Noted for its cinéma vérité style,[1] it is a Point Of View (POV) video-based experiment in simulated socializing that takes place in an anonymous city late one night.
The Mood Bar simulates some of the frustration and uncertainty when dealing with other people in social situations,[2] and provides a more realistic role playing experience.
[7] This approach was both lauded[8] and criticized in published reviews, since it is a clever solution[9] yet often creates distracting disjoints between character motion and the framing image.
In an effort to create a filmic feel, a feature causes that after a given amount of time (about sixty minutes) in game play the "relationship" with any character will lead to an "ending" that triggers the credits.
[11] The overarching concept is that "you" are a stranger in a late-night city who engages random people in conversation, on the street, in bars, clubs or restaurants.
After several false starts they finally established a relationship with Gazelle Technologies, a San Diego–based company primarily associated with mail order CD-ROM distribution, and began the production process.
Originally Green wrote a complicated multi-layer script that would have called for hundreds of hours of final footage, but when he began the auditions he became fascinated with the extraordinary life stories the (predominantly inexperienced) applicants told him, and he decided on a different direction that would use their life stories in improvised performances.