I’ve received nine submissions to my call for artwork so far, with a small handful of others who’ve said they plan to contribute as well. I have to admit, this is a lot more than I expected, though I suspect the project in question will be better for it — the more places to explore, the better, right? Anyway, given that so many people seem to be intrigued, I thought I’d talk a little bit about what this thing’s all about, and what you all can expect. [1]
The game’s another one of those not-really-a-game games I’ve been tinkering with lately. It’s a series of disjoint interactive conversational vignettes that all make up a single dream sequence. These vignettes are randomized into a different order each playthrough, highlighting the absence of a coherent, author-generated plot progression. Instead, much like dreams themselves, the plot becomes a creation of the player, who pieces what they’ve just seen into their own personal narrative. They have no control over the images presented to them, but it’s up to them to decide what they mean.
Where the different pieces of artwork come in is in the writing of the vignettes themselves. I am, in fact, using what people give me as prompts, similarly to how an improv theatre piece is performed. Thus, it can be said that even though I’m doing all the actual writing, you, the audience, actually have an influence on what the story turns out to be. This is the reason I didn’t ask for very many specifics in what kind of artwork I needed; I intentionally wanted the most random assortment possible.
So, yes, this is definitely my weirdest project yet. Now that I’m going to be working full-time in the industry, I’m trying to spend as much of my solo game development time as possible doing what I can’t get paid to do. Can you tell?
- I won’t have this luxury once I’m working on games that have NDAs attached to them, so I’d better take advantage of it while I still can! ↩
Nice, dream-like/surrealism is right up my alley. So, you mentioned starting to work full-time in the industry. What do you do? Where do you work? (I’m a recent graduate having trouble getting into the industry, which is why there’s this sort of enthusiasm in my questions…
).
I’ll be a programmer (of gameplay, as opposed to engines) at Hothead Games, which is located in Vancouver, BC, Canada. What do you do? Where do you live?
Nice! I’m a recent graduate (Bachelors in Game Art & Design), so in essence, my job right now is to figure out how to get a job in the industry.
I’m currently moving (within the next couple weeks) to Dallas, TX (just a pit stop until we can get financially stable). Ultimately, I’m planning on moving to Austin, TX because of the opportunity and I miss big cities that thrive off of the arts. 
I’m excited, but it sucks realizing how long of a road it is. Well, congrats on your job! I need to learn some more programming, but right now it looks like one of those “where do I start?” subjects. 
Ah yes. I was just asking, because one of the best things to do to get a job in the industry is move to an area with a lot of game companies. Of course, that usually winds up being expensive. In any case, best of luck!
Where did that mind of yours come from? This sounds so totally innovatively interactive! I’ve only ever had other people’s dreams in games. To be able to interpret my own and have that interpretation affect the game’s progress sounds thrilling. Signed, -A fan.
Well, my mommy and daddy loved each other very much, and…
Seriously, though, I’m glad to see you excited about the idea. I hope it turns out just as exciting as it’s been described!
Well, the end-of-April deadline has passed, so how many submissions have you received? I’m the guy who sent two submissions, by the way.
Will you make up the game’s site?