GAMESCENES

EVENT: IN A GAMESCAPE. LANDSCAPE, REALITY, STORYTELLING AND IDENTITY IN VIDEO GAMES (DECEMBER 15, 2018–MARCH 10, 2019, TOKYO JAPAN)

IN A GAMESCAPE. LANDSCAPE, REALITY, STORYTELLING AND IDENTITY IN VIDEO GAMES

An exhibition co-curated by DOI Nobuaki and TANIGUCHI Akihiko

December 15, 2018–March 10, 2019, 11:00am–6:00pm 

NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] Gallery A

Tokyo, Japan

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Among other works, video games as a form of contemporary culture are being awarded at the Japan Media Arts Festival, and continue to exert an ever-growing influence on society. As a matter of fact, video games reflect the present state of society, and one can say that they also serve as a means for predicting future developments.

With a particular focus on indie games and video game art as two distinctive recent trends, this exhibition inspects the latest video games along with the original culture they help define, to see what hints they may offer regarding social currents and individual positions.

The term gamescape as used in the exhibition title was coined to refer to the (social) landscape mapped out through games, and to express the novel views and values that video games inspire in their creators and players alike.
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ARTISTS:

LINK: IN A GAMESCAPE

EVENT: PARALLEL WORLDS 2019 (FRIDAY 25 2019, LONDON, UK)

Parallel Worlds 2019 – A Conference on Videogame Design and Culture
Friday 25 January 2015, 10:30 -17:30
Victoria and Albert Museum, London Tickets
£35 full price, £30 concessions, £15 student

Parallel Worlds, the V&A’s conference dedicated to videogame design and culture, will be back for more critical conversations on Friday 25 January 2019, in conjunction with the V&A’s headline autumn exhibition Videogames: Design / Play / Disrupt. This day long international conference brings together talks from leading game designers, artists, engineers and thinkers on the design of videogames and playful immersive worlds.

Speakers include Chris Kujawski, Principal Designer of the Xbox Adaptive Controller; Amanda Johnston-Batt from Framestore’s rides team and independent game designer Jenny Jiao Hsia, whose work features in ‘Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt’. You can find out more about our stellar speaker line up below, with more to be announced before the big day alongside a full schedule.

The event will continue into the evening with a Friday Late looking at the future of videogame design and culture where you’ll be able to get hands on with a host of arcades, workshops and demonstrations across the Museum. To see the full list of speakers, click the link below. 

LINK: Parallel Worlds 2019 – A Conference on Videogame Design and Culture (Poster Artwork by Yuk Fun)

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: VECTOR FESTIVAL 2019 (DEADLINE FEB 01, 2019)

Vector Festival 2019's Open Call for Submissions is now up!

Deadline: February 01, 2019

An event organized by

950 Dupont St., Unit 1.
Toronto ON M6H 1Z2
Canada

LINK: Vector Festival 2019

CALL FOR GAMES: A.MAZE 2019 (DEADLINE: FEB 4 2019)

A MAZE./Berlin 2019 Awards: 

CALL FOR GAMES IS OPEN UNTIL FEB. 4th 2019

*  new award: Explorer Award * selection committee is starting its work *  new location * early bird tickets available until February 28th 2019

From April 10-13 A MAZE. / Berlin 2019, the 8th international games and playful media festival, invites general public visitors and professionals to explore the best new independent video games, Virtual Reality experiences and Playful Media projects. In public exhibitions visitors will discover the 25 nominees for the A MAZE. Awards, engaging with with new technologies and ways of digital storytelling.

Since 2012, A MAZE. awards The Most Amazing Game. The winner is selected by an interdisciplinary, international and 100% independent jury. A MAZE. extended and changed awards in the many years since the categories are now: Most Amazing Award, Human Human Machine Award, Long Feature Award, Digital Moment Award, Explorer Award and Audience Award. 

