ART GAME: ALAN KWAN AND ALLISON YANG'S FORGETTER (2021)
Alan Kwan and Allison Yang Jing recently completed the experimental game Forgetter in collaboration with DSL COLLECTION. In the game the player works for a tech company that cleans all the trauma or dark memories in dead artist brains, and then recycles and sells these artistic brains to parents who want their newborns to be super creative but pain-free artists. This project combines the form of walking simulator games with a janitor cleaning mechanic to create a weird, artistic interactive experience. Forgetter looks like a game designed by the ultimate collab: Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor).
Alan Kwan is an artist, technologist, and researcher. He is primarily interested in exploring new artistic and technical possibilities of real-time 3D technologies and game engines that depart from the traditional video game paradigm and typical tech fantasies of AR/VR. His projects, including VR experiences and experimental video games were presented at international venues such as Ars Electronica Center in Austria, ZKM Centre for Art and Media in Germany, Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai, etc. and were featured in media including Discovery Channel, Popular Science, and Boston Globe. Previously, Alan was awarded the first prize of the MIT Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Prize, Asian Cultural Council Fellowship, and the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Award for Young Artist (Media Art). One of his video games was acquired by the Hong Kong M+ Museum as part of its permanent collection. Alan holds a Master of Science in Art, Culture, and Technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is currently exploring the construction of impossible architecture and psychological spaces in the virtual world. He also co-founded the independent video game label Sometimes Monastery with Allison Yang Jing to create experimental & emotional art games that also have high production quality, and try to push them to mainstream platforms. Among his projects is the innovative Bad Trip (2012) and Scent (2018). We interviewed Alan a while back. Alan will be giving a talk about his latest project, Forgetter, at IULM University on April 22 2021, as part of the 2021 GAME TALK series.
Allison Yang Jing is a writer, curator and designer of video games. She is interested in the intersection between the industry of art and that of game. She is currently based in Hong Kong and making a game called Forgetter with Alan Kwan and DSL Collection.Founded in 2005 by Paris-based couple Sylvain and Dominique Lévy, the DSL Collection is one of the rare Chinese contemporary art collections in France. Now aided by daughter Karen Levy, the collection continues to explore new ways of reaching audiences across the world through VR technology and gaming media.
Forgetter is available on Steam LINK
: ALAN KWAN (all images courtesy of the artist)