Not all video games should be action-packed, and not all works of art should bring smiles to the audience. Through a variety of media spanning video games, music and photography, Michael Patrick Rogers and his company MPR Art Hallucinations create darker art that seeks to provoke thought and emotion.
MPR began in early 2013 as a way for Rogers to get back into making music after a bout with severe depression.
“I knew I had to get back into doing things that I loved to do to snap myself out of it,” Rogers said. “Making music has always been my main passion.”
Rogers later made the transition from making music in bands to doing freelance music for video games but found himself unhappy with the type of games he worked on.
During the summer of 2013, he received an offer from one of the artists at Telltale Games, creators of game series like “Sam and Max” and “The Walking Dead,” for an animated short film he was doing on his own. The experience inspired him to start making his own projects.
Rogers finds that living in Baton Rouge has only restrained his creativity. He said if anything, Baton Rouge has “added to the misery aspect” of his work.
“I don’t think living in Baton Rouge inspires anyone to do anything except want to move as far away from Baton Rouge as possible,” Rogers said.
Most of Rogers’ influences date back to when he viewed David Lynch’s film “Eraserhead.” He related to the soundtrack as it had a similar atmosphere to the music he was making.
LSU football may be one of Baton Rouge’s biggest draws, but Rogers said he finds the culture uninspiring for struggling artists. He plans to move to Detroit or New Orleans pending the rest of this year’s events.
Rogers began playing guitar when he was 11 years old and has played video games his entire life. Around 2010, Rogers took an interest in film and learned a lot about the industry by doing photo double, stand-in, auditioning and extra work. He took these new passions along with his passion for photography and podcasts and established the MPR brand.
MPR is solely run by Rogers who taught himself how to run a company.
“For my games, I contract programmers because the only thing I really don’t do is code,” Rogers said.
For “The Lady,” Rogers’ previous video game, he enlisted the help of Roger Levy to program and co-design the game. Rogers often collaborates with a Russian comic book artist who will design all of the art in “The Grandfather,” Rogers’ newest game. Rogers says he created a Kickstarter so he can pay the artist and voice actor he needs for the game.
Rogers has a small crew for his short film projects composed of local actors. Their film process is raw — they have no lighting or sound crew and use low-fidelity cameras.
“The Lady” was funded on IndieGoGo but was paid for before Rogers started the campaign. He used it as a chance to experiment with the crowdfunding trend. The project failed, but he was satisfied with the results.
“It’s hard to find an audience … because so many gamers lack imagination or an open mind to discover new or unique experiences,” Rogers said.
Rogers said he discovered the downside to crowdfunding through his career. Without the support of a public relations firm, he said a campaign will fail to receive the needed traction for success. Rogers found himself spammed with messages from public relations firms trying to boost his campaign.
“I probably won’t be doing crowdfunding anymore after ‘The Grandfather,’” said Rogers. “People are burnt out on it, at least I know I am.”
Many of Rogers’ projects have dark tones inspired by personal experience. He said he creates “honest” art based on his personality.
“I have a dry sense of humor and have always been in some way an angry and unhappy person,” Rogers said.
The style of MPR reflects Rogers’ own darkness. He said that this atmosphere is what allows his games to stand out from any “cheesy art” game on the market. Rogers aims to create products that the audience can interpret.
When creating a video game, Rogers focuses on personal story, but that is the easy part. He says the hard part is finding money, time and people to work with on the project.
Despite the obstacles that developing a game can present and the possibility of a small viewing audience, Rogers finds it much more rewarding than working without recognition.
“There’s no better feeling than receiving a paycheck for a piece of art that was created completely with your imagination and a lot of hard work,” Rogers said.
While Rogers wants to keep the premise of his new game a secret, he did say that in the game, the audience will play as an old man who is troubled by his wife.
“One night he goes to give his wife a good night kiss on the cheek but she turns her back on him and gives him the cold shoulder,” Rogers said. “When he wakes up the next morning he wakes up under the house in the basement. All of his body parts are missing except for his head.”
More information about “The Grandfather” and its Kickstarter campaign can be found here. Information about MPR Art Hallucinations can be found at mprart.net.