Time flies, and it’s been over a month since Aleph was launched. We’ve received a lot of valuable feedback, which has sparked a series of new insights, as well as some interesting and constructive discussions.
During this period, we’ve also received several thoughtful reviews from enthusiastic steam-curators. We extend our respect to those who reached out to us, discovered and recommended us at moments we hadn’t anticipated, and those who accepted our invitation to review the game.
Thank you to every player who put in extra effort. Once again, we appreciate all the recent comments and feedback! Your presence has added more dimensions to the presentation of our work.
Meanwhile, as summer transitions into autumn, Aleph has embarked on its first offline exhibition since its release here.
To better support various exhibition scenarios in the future, we have made a series of adjustments and detailed rules specifically for the exhibition context, including but not limited to:
1.We decided to use a Playtest branch version running on the Steam client for the exhibition.
- Considering the ease of updates and platform features (Stats/Achievements),
- Also, because we experienced ‘Word Game’ at the 2022 Beijing Biennial, we were inspired by the exhibition method it employed.”
2.We also activated a Steam account dedicated to the exhibition, making backend data easy to query and control via the Steam API.
- We built a series of non-global stats specifically for the exhibition context.
- Queries by the WebAPI: https://partner.steam-api.com/ISteamUserStats/GetUserStatsForGame
3.We believe achievements are an important part of the gaming experience, and the Playtest version also supports the achievement system.
- We configured the Playtest version with the same achievement data as the main game to ensure that on-site players can have a complete experience.
- To adapt to the exhibition context and ensure that player turnover does not interfere with the experience, the game will automatically return to the main menu when idle
- it will clear unlocked achievements and other non-essential save data when return to the main menu.
4.The game initially included a screensaver system, which also serves as a tutorial menu that can be called up (TAB key on the keyboard / X button on the gamepad). Typically, if the game is idle long enough, this interface will automatically appear. Considering the flow of people and potential player turnover during the exhibition, in the exhibition version:
- The idle trigger timer for the screensaver is shorter.
- The screensaver will appear after a period of idleness.
- In conjunction with the stats, if the screensaver is manually canceled after a period of time, it can be considered an indicator of new player entered.
5.Finally, we distinguished the exhibition version from the store version using scripting define symbols to keep each version clean and independent.
The current exhibition, named Ephemera Project, focuses on the concept of a “a child friendly city,” emphasizing themes related to children, aesthetic education, technology, and the future.
At this moment, our exhibition-specific version is running in Hall 4 on the first floor of the Hunan Art Museum.
During the nearly one week of the exhibition, we have collected a lot of interesting new data through the built-in information collection system.
We would like to thank the players who recently experienced Aleph on-site, especially those who provided more specific feedback through the questionnaire system! Reading your questionnaires has been a pleasure and has provided us with a wealth of valuable information.
We also want to thank the on-site staff and volunteers for providing support and capturing wonderful on-site records when we couldn’t be there.
Special thanks to curator Mr. Kun Ni for his continuous support and care. You have witnessed the journey of Aleph from its birth to its launch!
The exhibition runs from July 27 to October 7, 2024.
Address: Hall 4, Hunan Art Museum, No. 2 Jinjiang Road, Yuelu District, Changsha, Hunan Province, China
Recently, we have refined and polished several details extracted from the feedback during this period.
The game version has now been updated to v2.94.
Local friends are welcome to experience it for free on-site ( just make a reservation in advance through the museum’s official account ).
We wish everyone a great time enjoying the rest of summer and hope you all stay happy.
And don’t forget to play more good games!