Star St.Germain

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Star St.Germain
Born (1982-10-01) October 1, 1982 (age 41)
Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationMassachusetts College of Art and Design
Occupation(s)Game developer, artist, designer, illustrator, musician
Known forHoloVista, Comic Book Tattoo, Bureau of Multiversal Arbitration

Star St.Germain is an American game developer, artist, designer, illustrator, and musician based in San Francisco, California.[1] She is recognized for her work on the mixed reality game HoloVista, which won the Apple Design Award[2] and the Webby People's Choice Award.[3]

Early life and career[edit]

Star St.Germain was born on October 1, 1982, in Massachusetts. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt) in Boston, after initially double-majoring in musical theater and scene design at another institution.[4] At MassArt, she specialized in the Studio for Interrelated Media,[5] studying various art forms including performance art, music, drawing, painting, animation, and video.[6]

Comics[edit]

St.Germain has been active in the comics industry as a writer, artist, colorist, and letterer. She has contributed to works published by Marvel, Image, and IDW Publishing.[7] Among her notable contributions are Strange Tales,[8] Girl Comics,[7] and Womanthology: Heroic. She worked on Comic Book Tattoo,[9] an anthology graphic novel based on the songs of Tori Amos that won both an Eisner and a Harvey Award.

Music and performance[edit]

St.Germain is a musician who plays the electric cello.[1] In 2003, she represented Boston at the National Poetry Slam.[10] While residing in Los Angeles, she took up roles in acting and modeling. During 2006–2007, St.Germain collaborated with photographer David LaChapelle.[8] She also appeared in music videos for Maroon 5 ("Won't Go Home Without You")[citation needed] and Beirut ("Elephant Gun").[11] In 2009, she founded the band This Can't End Well, where she contributed as a lead songwriter, singer, guitarist, cellist, and electronic drummer.[8] She was featured on the 2020 Negativland album The World Will Decide.[12]

Game development[edit]

In 2016, St.Germain co-founded mixed reality game studio Aconite together with Nadya Lev.[13] Aconite's initial prototype, Limberlost, was designed as a location-based augmented reality game playable in bookstores or libraries worldwide.[citation needed]

In 2020, Aconite released HoloVista for iOS platforms.[14] The game received attention for its innovative gameplay mechanics,[15] visual style,[16] and narrative.[17][18] The gameplay involves exploring 360-degree panoramic scenes, taking photographs, and solving puzzles.[19] The game received generally favorable reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic and won several awards, including the Apple Design Award,[2] Indiecade Best Narrative Award,[20] and Pocket Gamer's Most Innovative Game of the Year.[21] St.Germain's background in theatrical set design and comics influenced her art direction for the game's environmental design.[13] She has cited the concept of the memory palace[15] the book House of Leaves, and the artwork of J. H. Williams III as inspirations for the game's environments.[22]

In 2022, Aconite released the Bureau of Multiversal Arbitration, a multiplayer Discord game utilizing generative AI to facilitate collaborative storytelling.[23] The game was distinguished for being the first of its kind[24] and won the Breakthrough in Storytelling Award from the Columbia University School of the Arts' Digital Storytelling Lab[25] and a nomination at A Maze.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "My Style Is: Star St.Germain". Computer Arts Magazine (233): 16. 2014.
  2. ^ a b Sarah Perez (June 10, 2021). "Apple Announces Its 2021 Apple Design Award Winners". TechCrunch. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  3. ^ Mercedes Milligan (May 18, 2021). "25th Webby Awards Animation Winners". Animation Magazine. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  4. ^ Drew Messinger-Michaels (January 25, 2022). "Reality-Adjacency, with Star St.Germain". Everybody's Talking All at Once. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  5. ^ "SIM Alumni". The Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Chris Arrant (August 23, 2007). "Up & Coming: Star St.Germain". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2007-09-04. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Star St.Germain". League of Comic Geeks. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c "Interview with Star St.Germain". Deer Brains. February 21, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Aaron Muszalski (July 26, 2008). "Comic Book Tattoo – Tales Inspired by Tori Amos". Laughing Squid. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Slam Teams". Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  11. ^ "Beirut - Elephant Gun (Official Video)". Youtube. 4AD.
  12. ^ Richard Metzger (February 10, 2022). "'Anything Else': Negativland Asks 'What Is Reality?'". Dangerous Minds. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Jesse Damiani (November 20, 2019). "Aconite Comes Out of Stealth and Announces First Game: 'HoloVista,' a Stunning Mobile Mixed Reality Experience". Forbes. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  14. ^ "HoloVista for iPhone/iPad". Metacritic. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Alexis Ong (April 17, 2020). "Welcome to HoloVista: A Surreal Game That Explores Our Relationship with Technology". The Verge. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  16. ^ Jason Coles (October 19, 2020). "'HoloVista' Review: An Intoxicating Journey to Another World". NME. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Jonathan Peltz (October 25, 2020). "'Holovista,' a Game About the Ouroboros of Social Media". Inverse. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  18. ^ Emad Ahmed (October 16, 2020). "HoloVista Review - A Dark and Dazzling Critique of Social Media". Eurogamer. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  19. ^ Wilson, Mark (September 21, 2021). "HoloVista is the Most Exciting Mobile Game You're Not Playing (Yet)". Fast Company. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Congratulations 2021 IndieCade Award Winners". IndieCade. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  21. ^ "Revealed: All the Winners at the Pocket Gamer Awards 2021". Pocket Gamer. March 16, 2021. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  22. ^ Trilby Beresford (October 10, 2020). "The Independent Gamer: Examine Character and Art in Mixed Reality Experience 'HoloVista'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  23. ^ Alex Hern (November 29, 2022). "Enter the Multiverse – The Chat-Room Game Made of AI Art". The Guardian. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
  24. ^ Adrian Hon (2023-01-28). "Generative AI in Game Development: Threat or Menace?". MSSV. Retrieved 2023-09-02.
  25. ^ "Breakthroughs in Storytelling: The Columbia Digital Dozen". Columbia Digital Storytelling Lab. November 2022. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  26. ^ "The 2023 A MAZE. Award Nominees Are as Weird and Wonderful as You'd Expect". Game Developer. March 14, 2023. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
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