<s>
Double	B-Application
Fine	I-Application
Happy	I-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
(	O
sometimes	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
casual	O
video	O
game	O
developed	O
by	O
Double	O
Fine	O
Productions	O
and	O
distributed	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
Game	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
title	O
is	O
a	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
motion-sensing	O
based	O
title	O
for	O
the	B-Operating_System
Xbox	I-Operating_System
360	I-Operating_System
and	O
was	O
released	O
via	O
the	O
Xbox	B-Device
Live	I-Device
Arcade	I-Device
service	O
in	O
North	O
America	O
on	O
February	O
1	O
,	O
2012	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
is	O
based	O
on	O
an	O
idea	O
that	O
Double	O
Fine	O
's	O
founder	O
,	O
Tim	O
Schafer	O
,	O
had	O
on	O
devising	O
a	O
game	O
that	O
Lily	O
,	O
his	O
two-year-old	O
daughter	O
(	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
)	O
,	O
could	O
play	O
with	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
this	O
,	O
the	O
open-ended	O
game	O
is	O
a	O
collection	O
of	O
eighteen	O
different	O
modes	O
that	O
allow	O
multiple	O
players	O
to	O
interact	O
in	O
unique	O
ways	O
through	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
cameras	O
and	O
motion-sensing	O
in	O
an	O
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
shown	O
on	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
display	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
playing	O
in	O
a	O
giant	O
virtual	O
ball	O
pit	O
or	O
walking	O
through	O
simulated	O
lava	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
is	O
an	O
open-ended	O
game	O
,	O
providing	O
eighteen	O
different	O
modes	O
that	O
incorporate	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
motion-sensing	O
and	O
camera	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
most	O
modes	O
there	O
are	O
no	O
goals	O
,	O
only	O
to	O
perform	O
certain	O
actions	O
for	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
as	O
to	O
create	O
humorous	O
results	O
in	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
on	O
the	O
console	O
's	O
display	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Another	O
mode	O
simulates	O
Space	B-Application
Invaders	I-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
players	O
required	O
to	O
hold	O
their	O
hands	O
up	O
and	O
move	O
about	O
as	O
to	O
destroy	O
attacking	O
forces	O
on	O
screen	O
;	O
while	O
a	O
score	O
is	O
kept	O
,	O
the	O
mode	O
is	O
endless	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
announced	O
in	O
October	O
2011	O
as	O
Double	O
Fine	O
's	O
next	O
project	O
after	O
their	O
Kinect-based	O
Sesame	B-Application
Street	I-Application
:	I-Application
Once	I-Application
Upon	I-Application
a	I-Application
Monster	I-Application
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schafer	O
had	O
found	O
that	O
in	O
playing	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
games	O
with	O
Lily	O
,	O
his	O
2-year-old	O
daughter	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
that	O
her	O
patience	O
and	O
behavior	O
would	O
often	O
cause	O
havoc	O
with	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
system	O
,	O
caused	O
by	O
both	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
systems	O
and	O
the	O
hard	O
rules	O
of	O
the	O
specific	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schafer	O
envisioned	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
as	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
simplest	O
playing	O
experience	O
possible	O
such	O
that	O
his	O
daughter	O
could	O
play	O
it	O
without	O
help	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schafer	O
's	O
idea	O
for	O
the	O
approach	O
to	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
was	O
partially	O
inspired	O
by	O
interactive	O
advertisements	O
at	O
malls	O
which	O
would	O
react	O
to	O
people	O
passing	O
in	O
from	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
following	O
this	O
,	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
more	O
like	O
a	O
toy	O
or	O
playmate	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
having	O
it	O
react	O
to	O
whatever	O
the	O
players	O
in	O
front	O
of	O
the	O
sensor	O
was	O
doing	O
without	O
adding	O
any	O
conformity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Schafer	O
wanted	O
to	O
avoid	O
over-thinking	O
any	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
:	O
the	O
team	O
did	O
add	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
Xbox	B-Operating_System
Achievements	O
,	O
but	O
Schafer	O
avoided	O
adding	O
any	O
more	O
features	O
as	O
he	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
more	O
open	O
game	O
is	O
"	O
very	O
powerful	O
