Jenny Bee’s ‘Equivoque’ #DSS2017
Get your free tickets to the Digital Short Story 2017 reception at SVA!
Jenny Bee has a great story to tell and she’s telling it in an interactive way. (Head to Steam Greenlight to watch the video and give Equivoque a vote)
Equivoque is a visual novelette for daring children of all ages. Bundt Kuchen is the lone apprentice in a magic shop. They believe they’ll never get any closer to the magical world than manning the cash register until one day, famous magician, Mint the Splendid shows up at the door. Preaching the values of skepticism and a critical mind, Mint sends Bundt on an undercover mission to unmask a magician-turned-fraudulent-medium, named Barnabas. Now Bundt must learn to combat their indecisive nature and ask the right questions to free the public from Barnabas’s tricks and finally get a taste of being in control…but is Bundt really the one pulling the strings of their destiny? Step into Bundt’s shoes and converse with the whacky and the dangerous cast of Equivoque, and remember, apprentice, to Question Everything.
We asked Jenny a few questions about her project.
(view gallery below by clicking on the dots)
You probably have a thousand story ideas in your head. What made you decide on this story for your DSS project?
A story is how you communicate an idea to the world and endeavor to improve society by some small measure. I felt it was imperative to tell this story before any others because of the political climate we’re in, because it’s about the values of thinking critically and questioning everything.
Why did you decide to tackle our current political climate from this magical angle? Do you feel we’re under a spell?
Well it’s specifically a magician’s angle as opposed to a magical one. It has a staunch grounding in reality, and exposing how supernatural things are often done/misunderstood as being so. I think this magical thinking bleeds into every area, because it becomes difficult to draw the line. If you believe in psychics, then it’s easier for you to believe in other things that don’t have evidence. It’s themed around this specific idea, but the thesis of the game, “Question everything”, is one that can be applied to most things.
What’s been the most challenging aspect of crafting this story?
From a time-filling aspect, I’d say creating the assets for the game; there’s just so much art and I tried to be thrifty, but it still ended up taking a while. From a technical aspect, I’d say working on the plot from every angle and going back and reworking it so many times in my head to fill in the blanks and make it something I was really proud of. From an emotional aspect, probably coping with the fact that I can’t control absolutely every thing, and some things are going to slip through the cracks, like dialogue weirdnesses or some art issues, and I’m just going to have to make peace with all those things, even though it’s not easy.
What do you hope your audience gets from your project?
I’m hoping for them, they learn to question everything, and I’m hoping for my sake, they get that satisfied feeling that only a good story can give.
