VIDEOVERSE imbues young love with vintage social interface style

gamedeveloper.com:

VIDEOVERSE is a love story set in the world of 2003 computers and gaming consoles. Set in chat rooms and message boards inspired by MSN Messenger and Miiverse, players follow the story of a relationship while trying to keep up with their friends (and foes) online.

Game Developer spoke with Lucy Blundell, the game’s creator, about the interesting design and cost benefits that came up from creating a game around an older computer interface, how this interface style affects the cast of the story, and how creating a fictional gaming system formed an important early moment for the game’s creation.

What inspired you to couch your newest narrative game in this particular era of internet forums and console chats? What appealed to you about telling a story within this framework?

There were a few things, really. The main reason was that I wanted to tell a story about online teenage friendships as I was about the same age as the main characters in the year VIDEOVERSE is set (2003). I remember excitedly logging on to MSN Messenger when I got back from school, checking for any updates on my favorite message boards, and caring for my beloved Neopets. It was a heartwarming time for many, so I wanted to revisit some of those memories.

I’d also played a lot of, what I like to call, “interface games”, or games set in computer simulations. For the IGF narrative jury, I’d played Do Not Feed The Monkeys, Hypnospace Outlaw, and STAY, in addition to a few others. It felt like these games kept popping up in front of me, so I wanted to try my take on them, focussing more on the online relationships instead.

What challenges or benefits came from telling a story with this chat and messageboard-styled format?

Since I wanted to focus on character, I