The A MAZE. Awards always try to reflect important current topics.  Matthias Löwe, the award coordinator : “With the Other Dimensions Award, we focused on the artistic use of emergent VR technologies and with the Collider Award, we highlighted creations by interdisciplinary teams. Now, with the new Explorer Award, we want to combine those two thoughts: This is the award for all forms of experiences beyond the boundaries of contemporary ways to play or develop games.“ 

Thorsten S. Wiedemann, the artistic director adds: “To strengthen our interest in progressive playful media content we are exploring with the new award category alternative controllers, interactive installations, creative coding experiments, robotics and tech performances, as well as collaborations with science, makers, engineers, researchers, theater and writers. Can’t wait for all the inventions coming!“

Developers can register or use a previously used account to submit their game (for all award categories - those are chosen by the jury, submission-fee €30 – €50) between November 19th, 2018, and February 4th, 2019. 
Judges can register or reactivate a previously used account to test games as part of the selection committee between November 19th, 2018, and February 11th, 2019. Reviewing 5 or more games will allow judges to get a discount at the festival tickets.

TIMELINE:

Nov 19: start of game submission and jury registration
Dec 31: submission-fee switches from Early Bird to Regular
Jan 14: judging starts 
Feb 04: submission deadline
Feb 18: judging ends
Mar 04: announcement of nominees
Apr 10: A MAZE. starts! 

NEW Location: After an amazing time (2013-2018) at Urban Spree we are moving to the legendary SEZ at Landsberger Allee 77. The new location gives us the great opportunity to bring the A MAZE. experience and exhibition to an unbelievable level.

Submission link: https://2019.award.amaze-berlin.de/

EVENT: VIDEO GAME ART 1970-2005 (OCTOBER 19 - JANUARY 12 2019, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA)

Michael Smith, Mike Builds a Shelter (1983), Photo by AND/OR gallery

VIDEO GAME ART 1870-2005

AND/OR GALLERY
980 S ARROYO PKWY #200
PASADENA, CA 91105

Show #32 explores the history of experiments in art video games. Today, there is a booming indie game industry, and experimental video game courses are taught at universities; but these fields largely emerged in the last decade. Before 2005, instances of experimental or art video games are limited, and before the 1990s, they are quite rare. Whether created by artists, programmers, or hobbyists, what often separates these games from their commercial counterparts is their departure from the typical goal-and-reward model of gameplay, and many of the games presented in Show #32 are anticlimactic, unwinnable, un-fun, or all of the above. Some works presented in Show #32 subvert conventional video game mechanics and aesthetics by being outright modifications of popular commercial works like Quake or Super Mario Bros. (AND/OR Gallery)

Featured artists:

Including work by Cory Arcangel, Myfanwy Ashmore, John Horton Conway, JODI, Joan Leandre, David Maynard, Penn and Teller, and Michael Smith, plus rare games on loan from the Supercade collection and a set of Commodore 64 crack intros curated by Beige Records and Radical Software Group.

featured artworks

Conway's Game of Life (1970) by John Horton Conway with Video Life (1981) by Commavid
Untitled Game: CTRL-Space (1998) by JODI
Mig 29 Soviet Fighter Plane and Clouds (2005) by Cory Arcangel
Super Mario Trilogy (2000-2004) by Myfanwy Ashmore
The Glob (1983), NATO Defense (1982), Slither (1982), and 
Boxing Bugs (1981) on loan from the Supercade collection
Mike Builds a Shelter (1983) by Michael Smith, game design and graphics by Dov Jacobson, cabinet design by Alan Herman 
Desert Bus (1995) by Penn and Teller
Worms? (1983) by David Maynard
Low Level Alls Stars (1986-1989) Commodore 64 crack intros curated in 2003 by Beige and RSG
RC-100 (2000) by Retroyou (Joan Leandre)

JODI, Untitled Game: CTRL-Space (1998)

Cory Arcangel, MIG 29 Soviet Fighter Plane and Clouds, 2005, 2 hacked Nintendo Entertainment System game cartridges, 2 Nintendo Entertainment System game consoles, artist software (Photo: Lisson Gallery, Art Basel 2017)

Myfanwy Ashmore, mario_battle_no.1 (mario battle no-one), 2000

LINK: AND/OR GALLERY (Show #32) (Thanks to Kieran Nolan for the tip)

GAME ART: JOSEPH DELAPPE'S WILFRED OWEN'S REPLAY (2018)

American artist Joseph DeLappe is streaming right now on Twitch a new online performance, a replay of an early project titled “War Poetry: Medal of Honor, Allied Assault Online”, where the artist read the poetry of British soldier Wilfred Owen in a first-person shooter game. We spoke to DeLappe in 2010 about this performance - here's the salient part:

DeLappe is recreating that seminal work in Verdun in honor of the anniversary of Owen's death, a century ago last Sunday. 

