Commedia dell'Arte: Masks, masters and servants

Stage acting is not as popular today as it once was, as it’s only natural, given the fact that it’s much easier to produce something when you can film as many takes as you want with a video camera. However, no one can deny that it takes real talent to act in front of a live audience, especially since you must remember all your lines and pretend you’re someone else at the same time.

Commedia dell'Arte: Masks, masters and servants is a unique video game in which you play the role of an actor in front of a live audience, and your goal is to attract as many people as you can with your jokes. Granted, the game is more of a side-project than a fully-fledged idea, but it’s still very intriguing and engaging, especially if you have strong feeling toward live performances.

More exactly, the action takes place in the XVIII-th century somewhere in Italy, and the role you play is that of an arlecchino. As you may have gathered, he is more or less the same as a modern-day harlequin, especially when it comes to the costume he wears. He is also very keen on annoying people, which is actually your primary goal throughout the game.

The gameplay mechanics are very much like in a point-and-click adventure game, in the sense that you cannot actually move freely around the stage. However, you can interact with a handful of objects or with other characters. There are multiple options at your disposal, such as teasing someone, hitting him, or making jokes at his expense. Unfortunately, the experience is very short, which is kind of disappointing.

As for the graphics, they are certainly striking, although you shouldn’t expect too much in the technical sense. In fact, that side of things is pretty basic, but it doesn’t affect the quality of the artwork. It’s actually quite a pleasure to see something different in a video game, especially since everyone seems to be copying each other lately.

When it’s all said and done, Commedia dell'Arte: Masks, masters and servants is certainly beautiful and engaging, but it’s also short and disappointing when it comes to content. However, the underlying idea is worth pursuing, and it would be nice to see more from the developers in the future.