Evan Alley - Theatour

what is THEATOUR?

"Navigate through the University of Utah's campus in the mysterious, noir-esque puzzle adventure. Discover various locations, learn the history and facts about each place, and unveil the truth lurking beneath. Utilize critical thinking, problem solving, and pattern recognition skills to solve the case in this gritty, adventurous journey. Remember, the campus is your stage, and you its actor. Welcome to the Theatour, enjoy the show!"

Developed in collaboration with other University students, Theatour's development was incredibly fast-paced and ambitious. It is an augmented-reality educational game that uses story and puzzles to guide new students through campus, helping them learn what they need to know during their time at The U.

development stats

software

Unity, Google Maps

dev time

4 Months

team size

8-Person Team

position

Engineer, Director

anecdotes

ambitious execution

The pitch for Theatour was wildly ambitious for a one-semester class project. I was the primary vision holder for this game, and I knew going into it that we had a lot of work ahead of us. That's not to say that the team was unprepared for the task at hand - by using the GO Map Unity 3D asset by Alan Grant, we kick-started our technical goals. This was my responsibility, as the primary engineer on the project. The highlight of this work was decoupling the game from internet-based maps, a cost-saving measure that was absolutely essential to the game's functionality.

"ship it"

From family emergencies and health issues to confusion and feature creep, it felt like everything that could go wrong on a student project, did go wrong. Despite it all, we produced a technically impressive game! Even in an engineering role, I found myself drawn to production tasks. When our art team was struggling, I asked them to "create the art you want to put on your portfolio" and this skyrocketed our buy-in. My takeaway from that conversation was how to understand what motivates your team and how you can leverage that to create a more full and comprehensive product.

takeaways

production-minded

It was this project that made me realize my love for production. I found myself drawn to the role as I helped build buy-in, direct creative efforts, and ensure that the disparate parts of the game came together neatly.

scope is important

Before this project, I only understood scope on a conceptual level. Being in the trenches of an overscoped project is a teaching experience that no amount of lectures or advice can replicate.

motivation is key

Finding what made people excited for the project and directing that joy into the game itself was my favorite part of working on this project! Since making Theatour, team buy-in has been at the forefront of my production process.

Theatour