when	O
you	O
put	O
kids	O
in	O
front	O
of	O
it	O
and	O
see	O
how	O
much	O
they	O
’re	O
able	O
to	O
make	O
out	O
of	O
it	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Double	O
Fine	O
's	O
team	O
used	O
a	O
rapid	B-Device
prototyping	I-Device
concept	O
to	O
try	O
out	O
new	O
modes	O
,	O
spending	O
a	O
few	O
days	O
to	O
program	O
the	O
activity	O
and	O
then	O
testing	O
it	O
out	O
to	O
see	O
if	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
expanded	O
upon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Further	O
ideas	O
were	O
dropped	O
when	O
they	O
encountered	O
technical	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
hardware	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
placing	O
fog	O
in	O
the	O
augmented	B-General_Concept
reality	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
by	O
only	O
six	O
people	O
at	O
Double	O
Fine	O
,	O
compared	O
with	O
their	O
four	O
"	O
Amnesia	O
Fortnight	O
"	O
projects	O
which	O
had	O
around	O
12	O
members	O
per	O
team	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
the	O
other	O
"	O
Amnesia	O
Fortnight	O
"	O
projects	O
,	O
where	O
Schafer	O
let	O
other	O
developers	O
take	O
the	O
lead	O
while	O
he	O
pursued	O
a	O
more	O
creative	O
consulting	O
role	O
,	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
is	O
Schafer	O
's	O
first	O
game	O
as	O
creative	O
lead	O
since	O
Brütal	B-Application
Legend	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Double	O
Fine	O
built	O
on	O
their	O
previous	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
work	O
from	O
Once	B-Application
Upon	I-Application
a	I-Application
Monster	I-Application
to	O
fully	O
integrate	O
the	O
features	O
of	O
the	O
hardware	O
device	O
into	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
and	O
wanted	O
to	O
avoid	O
any	O
mode	O
that	O
could	O
have	O
simply	O
been	O
done	O
with	O
a	O
camera	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
EyeToy	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
their	O
focus	O
on	O
the	O
title	O
as	O
a	O
toy	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
game	O
,	O
they	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
to	O
worry	O
about	O
technical	O
accuracy	O
,	O
simplify	O
the	O
programming	O
effort	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
avoiding	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
technical	O
issues	O
with	O
the	O
latency	O
of	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
opted	O
to	O
use	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
's	O
six-player	O
silhouette	O
tracking	O
instead	O
of	O
the	O
more	O
accurate	O
two-player	O
skeleton	O
tracking	O
feature	O
as	O
to	O
allow	O
more	O
player	O
to	O
be	O
involved	O
;	O
they	O
used	O
this	O
information	O
from	O
the	O
Kinect	B-Algorithm
to	O
create	O
"	O
blob	O
"	O
representations	O
of	O
the	O
players	O
that	O
could	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
track	O
motions	O
for	O
the	O
various	O
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Double	O
Fine	O
announced	O
that	O
a	O
sequel	O
,	O
titled	O
Kinect	B-Application
Party	I-Application
,	O
is	O
expected	O
to	O
release	O
within	O
2012	O
,	O
featuring	O
more	O
activities	O
;	O
owners	O
of	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
will	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
unlock	O
those	O
original	O
activities	O
within	O
the	O
sequel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
includes	O
new	O
modes	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
one	O
where	O
players	O
can	O
don	O
virtual	O
costumes	O
(	O
including	O
ones	O
based	O
on	O
Minecraft	B-Application
)	O
,	O
create	O
and	O
destroy	O
castles	O
,	O
and	O
perform	O
as	O
if	O
they	O
were	O
in	O
a	O
dubstep	O
video	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Double	B-Application
Fine	I-Application
Happy	I-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
was	O
recognized	O
by	O
reviewers	O
as	O
a	O
different	O
experience	O
that	O
most	O
game	O
players	O
,	O
adults	O
and	O
older	O
children	O
,	O
would	O
expect	O
,	O
and	O
recognized	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
very	O
well	O
suited	O
to	O
younger	O
children	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mathieu	O
Marunczyn	O
and	O
Emily	O
Ford	O
at	O
Jackson	O
School	O
in	O
Victoria	O
,	O
Australia	O
,	O
who	O
teach	O
autistic	O
children	O
,	O
found	O
that	O
Happy	B-Application
Action	I-Application
Theater	I-Application
was	O
a	O
benefit	O
to	O
the	O
students	O
,	O
as	O
it	O
would	O
engage	O
them	O
in	O
sensory	O
input	O
and	O
social	O
interaction	O
with	O
their	O
other	O
students	O
through	O
the	O
virtualization	O
of	O
the	O
various	O
activities	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
