A Minor Music Academy:
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Winner of the Creative Technologies S23M Divergent Thinking Award
Co-created with Anna Murray, Matt Laguda & Michaela Dodd |
is a narrative-driven rhythm game which satirises Japanese dating simulators and addresses sexism and heteronormativity within the gaming industry.
Art of Destiny, the Banjo - by Michaela Dodd
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Concept
In "A Minor Music Academy: No Strings Attached" you play as a young, androgynous Mozart who joins the prestigious A Minor Music Academy searching for a higher education and a little love. On his journey at the academy you will hone your skills and uncover the stories of the many instruments there. The game plays like a relatively traditional visual novel, with the protagonist making simple choices that lead to different character encounters, however after certain points of dialogue, an instrument may ask Mozart to join them in a duet. At this point the format changes and A Minor transforms into a rhythm game reminiscent of 'Guitar Hero'. The characters in A Minor are really important to the message we're trying to send, because no matter how well you play the guitar, they might not want to go on a date with you. Some people just aren't ready to get into a relationship, and that's their prerogative. |
Context
The first iteration of this project stems from a "Game & Play Methodology" paper, in which we were asked to design and prototype a game informed by Permaculture design principles. Created as a response to the question, “How can two unrelated game genres be integrated into one system?”, A Minor was a response to over-saturation within music rhythm and visual novel dating simulators by carving its own unique niche between the two genres. A Minor has evolved through iterative testing and ideation, developing an important purpose within the modern play industry. Primarily, the game serves as a statement to combat gender stereotypes and heteronormativity in play media, particularly within the "visual novel" genre. It aims to break down these archaic concepts by satirically exaggerating key elements found within the genre, i.e. in its character depiction, narrative plot and relationship building/interaction. |
Art of Cadence, and their ex, Alto - by Michaela Dodd
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Since we’ve been able to render the human form in video games, this technology has been used pretty liberally to objectify women, and, the level of LGBTQ representation across the medium is almost non-existent. A Minor is really important because it takes these stereotypes and pushes back on them. In dating simulators, the faceless protagonist conquers whichever pretty thing he desires. To have a game in which you can do everything right and still not “get the girl”, or in this case; sexless musical instrument, is really powerful.