- NECN Features The Act (2006-12-15)
- Hardcore Gamer Magazine on The Act (2007-8)
- Beau and arrow: Only shots in video game 'The Act' are from cupid (2007-1-11)
- Game vet hopes to reach the 'casual gamer' with The Act (2006-12-22)
- Spielberg For A Day (2006-11-06)
- Boston Globe: Sidekick (2006-11-03)
- Caught In The Act: a CG Society Production Focus (2006-11-03)
- Ex-Disney animators raise curtain on new Act (2006-9-28)
- The Act: Emotion Control with Single-Knob Gameplay (2005-03-31)
- Emotion trumps violence in new game (2005-01-25)
- Fluttering Off the Beaten Path (2004-12-01)
- Collected blogger reports
Boston Herald
Beau and arrow: Only shots in video game ‘The Act’ are from cupid
By Lauren Beckham Falcone, Boston Herald
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Most video games feature a shot to the heart, but in "The Act,” it’s far from fatal.
Created by Lexington-based Cecropia, "The Act” is a departure from the typical video game. No guns. No blood. No explosions, at least not the bad kind. In fact, the premise of "The Act” is that in order to get some action, you gotta use more emotion.
"This game is about people,” said creator and Cecropia CEO Omar H. Khudari. "The action is a state of mind.”
Let me translate: "The Act” stars Edgar, a shy window washer thrown into a series of slapstick escapades during which he must keep up a deception to get the girl.
Players can direct Edgar to do the right thing (or not). When he’s trying to woo the girl, a quick turn of the knob turns him into a letch. Like in real life, Game Over, pal. But turn the knob slowly the other way, he’s a hero. And you move on to the next challenge.
"Any video game has to be a challenge,” Khudari said. "But with this, the player has to solve the game through both physical activity and emotional puzzles.”
In fact, most of the game is reading the emotions on the characters’ faces, deftly drawn by Disney artists.
"We got really lucky with the Disney artists; it was like a magical moment in time,” Khudari said.
Scoring points: Omar H. Khudari, CEO of Lexington-based Cecropia, touts a new video game in which players are rewarded for caring rather than killing
Khudari has been working on the concept of "The Act” since the ’80s. But the video-game entrepreneur was busy running Papyrus Design Group, the leading creator of auto-racing simulations for the PC. Still, marketing video games to a broader audience was his calling. And "The Act” was born.
"The entertainment is very similar to film,” he said. "It’s not something you do every day; it’s the length of a film. It’s an entertainment experience. The theory is that this will resonate with people because it’s a complete meal. You end it satisfied.”
Of course, satisfying video gamers isn’t easy. And getting nontraditional gaming audiences - i.e. women - to participate has always been a challenge for the industry.
The coin-operated game has the picture quality of a movie and allows lots of players to get into the action at a handful of locations around Boston, including Our House West in Allston, Lanes and Games in Cambridge and Boston Bowl in Boston.
"Once in a while a game comes along that has broad appeal,” Khudari said. "And this is it.”
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