Meadows XP is an interface game based on early 2000s Internet culture, that looks back on humans’ obsession with the virtual world, while also reflecting on the effects it has had on our contemporary society.
The game is a sort of virtual space for the player to explore and interact with, having various tools and programs to play around with.
It tries to evoke nostalgia, but also use this nostalgia to make the players reflect on how we interact with the virtual world in contrast to the real world.
You can play Meadows XP for free by downloading it here
In Meadows XP I took care of:
Game Design:
As a self-imposed challenge in the form of a three day solo game jam, I initially came up with the concept of the game, and from there, started looking at ways to explore the themes that I had in mind. I looked at different ways and opportunities to transmit the message with different interactive spots in the context of an old-school computer interface, and I implemented and tested them to see which ones could be interesting and unique for the players.
Programming:
One of the main reasons for doing this project, was programming practice with Unity. Through this project I grew more familiarized with scripting through C#, Unity’s UI tools and achieved an overall broader view on how to plan a project’s development and how to proceed through the technical aspect of making a game. After this project, I grew more comfortable with Unity beyond using it in a designer role, and prototyping my own ideas.
Art:
Using Adobe Illustrator, I replicated the very concrete style of Windows XP and early 2000s internet pages. This very specific style is characterized among other things by the use of gradient colors. In the process, I worked with the basic tools the program offers, and with the gradient tool itself in order to replicate, yet parody the logos and interface as closely as I could. Every visual element in exception to the real life photographs was created this way.