More than 45 new games will be on show at GaMaYo on 21st November with 400 developers attending the event to try them out alongside publishers, investors and platform holders. The event is managed by Game Republic along with their Official Partners Red Kite Games, Barclays Games and Creative and Escape Technology
We look at demo number 29 confirmed to be at the event in our last post about demos until the event later today!
Radiant Vines
What would be your description of your game?
Radiant Vines is an interactive LED light installation which the player uses a watering can to illuminate an interwoven string of vines. Audiences pick up the watering can and tip it forward, creating a cone of light that you can use to “grow” the vines. When a vine is fully grown, it’ll bloom with flowers. The vines are made of 5 metres lengths of LED rope, a lovely material to work with that can be mounted in ways that compliment the spaces they’re hosted in.
How did development start? Were there any key inspirations or ideas that drove you?
So the project was built as one of several installations designed for Rotherham’s Plug in and Play Festival, where I worked with David Hayward and the National Videogame Museum to build a variety of unconventional but compelling playful experiences around the town. We had everything from full scale magnetic fishing in Rotherham Minster to an installation of children running around circuits with buckets of ball pool balls accompanied by performers in giant bee costumes. A lot of silly fun that bought a lot of joy to the town and was such a wonderful project to develop.
The main motivator I have behind designing installations like Radiant Vines is to broach the conversation of approachability in games. Whilst there have been many positive steps to improve accessibility in hardware, the standard peripherals we use for interacting with games are unfamiliar and confusing to those who haven’t grown up with games and that alienates millions of people from the medium. With the barrier to entry for technology being cheaper and more accessible than ever, there are so many possibilities for inputs that are both interesting and approachable (I’ve spent my the last 10 years of my career exploring alternative controllers), but very little appetite in the medium to experiment with audiences completely disconnected from gaming. This work with familiar peripherals and LED rope is to both bring games into the public sphere but in a way that is integrated and approachable for those who don’t feel games are for them.
Tell us about the team behind the game?
So I did the development of the hardware and software for the project, David Hayward handled project production. We worked together in partnership with the National Videogame Museum and Rotherham council over the last few months to produce this and a variety of other weird installations. They’ve all been fantastic to work with, genuinely a privilege to work with David in particular.
What kind of experiences do you hope to bring players?
Main experiences of interest is giving folks their first experience in games, that is always a wonderful thing to give someone, to inspire designers to consider other interfaces and bring play to unconventional spaces. I recently showed the game up at Meersbrook Park in Sheffield on bonfire night and it was really lovely how many people just organically were drawn to it, had a positive playful experience that they understood with no instruction then left with a big smile on their face.
In 10 words or less, highlight the appeal of the game?
Portable weird light installation designed to welcome new audiences.
Any links to access/wishlist the game?
So the only way to access the game is in person, so either catch it at the event or keep an eye out for where it’s on tour! I’ll be finding lots of unusual places around Yorkshire in public to showcase it, you can find out more information about it here: https://presskit.itch.io/