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Background

“The playful readings of places have become designed games revolving around a story to be uncovered by a solitary player. Through their careful placing of objects and semiotic arrangement of space, designers create rich, interpretable data the player can immerse themselves in… Experienced subjectively, these games play with the interpretations of players. Where interpretable data is concerned, subjectivity is what brings forth the aesthetics of exploration and authentic experience, in the Romantic sense.”[1]

Does play always need to be playful? Does it need to be fun? Where are the edges of play, and can play be serious, without being ‘serious gaming’? What happens when the personal collides with the public or political in games, the autobiographical with anonymity?

What happens when play makes you sad or uncomfortable? Does play need rules, structure, subjects, objects, subjectivity, objectivity, meaning? What kinds of feelings or behaviours can play explore, what kinds of spaces, what kinds of issues, what kinds of aesthetic? Will players play the way the designer expects them to? Should we restrain play or simply leave it open for interpretation? Play can occur within a game, virtual experience, “challenge”. It can also occur in a more literal way such as a virtual interactive “play”, screenplay, theatre play etc.

The aim of the project is to explore the emotional, temporal, cultural, physical, social, aesthetic and technological dimensions of play. What can we say through play and how can we move beyond the desktop to create playful experiences that are located, enacted and significant, with unique style and unconventional game-play?

One way to approach this project is by investigating psychogeography, augmentation and location.

Where do we go from here?

What you will learn on this project:

  • You will explore the rules, purpose, and possibilities of play.
  • You will examine the way users interact with an environment, the patterns in behaviour and the motives.
  • You will experiment with the different means of interactive media such as interactive first or third person experiences, animations, virtual storytelling and more.
  • Engage in immersive experiences via the use of VR, AR, haptic technology etc.

Suggested submission forms and formats:

  • Interactive and/or immersive virtual 2D/3D experience/story/game/other. Ideally constructing an immersive environment that utilises VR/AR technology.
  • Immersive installation-type experience/narrative/game/piece that provokes experimentation with the term “play”. Ideally explored “beyond the desktop” through alternative haptic technology, collaboration tools etc.
  • Creative Project and progress documentation. This could be presented through a variety of means such as blogs, website, edited video documentation etc.

Suggested reading, resources and examples:

[1] Rosa Carbo-Mascarell, Walking Simulators: The Digitisation of an Aesthetic Practice

 

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