Games

The man-made climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. In every domain, we’re forced to question the status quo, and the gaming industry is no exception. On this wiki, we aim to tackle a fundamental question: How can we, as a sensitive and self-reflective community of independent game developers and academics, contribute to shaping a sustainable future for both our medium and our planet? Inspired by the positive utopias of solarpunk, we want to look into a hopeful future and discuss how games might play a positive part in it. ...

As part of the #SpielKlima conference from 3 to 6 May 2022, I gave a talk about Potentials, Opportunities and Risks of Digital Games in the Climate Discourse - “Games for Future”, showing projects we do at Multimedia|VR-Design at BURG. I ended the presentation with the statement that: Games can … ● create awareness ● create empathy ● change behaviour (nudging) … and much more! Players should … ● look at their own footprint (energy consumption and use of resources) ● question their own gaming behavior and interests. ...

Artist interview with Annesley Black and Marion Saxer about the development of our music game THIS FEELS GREAT. Annesley Black, Jonas Hansen, Marion Saxer: THIS FEELS GREAT - Gamedesign und Komposition in Marion Saxer, Karin Dietrich & Julian Kämper (eds.): Musik als Spiel – Spiel als Musik. Die Integration von Spielkonzepten in zeitgenössischer Musik, Musiktheater und Klangkunst, transcript 2021, ISBN: 978-3-8376-4932-1 Link: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-4932-1/musik-als-spiel-spiel-als-musik

My game DUEL42 is part at this year PLAY15 festival from 15th till 19th of September. Under the topic of emotion the exhibition collected a fine selection of impressive games. For an overview of the selected titles have a look at the exhibition site or visit the festival in Hamburg.

My game DUEL42 will be part of this year PLATINE festival from 3rd till 6th of August. An unique festival that takes place in Cologne-Ehrenfeld in local pubs, theatrical workshops and small galleries. It focuses on electronic media, from art up to alternative games.

3D-Festival BEYOND, March 27-29th

From 14th-15th of June, we invited Tom Russotti at Lab.D at the KHM, Academy of Media Arts. Tom Russotti is founder of the Institute for Aesthletics:

After the great succses of last year’s play08 festival, there will be play09. A festival about the creative use of games and gaming technologies. From 3rd till 5th of December there will be an exhibition, workshops, presentations and a lab with six media artists in Potsdam/Berlin. For a detailed overview of the program have a look at play09.de.

after three weeks of trying I made it to 3 minutes and some seconds: what a simple but genius little game Heather Kelley & Jonatan Söderström developed during the Nordic Game Jam 2009: 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (inspired by John Cage) also now with geographical visualisation: this is definatelly the best game of the last month :-)

In the Neural #30 the game Wanderer is featured by Julian Oliver in his article Be My Controller: Opening up the Urban, Button by Button.: “Wanderer (Jonas Hielscher and Jiri Heitlager 2005) explores strictly automated instruction, a machine’s authority over the movement of an otherwise ‘free’ subject, as a platform for a kind of auto-dérive. (…) The real game of Wanderer is between the player and themselves, their ability to wholly and effectively commit their bodily movement, their freedom of action, to the instructions of a machine. (…) As such by playing with control in urban environments, with authority over ourselves, we’re given a valuable opportunity to learn more about how and why we allow cities and societies to steer our desires, actions and movements within them.” Furthermore the issue is packed with lots of interesting articles about new media art . Ludic Society/Margarete Jahrmann interview . Homo Ludens Ludens exhibition report . Play Cultures, the world of digital games in contemporary art and culture report . Be My Controller, opening the urban, button by button .news: Emotoscope, Modi 2.0, Rom Check Fail, Amalgus Cycle ...