Video games have always been a great tool for learning. Traveling through the extraordinary worlds ofAssassin’s Creed, we are passionate about the French Revolution, ancient Greece or the Vikings. By accompanying the destiny of the heroes of Unknown soldiers, we discover the horror of the First World War. And flying with flight simulator, we even learn the basics of piloting. This is how in Montpellier (Hérault) was born Behind the scenes. This mobile video game, downloadable for free for Android devices on the Playstore, and on the Itch.io platformplunges the curious into the world of theatre, a universe that is too little explored by the video game industry.
The player inherits a heavy mission: to ensure that everything is ready, on the stage, before the curtain rises. It was the team of the Domaine d’O, one of the high places of theater in Montpellier, who suggested the idea to the students of Art FX, a prestigious animation school, to make this video game. This little adventure behind the scenes is a perfect opportunity for the player to familiarize himself with the theater, and to prove that it is indeed “a modern and playful art”, confides Julie Peine, in charge of the promotion of the Domaine d ‘O.
In the shoes of a stage manager, the player must manage to set up around ten emblematic sets
“We also proposed to the students to include, in the game, the discovery of the trade of manager”, he continues. Choosing this hero, rather than an actor or a director, is, for the Domaine d’O and the students of Art FX, a way of showing that without its shadow professions, magic cannot would not operate. But in Behind the scenes, we also learn lots of expressions specific to the theater. Thus, by going through the levels, we discover what it means to “make your salad”, “third below”, or “child of the ball”, formulas which refer to the great hours of live performance.
But this mini-game is above all a multitude of small puzzles that the player must solve. In the skin of a manager, the helmet screwed on the head, he must manage to mount a dozen emblematic sets (by Beckett, Shakespeare, or Molière), before the three knocks ring out. To do this, he must overcome small puzzles. “The player has to make his way through the stage to reach the stilt, the rope that opens the curtain,” explains Morgane Getrey, one of the students in the Art FX promotion who supervised the creation of this mobile video game. There are several small tests, such as, for example, activating a lever, to lift a staircase which blocks the way, to climb on a platform, etc. It’s a fun way to learn. »
A little treasure hunt, in real life, to end the game
Beyond the initiation to the world of theatre, Behind the scenes, which required five months of development from the students of Art FX, was also born from a desire to introduce the Domaine d’O, which has become a wonderful setting for live shows. The game takes place, in fact, on the stage of the Jean-Claude Carrière theater, and at the amphitheater of Ô. And “to finish the game, you have to go to the Domaine d’O, and overcome a little treasure hunt, to find a password, hidden at the foot of a statue”, confides Julien Peine.
Behind the sceneswhich adopts a resolutely cartoonish look, is to be put in all hands, from 8 years old, specify the designers. “But during the Saperlipopette festival, 5-year-old children tested it, and I must say that they did much better than us! », smiles the person in charge of the promotion of the Domaine d’O. But the big kids, too, will undoubtedly have a good time on the boards.