Art Game Weekend

So I just returned from Lille / France where I attended the finale of the 3rd ArtGameWeekend. My friend Simon Bachelier of the French indie game collective One Life Remains and co-organizer of the event had asked me to be part of the jury.

Being late to the party I was very curious of what the 45 jammers from France and Belgium had come up with in the previous 48 hours.

The jam site was located at a place called
Imaginarium in Tourcoing which is an experimental work, meeting and event space designed to connect artist, researchers, industry and the public. I am still super excited about the fact that the location is run by public funding.

The ground level of the Imaginarium was dedicated to 40 years of video game history. It featured a playful exhibition with art games, experimental interfaces and DIY units that invited the visitors to participate in, play and create games – a perfect fit for the ArtGameWeekend.

Here are some images of two awesome game prototypes that used the makeymakey kit for the interface to create a holistic game experience.

The makeymakey kit is basically a usb adapter that allows you to use almost anything that is able to convey electricity as an input instead of keyboard and mouse. The team who created this lovely painting pallet used the color pattern of modeling clay to operate the game.

Despite all the cross platform playfulness, level of details and polish a game that at first sight seemed very unspectacular, won our hearts and therefore was awarded winners of the grand prize.

RightTime is a mobile interactive experience with minimalist graphics and and even more minimalist gameplay which merely consist of devout waiting and tossing the device to activate the alignment sensors in the right moment. I played the demo mode which takes up to five minutes whereas the original version is meant to be about ten times longer.

The creators of RightTime introduced the game as follows:

Well, I was veeery sceptic before I actually played the game.

In fact, RightTime is not really a game but it is a really intriguing example of how the predisposition of the player, our anticipation, expectations and longing for the epic win drive us. The power of the story that is shortly presented in the introduction to the game is incredible, as it grows and evolves in the players’ minds and creates an enormous suspense.

I am really into the topic of designing blanks to enhance storytelling in games lately. I feel that challenging the players´ imagination adds a lot to the immersion and also might allow meaningful gameplay to successfully blend in with the story. What are your thoughts and experiences on this?

Tags | art games, blanks, game jam, gamedesign