Game Testing: All The Delicate Duplicates

With a love for Alternate Reality Gaming, Transmedia Storytelling and Virtual Reality, I was asked to game test by The Space - founded by Arts Council England and the BBC. The Space have developed a transmedia project which plays profoundly on the concept and notion of time. Titled 'All The Delicate Duplicates' - the short fiction will soon be available to play on Steam for PC/Mac and through the app for £6.99.

Set to launch late February, I was lucky enough to play the game on the 11th January. Amongst two others, I played the game 'un-briefed' meaning that I didn't receive any background information on the narrative or what the game consisted of. I also wasn't instructed how to play the game through functions or what the end goal was - it was left for me to figure out and report my findings and feedback.

The story began to tell the lives of John (a computer engineer) and his daughter, Charlotte. They begin to find objects appear in their home from Aunt Mo but these objects aren't normal. As they hold unusual properties, time in their house begins to shift and change, shaping new memories and thought patterns which require explanation.

After playing the game (and eating the most pizza ever provided - thank you The Space), myself and the five other testers including three which were 'briefed' offered our thoughts on the single-player game. Making suggestions, noting down found bugs and offering our accounts of our game-play experience.