A Person Stands on An Empty Stage
Description
A Person Stands on an Empty Stage is an IndieCade nominee game, it is a digital, single-player game that adds a surrealist take to the aesthetics and structures of performing on stage in order to explore questions around identity and the self, how it’s constructed and deconstructed, and what it takes to devote one’s life to a craft.
A Person Stands on an Empty Stage is an IndieCade nominee game, it is a digital, single-player game that adds a surrealist take to the aesthetics and structures of performing on stage in order to explore questions around identity and the self, how it’s constructed and deconstructed, and what it takes to devote one’s life to a craft.
Category
Video Game / Concept Art / Animation / Merchandise
Role
Game Design / Concept Art / Art Producer
Awards & Recognition
IndieCade 2024 Narrative Spotlight Award Nomination
Video Game / Concept Art / Animation / Merchandise
Role
Game Design / Concept Art / Art Producer
Awards & Recognition
IndieCade 2024 Narrative Spotlight Award Nomination
“How does one gamify the art of acting? How does one try to theatricalize a game?”
Trailer
RAPID PROTOTYPING
Building on that, we brainstormed some literal themes that we both interested in: Started off from the theme of 'Lack of Five Senses: what if we lost 5 senses - we use these as prompts to see whether if we can generate potential game ideas.
PROTOTYPE 1:
Boat in the River of Death (Lack of Sight)
Sacrificing things in life to become a better
Based on that, we aim to delve deeper into the concept of sacrifice.
And also we want the game could be more gamey, so we were bringing up a system - as you can see, we have cards, chips and scale as device for exchanging. It like sacrificing things from your life in exchange for a better performance in your acting career, that is the thing we want to discuss.
And other thing is that we have in-character and out of character scenes, allowing players switch between these two scenes and collecting stuff to exchange it in a mind space. Especially In the mind space, which is the out of character scene, players can talk to orlando, can engage with them, who is the character you are portraying on the stage.
And other thing is that we have in-character and out of character scenes, allowing players switch between these two scenes and collecting stuff to exchange it in a mind space. Especially In the mind space, which is the out of character scene, players can talk to orlando, can engage with them, who is the character you are portraying on the stage.
- Narrative-driven
- In and Out of Character
- Cards, Chips, Scale and Mini games
- Sacrifice - Earning skills for better performance
This is the one of the idea, you can collecting words from in character scene and establishing the lines in the script, but at that time we encountered the challenging with our approach to the concept of 'sacrifice.' because the mechanics felt either too moralistic or lack of moral implications, which failed to effectively convey our intended theme of sacrifice. And also we realized that the scope of that idea was too big. To address these issues, we decide to narrowed it down to a only one loop, one thing to clarity.
-
Collecting words
-
Improvise
- Moralistic/lack of Moral Implications
Frankenstein-Inspired Character Construction: Collage, Creation, and Self-Reconstruction
The character is born from a blank slate, pieced together like a collage—they can be anyone, a collective of multiple entities, or a transformation from nothingness to selfhood.
At its core, the game revolves around exchange, sacrifice, construction, and deconstruction. Players do not merely create a character; they continuously disassemble and reconstruct themselves, exploring the idea of the body as identity.
The UI follows a highly diegetic design—the body itself serves as the inventory, canvas, and log. As the player's form shifts, their journey is recorded through their transformation, seamlessly integrating game mechanics with narrative. This makes identity formation the very essence of the experience.
The character is born from a blank slate, pieced together like a collage—they can be anyone, a collective of multiple entities, or a transformation from nothingness to selfhood.
At its core, the game revolves around exchange, sacrifice, construction, and deconstruction. Players do not merely create a character; they continuously disassemble and reconstruct themselves, exploring the idea of the body as identity.
The UI follows a highly diegetic design—the body itself serves as the inventory, canvas, and log. As the player's form shifts, their journey is recorded through their transformation, seamlessly integrating game mechanics with narrative. This makes identity formation the very essence of the experience.
Switching Between In-Character and Out-of-Character: A Balance Between Performance and Reflection
The game unfolds through a dual perspective of being in-character and out-of-character, exploring the boundary between art and life.
Performance & Reflection – In-character, the player is immersed in the act, driving the story forward; out-of-character, they can pause, observe, and understand the relationship between themselves and their role.
Director & Actor – The player is both a performer on stage and a director of the narrative, balancing between control and surrender.
Action & Stillness – While continuously shaping their character, the game provides moments for introspection, encouraging the player to contemplate sacrifice, identity, and choice.
This mechanic grants the player agency over the narrative while simultaneously guiding them toward redefining the self through character construction.
The game unfolds through a dual perspective of being in-character and out-of-character, exploring the boundary between art and life.
Performance & Reflection – In-character, the player is immersed in the act, driving the story forward; out-of-character, they can pause, observe, and understand the relationship between themselves and their role.
Director & Actor – The player is both a performer on stage and a director of the narrative, balancing between control and surrender.
Action & Stillness – While continuously shaping their character, the game provides moments for introspection, encouraging the player to contemplate sacrifice, identity, and choice.
This mechanic grants the player agency over the narrative while simultaneously guiding them toward redefining the self through character construction.
Expressive Choice: Shaping the Self, Constructing the Monologue
In the game, players do more than just shape a character—they actively build the script, continuously collecting and discarding fragments of themselves in the process. Ultimately, this leads to the concept of "expressive choice"—the game does not impose predetermined answers but instead allows players to actively choose their own monologue between performance and self-reflection.
Freely Constructing a Character – Lines, scripts, and identity are formed through a process of performance and sacrifice.
Gains and Losses Interwoven – Players must constantly weigh their choices, balancing what to keep and what to let go, continuously redefining their sense of self.
Open-ended Narrative, No Forced Meaning – The game does not dictate a singular interpretation but instead allows the player to shape how their character expresses themselves and how their story unfolds.
In the end, the game is not just about playing a role—it is an exploration of individual expression and the fluidity of identity.
In the game, players do more than just shape a character—they actively build the script, continuously collecting and discarding fragments of themselves in the process. Ultimately, this leads to the concept of "expressive choice"—the game does not impose predetermined answers but instead allows players to actively choose their own monologue between performance and self-reflection.
Freely Constructing a Character – Lines, scripts, and identity are formed through a process of performance and sacrifice.
Gains and Losses Interwoven – Players must constantly weigh their choices, balancing what to keep and what to let go, continuously redefining their sense of self.
Open-ended Narrative, No Forced Meaning – The game does not dictate a singular interpretation but instead allows the player to shape how their character expresses themselves and how their story unfolds.
In the end, the game is not just about playing a role—it is an exploration of individual expression and the fluidity of identity.