Atari Founder Launches New Game: STAR AUDITION

Nolan Bushnell Invites Kickstarter Backers To Be Part Of The World’s First Act-it-out Party Game Enhanced By Amazon Alexa And Google Home

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#STARaudition—VIRSIX GAMES turns game creation on its head, crowdsourcing game content for STAR AUDITION – the world’s first act-it-out party game enhanced by smart speaker technology. Virsix Games will crowdsource game content through a Kickstarter campaign where backers can submit scripts to be included in STAR AUDITION, giving anyone the chance to be part of gaming history.

Created by Nolan Bushnell (founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese), STAR AUDITION goes beyond traditional tabletop games by mixing analog play with cutting edge technologies, using Amazon Alexa and Google Home to deliver cinematic elements that enhance gameplay and help set the stage. STAR AUDITION is an act-it-out party game, similar to Charades or Pictionary, where players take on the role of Hollywood actors auditioning for their next big break. Players perform dialogues randomly selected from a multitude of scripts across a variety of film genres, from the golden age of Hollywood to today’s blockbusters. To win, auditionees impress a panel of judges, the other players, by giving the theatrical performance of a lifetime.

“New technologies always inspire new experiences and ways to have fun,” said Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Virsix Games and the founder of Atari. “By leveraging Kickstarter’s unique community to crowdsource game content, we believe we will be able to create a game like no other. Tapping into Kickstarter’s creative pool of backers will help make STAR AUDITION unique and engaging in ways we never imagined.”

The STAR AUDITION Kickstarter perks include the option to contribute scripts to be reviewed by Mr. Bushnell and the Virsix team, as well as Hollywood producers and directors. Selected scripts will be included and become part of the final game, read by thousands around the world. Other Kickstarter perks include an autographed copy of the game, as well as a virtual play party, mentorship hour, and Two Bit Circus play party — each with the Godfather of Video Games himself, Nolan Bushnell. More information on how to submit ideas and other perks can be found here.

To make sure each game feels fresh, Virsix created millions of playing combinations, as well as optional smart speaker extended play to heighten player immersion with cinematic sound effects and musical overlays. Optional rules also include extra roles for players and the ability to improvise lines. Each game lasts 20-30 minutes for a full play-through. STAR AUDITION is sure to provide hours of act-it-out entertainment. STAR AUDITION Kickstarter perks start at $10.00.

“We really wanted to create a new type of game that merged technology and cinema in unique and interesting ways,” said Zai Ortiz, Co-Founder of Virsix Games and Hollywood Creative Director. “We worked with real-life Hollywood voice actors to develop almost endless AI synthetic voices and cinematic sounds from all the iconic Hollywood movie genres. Combined with the creativity of our Kickstarter backers and community, players will feel like they’re on a real-world movie set. We are very excited to bring this game to life.”

Utilizing the best of two creative industries – the video game realm and the world of Hollywood entertainment – STAR AUDITION fills an empty space between two art forms to create human connections that ignite imagination, wonder and undiscovered joy. Combined with crowdsourced content, STAR AUDITION takes gaming into uncharted territory to power the next generation of play.

About Virsix Games

Los Angeles-based Virsix Games is an award-winning, interactive gaming and entertainment company created by Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, and Zai Ortiz, Hollywood Creative Director. Virsix Games’ award-winning game, St. Noir, was the first voice-controlled murder mystery board game. Virsix Games is reimagining how people play together by remixing analogue play with cutting-edge emerging technologies such as AI, voice-activated smart speakers, augmented reality, near field communication, machine learning techniques and more. At Virsix, we believe in utilizing the best of technology and Hollywood to create human connections that ignite imagination, wonder and undiscovered joy. From interactive toys, board games, card games and unparallelled immersive experiences, Virsix Games designs the next generation of play; call it Play 2.0. This is Virsix. For more information: https://www.virsix.games/

Contacts

Alissa Bushnell

alissa.bushnell@104west.com
Allison Heard

allison.heard@104west.com