Life: the Beta Tests

A game of body-snatcher time travel and learning on the job.

Game created by Sarah Doherty Granoff

"Welcome, J0HN-D03, to ChronoCorp: Time Travel Solutions for Your Everyday Needs. You have been hired to serve as a beta tester for the Future of Time Tourism: the A.I. Temporal Transplant System. You will perform this test until you have collected sufficient data. Try not to mess up the time stream."

Life: the Beta Tests was created over the course of four weeks as a student project at the New York Film Academy. This was my final project of the school year.

This game began as something very different. Originally, the idea was for a slow-paced, contemplative meditation on reincarnation and morality. Instead, this game is a humorous, fast-paced romp through time and space. The basic themes are still there, applicational morality and altered perceptions are still core gameplay mechanics, but it's all been pushed through much more goofy lens.

This game was a real pleasure to make. I specifically worked with VGA specs for the artistic design - 320x200 resolution and a 16-color palette. Given that it was my first time working within these limitations, I am pleased with how the artwork turned out. The sound was also a fun challenge, finding a way to alter the volume of various music loops to create a unique, and variable soundscape.

There are things I would like to add in future versions. More scenarios, a few animations, maybe altering a few of the backgrounds and sprites...but that will have to be done another day.