EXPLORE THE GAMES:
⟢ Thesis
⟢ Capstone
⟢ Studio II
⟢ Major Studio
⟢ Elective
Vya
⊹ ࣪.⋆~⊹₊⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆✩࿐
For MFA Thesis
Midlife is hell. Follow Vya as she descends through the fraught but transformative levels of middle age in this 2D game inspired by Dante’s Inferno.
Interview:
✧ In one or two sentences, describe the main themes present in your game.
Vya retells Dante’s Inferno as the story of a woman’s descent through the nine levels of midlife hell. Along the way, she sheds the skins that others have chosen for her, leaving her own skin free to undergo a transformative process of self-discovery.
✧ What was the inspiration of the game? What made your team decide to make this game specifically?
The videogame Returnal (Housemarque) is one of my main inspirations. This was the first game I played that featured a middle-aged woman as the main protagonist. I should not have been surprised by this, but the sad reality is that middle-aged women aren't really represented in videogames (middle-aged men, on the other hand). Reflecting on this experience has motivated me to make Vya, a game shaped by my own experiences as a middle-aged woman, player, and game designer.
✧ What were some of your most memorable moments from making this game? What did you learn from those moments?
Last year, during the winter showcase, I was playtesting an early version of the opening level of Vya. This version featured an entirely different color palette, a lopsided house, and grey textboxes that cut through the scenery. I felt so self-conscious about the art style and was shocked when someone told me that they had approached my table because the art on the screen intrigued them. In that moment, I resolved to be gentle with myself, to trust that even in its slightly monstrous state, my game had a strong visual direction.
bsky: @axjacobs
linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriana-x-jacobs