The ‘Stache

As part of a story telling class, we were given the task of creating a video game with a non-linear story.

Methods

We began the process of designing our video game with story development. We took Ben Serrette’s plot and developed it further continuing to revise throughout the process.

The storyline follows Barry, the main character.  He wakes up one morning without his mustache. It has simply left his face. In the initial cut-scene, it is obvious that this man has an unhealthy obsession with his facial hair. Naturally, the absence of Barry’s mustache is a personal tragedy. The game play progresses with Barry on a mission to figure out what happened to his beloved mustache. Barry must overcome many obstacles including encounters with parodied celebrities with famous mustaches.

Game play screen shots:

Selection of Bosses:

Download the full game from lead designer Ben Serrette (windows only).

Lessons Learned

Creating this game was a great experience. It provided a set of challenges that I had not previously encountered.  For example, user research, which I consider one of my strongest design assets, was less useful in concept and story generation.  As a result, I was no longer running on pieces of information and an understanding of the user.  The lack of resources to guide my design decisions forced me to stretch my creativity.

Story development proved to be an alternate form of interaction design that was provocative and will help me conceptualize interaction design challenges in a new way.