In addition to crowd generation issues, my latest hurdles have been due to poor lighting builds, and packaging for deployment. Previously the lighting would render a dark, creepy environment, but after changing some materials and textures, and creating some architectural and area lighting for the scene, I’ve got a viable and believable lighting environment. More importantly, it changes during the action and adds to the audience response precisely how I intended. I’ve also created a sort of “onboarding” scene when the experience begins, explaining the movement controls, presenting the thesis question, and inviting the user to explore. It’s added to the overall feel, which is great. Still, deploying to itch.io has been difficult – even packaging as a standalone game app for use on a Windows or Mac has evaded me, as I get an UNKNOWN Cook failure which stops the build.

Despite having to limit user testing to running the project in Unreal on a gaming laptop (thank you Marlon!) the feedback I got was promising, especially as it was done with a group of other live entertainment fans (thank you Skirball fam!).  The best suggestion was to present it on the projection screen in the Skirball theater itself, which is still devoid of an actual audience – very, very “meta-“.

Right now, my sole KPI has been reduced to actually having an audience in the arena with the user, but one that doesn’t look like this:

Some other thoughts:

What excites you, what terrifies you?

  • Excites: the idea of inducing an emotional/visceral response in the user (excitement/wonder)
  • Terrifies: Technical failure (inability to complete production, failure to deploy online, or lukewarm response to the experience)

How did presenting it just now (Spring) feel?

  • Felt very good, although “old”/rehashed (like I didn’t have enough “new” to show/talk about

What has changed? Why?

  • Lost a lot of expected production time due to an earlier-than-scheduled return to work, now very concerned about completing construction, much less deployment and user testing, every step forward is met with a new setback I’m trying to figure out on the fly

Who else might care about it?

  • Anyone, I hope… but particularly those with an appreciation for live performance and/or shared experiences

What are you chasing?

  • An emotional/physiological response to the expeience (elevated heart rate/pulse, breathing, less “wow!” AND more “whoa…”)

Things I want: Emulation (cf. simulation) of live experience, convincing & plausible virtual environment

Things I don’t want: Performance issues, lack of usability

Things I’m okay with: acceptable approximation of the experience as a prototype

Things my thesis does for the world: Promotes an interest in the ideas behind communal/shared experiences

Things my thesis does for me: Looks at the artist/audience relationship and the value an audience has as its own medium, gives me a sense of accomplishment from conception to creation

Things my thesis does for audience: Stimulates thought about the questions of why we enjoy live entertainment, what defines an audience, is an audience necessary?