Today, November 11 2018, is the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended the Great War.

You can watch the performance here

LINK: Joseph DeLappe

ART GAME: HUNTER JONAKIN'S BEATING A DEAD HORSE WITH A ONE-TRICK PONY (2018)

From the author of Jeff Koons Must Die!!! and Can You Hear Me Now? comes Beating a Dead Horse with a One-Trick Pony, a first-person RPG (ArtPG) with a narrative, mild melee combat, and some platforming elements. The game is a sequel to Jeff Koons Must Die!!! and is set in the same destroyed museum that the previous game ended in. Jonakin developed the game between November 2017 and November 2018. As he explains on Steam, "It was a very personal project that deals with my struggles navigating the pitfalls of the art world and my realizations and epiphanies regarding the complex systems within that world. It is a love letter as well as a Dear John letter."

The work takes place just after the destruction of the MOPA museum in Jeff Koons Must Die!!!, and serves as an overview, critique, and exploration of gallery and museum culture. It features six themed levels that cover a variety of subjects:

Aftermath: Revel in the destruction of days past. Contemplate your actions or inaction.

The Church of Kitsch: Escape the confines of a rigid structure. Visit the church and pay respects.

Art and Commerce: Visit the opportunity hub in order to generate some currency, attend the learning annex, and apply to exhibit at Art Basil Minneapolis. Keep an eye on your relevance though, you will need it.

Art and Celebrity: Visit a mystical land where you will learn how to become an art star. Create your own personal mythology and acquire currency from collectors. Be careful though, you might lose yourself.

Redemption: Revisit the past and connect with your roots. Excavate.

The Road Home: Escape the final structure and light four beacons in order to finish the game.

Easter Eggs: There are multiple easter eggs and hidden areas in the game. Some achievements are unlocked by finding these areas. There are a total of ten Steam achievements.

There is downloadable content available as well.

Hunter Jonakin was born in North Alabama, where he spent his formative years. In his early twenties, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota with a group of friends, where they played, recorded, and obsessed over every facet of underground/indie rock music. Ten years after venturing to the frigid north Jonakin went back to school and finished a BFA in visual art at the University of Minnesota. In 2011 he completed a MFA in studio art at Florida State University. Currently, Jonakin resides and makes art in Minneapolis, MN.

LINK: Hunter Jonakin

VIDEO: IN-GAME PHOTOGRAPHY (ART OF GAMING) (2017)

 

Martin Geisler and Rainer Sigl discuss in-game photography with Melek Balgün in another episode of the excellent Art of Gaming series on Gallic/Teutonic channel Arte. 

 

 

Themes and keywords: the photographer as a demiurge via modding. Photography as alternative/emergent gameplay. In-game photography adds "extra value" to the game? "Extracting something that the designers did not create" (Geisler). In-game photography as a creative practice that enhances the game and highlights the player's skills (akin to high-performance play, as Lowood aptly put it?). Total control vs. lack of control (e.g. Squad). Taxonomies: record (memories, souvenirs) vs. art (Sigl). "99% of in-game photographs are not made with an artistic intent" (Sigl). The difference between "real" photography and in-game photography is "purely ideological" (Sigl). In-Game photography not an art form, but a remix art? (Balgün).

 

 

Games discussed: theHunter, Skyrim, No Man's Sky, Squad. 

 

 

On the same subject, don't miss Fraser Brown's excellent article "Photographing invisible animals in theHunter: Call of the Wild" recently published on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

LINK: IN-GAME PHOTOGRAPHY (ART OF GAMING)

 

LINK: Martin Geisler

 

LINK: Reiner Sigl

EVENT: GAMEZFESTIVAL: POSTMORTEM (November 9 - 11, 2018, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND)

 

GAMEZFESTIVAL 2018: POSTMORTEM

 

November 9 - 11, 2018

Kunstraum Walcheturm 

Kanonengasse 20, Zurich Switzerland 

 

