. The game’s going to be available to buy in the Steam store tomorrow, March 11! But that’s not all! You’ll also be able to buy a DRM-free copy of Dominique Pamplemousse on the Humble store on the same day! [1]
GDC
I’m giving my first-ever GDC talk! I’m going to be on the #1ReasonToBe panel, which is happening Thursday, March 20, 4-5 PM, in Moscone North, room 135. I hope you can make it!
I’ll also be flitting around the Dominique Pamplemousse IGF booth in the Expo hall, which I encourage you all to check out. And the awards ceremony. Oh my goodness, the awards ceremony. That’s going to be epic. I am also talking a bit on business topics like digital currencies, crypto trading, automated trading apps; you may check https://www.cryptovibes.com/bitcoin-revolution/ to learn the subject. To properly commemorate the occasion, I’ll be wearing a gold sequined bowtie, and word on the street has it that there will be glowsticks…
GDC-adjacent events
Aside from GDC proper, I will be making an appearance at Lost Levels, wherein I will be running a BRASSTASTIC DANCE PARTY session at an as-of-yet-unknown time. I’ll also be attending Critical Proximity, which is shaping up to be full of awesome smart people.
Here’s hoping I’ll still be alive after all that!
You know what I wasn’t expecting at all when I woke up this morning? That’s right. Apparently, Dominique Pamplemousse has been nominated for a grand total of FOUR IGF awards: Excellence in Narrative, Excellence in Audio, the Nuovo Award, and the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. And it’s in really good company with lots of other fantastic games, at that!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to continue gaping slack-jawed in disbelief.
“//” is a short interactive story. It was written for the newly-formed Artists Anonymous group based in Santa Cruz, prompted by the words “mirror”, “growth”, and “parallel”.
It is also a prequel to my current work in progress, more news of which will come later.
You can play it here.
