The game that I want to make is a pervasive roleplaying/interactive theater game. It takes place over text message, where several actors play characters in a college friend group. The player or players join their conversations, and roleplay as their friend. Through theses conversations, a story is told about these characters, which all have backstories and characteristics the actors will play with. These stories will be told naturally through conversation, although events will happen at certain times that will put pressure on the group. The game would take place over about a week, although it could be edited to have varying timelines. It is up to the player to be a part of this friend group however they see fit. They can act as a consoling friend when their friends are in times of need, or they can be someone to laugh with. The game would ultimately culminate into one large event that shakes the group. The players will then be pushed to take some action as a response to the event. This action would be some sort of real life activity, that may evoke some call to action, or maybe just something playful to make the lives of your friends better.
This game is inspired by many of the pervasive games we looked at in class, as well as some instances of large scale LARPS where the players take the role of a character for more than one day, with an emphasis on interaction and collaboration. This game also borrows elements from Uncle Roy All Around You, where empathy and collaboration is the emphasis. The game is also inspired by the Indie game Emily was Away, which is a instant messenger based interactive novel. It captures an element that I’m really interested in, which is the interplay of friendship in times of need. I really love the idea of taking some play that is private, and letting it extend to affecting your real life. I also love alternative and non-linear forms of story telling, where the player can decide how much they want to get out of it.
This game would require a large amount of writing and participation from talented actors, but I think that I could pull it off.