Four months have passed since the previous update on our projects so it’s about time for a new one.
Curating a playful exhibition
The lovely folk at Storm have asked me to return as curator of the playful-slash-interactive exhibition that will be part of youth theatre festival Tweetakt 2012. I did the one this year, had fun, learned a lot too and we got some nice responses so I’m keen to have at it again. It’s early stages so I am mostly making lists of interesting work that has caught my eye over the past year. The next step will be to filter it and try to come up with a cohesive selection. Some patterns I’ve spotted thus far are tentatively titled Robots and Making. We’ll see how those develop.
Publishing on Code 4
You may have noticed a new project writeup in the portfolio about Code 4 (previously referred to as Maguro). We’ve talked about it at Chi Sparks and Think Design Play and are now in the process of producing a short video that’ll hopefully give you a better feel for the player experience. One of the challenges of working with pervasive games is that a lot of the action happens off the screen and so there are few artifacts that we can use to show the game. The game is in fact a performance that needs to be registered, so that is what we’re doing now. I’m working with the great Hein Lagerweij on this one who I first collaborated with for the Buta videosketch. Speaking of which…
Publishing on Buta
We screened a sneak preview of the Buta videosketch at Think Design Play and I think it’s safe to say we raised a few eyebrows. It was interesting presenting work at an academic conference where most of what was presented were articles. I got the sense some attendees weren’t as accustomed to responding to stuff as they are to discussing ideas. On the upside, I noticed lots of comments and questions that were exactly the kinds of considerations we want to stir with this video. I am going to ask for a bit more patience on your side and promise you’ll get to watch the video yourself soon.

Art van Triest and Hein Lagerweij at the Vechtclub
Making a game that teaches astronomy
Finally, there’s Iruka, which is the main project happening in the studio at the moment. It’s me and Karel Millenaar (game design heavyweight) working with Noordhoff Publishers (producers of teaching materials for all levels of education) and the Amstelveen College (a secondary school) to explore the opportunities games and play provide in the classroom. Specifically, we’re looking at novel teaching methods for the ‘general natural sciences’ course which is mandatory for all fourth-year students in VWO. This course covers a lot of subjects, but we’re building a pilot around astronomy. That’s right, we’re exploring space! We’ve come to the point where a concept has been approved and we can start to work out the details and build a prototype. Playtesting will happen in the classroom throughout the rest of this year and hopefully, come january, we’ll have something to share with you.
Anyway, that’s it from me for now. As always, if any of this peaks your interest, don’t be shy and drop a note below.
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Things we’re working on (volume 3)
Four months have passed since the previous update on our projects so it’s about time for a new one.
Curating a playful exhibition
The lovely folk at Storm have asked me to return as curator of the playful-slash-interactive exhibition that will be part of youth theatre festival Tweetakt 2012. I did the one this year, had fun, learned a lot too and we got some nice responses so I’m keen to have at it again. It’s early stages so I am mostly making lists of interesting work that has caught my eye over the past year. The next step will be to filter it and try to come up with a cohesive selection. Some patterns I’ve spotted thus far are tentatively titled Robots and Making. We’ll see how those develop.
Publishing on Code 4
You may have noticed a new project writeup in the portfolio about Code 4 (previously referred to as Maguro). We’ve talked about it at Chi Sparks and Think Design Play and are now in the process of producing a short video that’ll hopefully give you a better feel for the player experience. One of the challenges of working with pervasive games is that a lot of the action happens off the screen and so there are few artifacts that we can use to show the game. The game is in fact a performance that needs to be registered, so that is what we’re doing now. I’m working with the great Hein Lagerweij on this one who I first collaborated with for the Buta videosketch. Speaking of which…
Publishing on Buta
We screened a sneak preview of the Buta videosketch at Think Design Play and I think it’s safe to say we raised a few eyebrows. It was interesting presenting work at an academic conference where most of what was presented were articles. I got the sense some attendees weren’t as accustomed to responding to stuff as they are to discussing ideas. On the upside, I noticed lots of comments and questions that were exactly the kinds of considerations we want to stir with this video. I am going to ask for a bit more patience on your side and promise you’ll get to watch the video yourself soon.
Art van Triest and Hein Lagerweij at the Vechtclub
Making a game that teaches astronomy
Finally, there’s Iruka, which is the main project happening in the studio at the moment. It’s me and Karel Millenaar (game design heavyweight) working with Noordhoff Publishers (producers of teaching materials for all levels of education) and the Amstelveen College (a secondary school) to explore the opportunities games and play provide in the classroom. Specifically, we’re looking at novel teaching methods for the ‘general natural sciences’ course which is mandatory for all fourth-year students in VWO. This course covers a lot of subjects, but we’re building a pilot around astronomy. That’s right, we’re exploring space! We’ve come to the point where a concept has been approved and we can start to work out the details and build a prototype. Playtesting will happen in the classroom throughout the rest of this year and hopefully, come january, we’ll have something to share with you.
Anyway, that’s it from me for now. As always, if any of this peaks your interest, don’t be shy and drop a note below.