Free to Play

Free to Play is an Interactive video game performance where audience members get the chance to take control of the characters and ‘play’ the show for themselves. Utilizing a text-based video game that read commands to the actors, as well as a website that allowed non-playing audience members to purchase in-game microtransactions that affected the difficulty of the performance, audience members had full reign to cause as much chaos as they wished as they attempted to help a doom-scroll addict avoid nuclear annihilation.

This project involved collaboration among CMU students from the School of Drama, the School of Computer Science, the Heinz College Arts Management program, and the Dietrich College. This collaboration throughout the design, rehearsal, and tech process delivered a fully integrated experience for the final production, which saw audiences from theatre, digital design, and game design backgrounds mingling in both the physical space and the online chat.

We were able to hold two public performances at the Ellsworth Arts and Entertainment Space in Shadyside, Pittsburgh, supporting 50 audience members a night. Upon arrival, audience members were prompted via a QR code to sign up for the performance’s website, which offered ‘in-game microtransactions’ purchasable at any time during the otherwise free performance. The microtransactions included options to add costumes to the actors, add live music accompaniment, or to add a choreographed ‘Dream Ballet’ to the performance. The website also allowed audience members to view the performance via a livestream and to opt in to participate as a ‘player’. Audience members chosen as a ‘player’ were ushered to the full streaming setup beside the stage, where they took control of the main character of the play, navigating him around his bedroom and deciding his fate in branching dialogues with the other characters. The game component was a text-based Unity game. The website runs on a Python script using a Django framework.

As we continue to develop this work, the ease of use and transparency of the digital platform remain key in driving home the play’s themes of control. As our apps and streaming platforms continue to consume more and more of our time and money, this show satirized our evolving dependency and gave audiences a sense of control over their use of digital technologies.

Cast:
Streamer- Spencer Byham-Carson
Doomer Guy​- Rusty Daniel
Doomer Guy’s Wife- Madeline Scotti
Pirate- Dan Evans
John Money- Truman Zephyr
Hulu Soldier- Evan Vines

Crew:
Writer/Director- Cole Schubert
Game Designer- Lucia Shen
Website Designer- Cassidy Diamond
Producer/Stage Manager- Anya Hilpert
Website Manager- Zachary Everett-Lane
Lighting Designer- Delaney Price
Clarinet Accompaniment- Rafaela Doser

Conceived by Cole Schubert and Zachary Everett-Lane
Production Photos by Delaney Price

Press: https://amt-lab.org/reviews/2025/10/free-to-play-a-live-video-game-performance
Web Design GitHub and Further Documentation: https://github.com/0xcad/free_to_play