Loving Leo

Artist Statement

When I decided to make Loving Leo, I knew that I was sucking myself into something extremely stupid, but something that I knew would be extremely fun. I picked the one cycle in my obsession book that Christal Rose commented on, a cycle titled “The Leo”. Firstly, this was because I thought it was already fun as a concept, but also because I had proof that the concept could produce a visceral reaction from an audience. 

Responding to the two requirements of the game gave me a clearer picture of the story I wanted to write. Firstly, the element of a meaning gap gave me the opportunity to explore a sort of choice-making where a player is told that they are going to do one action, believing that the action will causally occur, but finds out that that action may take a completely different form. In other words, a player may be prompted with one possibility for an action, but find out that the action they want to take does not fully align with the reality of what they actually do. For the context of the thematic argument I wanted to make, which is the wanton power of obsession to the point of collapse (or relapse), this served as a powerful allegory. 

The second of which, fabulism, gave me inspiration for a fundamental mechanic of the game. I decided that instead of a cycle which shows Leonardo diCaprio dating pool being stagnant while he ages older and older, I wanted the cycle to repeat literally for one character. In other words, we needed some time for shenanigans (witchcraft and of the sort). 

The feedback I received from my playtesting was extremely helpful. A lot of my players enjoyed the craft elements of my story, as well as the time and attention I put into the playing experience (including the different image results, given which choice the player makes). One very helpful suggestion of the work, from a member of our creative writing class, was the idea that the candles on the cake should slowly disappear depending on how many lives the player has taken. Another playtester, who was not part of our creative writing class, said that the cyclical nature of the story was not clear enough. I adjusted some lines to match that feedback.