Bizarre Barber is a game that started in our MFA program, joined our Incubator cohort in 2019, and is now available to everyone. This post is written by the developers, Maria Mishurenko (MFA’19), Corey Bertelsen (MFA’18) and Gordey Chernyy.
Bizarre Barber, a surreal, fun & fast-moving haircutting game set on a subway platform, is now released and available on Steam, Viveport, and Oculus! The soundtrack is available separately on Bandcamp.
Purchase or learn more about the game on their website.
Bizarre Barber was the labor of love. The game was inspired by our own immigration to America 5 years ago. We’ve arrived in New York, eyes wide open, witnessing all the miracles of the world at the same time. Subways! Hairstyles! Beautiful people! New music, food and smells everywhere!
But also: pollution, never-ending hustle, capitalism at its worst (is there even the best?), daily struggle to define oneself in the place with millions of souls.
We reflected on all our experience in the game, by making it loud, joyful, weird, surreal, sometimes challenging and even scary! You’ll definitely feel a bit like an alien in the world governed by its own bizarre rules!
Frank Lantz once said, “Making a game combines everything that’s hard about building a bridge with everything that’s hard about composing an opera. Games are basically operas made out of bridges.” Well, making VR game sometimes felt like building ten opera-bridges on top of each other. That said, it would mean a world to us if you tell your friends about the game (or the soundtrack!), leaving a good review, and share info about the game in social media!
Thank you for your help and support!