The sixth edition of Swiss game fest extravaganza gameZfestival is upon us. The event is jam packed with three days of talks, international guests, indie game studios, panel discussions, awards and an OpenMic. The theme of the 2018 edition is "Postmortem", a somehow logical follow up to last year's "Game Over". Among the featured speakers are

 

* Mary Flanagan (Tiltfactor; Game Artist, Writer, Scholar)

* Tarn Adams (Dwarf Fortress Game Designer/Dev)

* Jana Sloan van Geest (writer for Assassin's Creed Origins)

* Adam Mayes and Ulf Benjaminsson from Speldesign, Uppsala University

* Günther Hack (author of Quiz)

 

 

The Festival and the conference Interactive Narratives and Mechanics in Design and Culture will be accompanied by a videogame exhibition titled forgotten gamemechanics (sic), featuring "games with game mechanics, that are not present in mainstream anymore."

 

The international gameZfestival is organized by the gameZfestival association, Game Lab and Game Design ZHdK. The Program has been developed by René Bauer, Mela Kocher, Beat Suter,  Max Moswitzer, Philomena Schwab, Tabea Iseli, and the GameLab of the University of the Arts Zurich. The exhibition was developed by René Bauer, Beat Suter, Mela Kocher and the Master students of Game Design ZHdK. Philomena Schwab and Stefan Schmidlin organize the Open Mic and Open Screen. Sebastiaan Cator and Philomena Schwab put together the Swiss Games Trailers 2018. Markus Rosse is the photographer. Tabea Iseli is responsible for the Festival's whole Online Marketing.  Students from Game Design ZHdK have collaborated in designing and installing the exhibition and festival spaces. 

 

LINK: GAMEZFESTIVAL 2018 (all images courtesy of GAMEZFESTIVAL)

EVENT: LONGITUDE EXHIBITION (OCTOBER 17-NOVEMBER 25 2018, MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA)

LONGITUDE EXHIBITION

Curated by Hugh Davies

October 17 to November 25th, 2018

Library at the Dock

107-117 Victoria Harbour Promenade

Docklands, Melbourne Australia

https://longitude-exhibition.net

Featuring artists from across the Asia-Pacific Region, the Longitude exhibition presents cultural, experimental, design and arts practices in the medium of games. Running alongside the exhibition is an event program featuring analog and digital gameplay, films, interactive objects, workshops and panel presentations. 

The Longitude exhibition celebrates games and play as a broad and persistent aspect of culture with the capacity to connect diverse groups. The playful works highlight games as activities beyond escapist entertainment but as nuanced, challenging and inspiring forms of cultural expression that bring a broader understanding to the world and the people it. 

The Longitude exhibition presents cultural, experimental and arts practices in the medium of games. Showcasing artists from across the Asia-Pacific Region working with games and play, the exhibition will also include workshops, film screenings, and presentations. Central to this project is the invigoration of games as activities inclusive of a broad range of audiences. This means absolutely everyone is welcome.

The title of the exhibition longitude refers to the timezone shared by Australia with the Asia Pacific region. These temporal rhythms see the entire Asia Pacific playing together at the same time. Our play is connected, not just through Internet cables, but via lines of longitude.

Curator Hugh Davies has organized a series of terrific events related to Longitude. Click here for the full list.

Featured artists

Sun Yu

Toshio Iwai

Ojiro Fumoto

Dinosaur Polo Club

Paper House

Mojiken

Spotlights Interactive

Triple Day Studios

Lauren Stellar

Neko Games

Ip Yuk-Yui

Troy Innocent

Yesterday is a 3D Puzzle Game that explores love and encounter from a girl’s perspective.

Appearing at the Kuso Game Jam in 2018, Sun Yu's The Hole is brutal in simplicity, gradual in difficulty and high in addition. It's creator, Sun Yu graduated is a graduate of Digital Media Design and works as a planner in a game company in Taiwan.

Combining design, art practice and location-based gaming, Troy Innocent's WAYFINDER LIVEE drags gameplay out of the computer console and into the city space.

She and the Light Bearer is a beautiful point and click adventure game from Indonesian Independent developer team Mojiken Studio.

IP Yuk-Yui's To Call A Deer A Horse (指马为鹿) is an experimental videogame about hand-eye coordination, truth-bending and acts of complicity.

LINK: Longitude Exhibition