Exhibits and demos to play
The Centre for Life were looking for an exhibit to display the latest science news feeds from the internet. The problem is this isn't really new any more. My local Sainsbury's has a newsfeed display and so do some of the bus stops here in York. Nobody takes any notice of them. So we came up with the idea of turning those news headlines into a simple Have I got news for you style missing words quiz. The one in the Centre for Life is displayed on a huge 55 inch screen, complete with thumpable push buttons and "uhh-ohh" noises. Needless to say its a great hit with visitors and who leave knowing far more about what's happening in science than they ever expected. As usual, thanks to Bivouac for the "read all about it" graphics.
Play the Science news quiz >
Wasted is a fast moving game I created for the Plasticity exhibition at the Science Museum in London. You have to try and recycle as much rubbish as you can before it fills your bedroom. To make matters worse your mum and dad are out shopping for more stuff - you need to give them the right advice to avoid getting even more rubbish. The only good news is that you're being helped by your two pet mice. Yes, it's going to be one of those days...
Hand-drawn illustrations by Dilski and a clean graphic look from Bivouac give this exhibit a fresh original style.
Play Wasted >
Be a Merchant is one of two kiosks I created for the Company of Merchant Adventurers in York. The game gives you a chance to try your hand at being a medieval merchant. You have to buy and sell goods all over Europe and try to make as much money as possible. The game is based on real historical archives and features a stunning medieval map of Europe. For this exhibit I worked with Bivouac for the design and illustration.
Play Be a merchant >
The food game was created for the Newcastle Centre for Life. Players have to move around three different countries to try and find enough to eat. Although fast paced and fun the game also contains a lot of information about the food people eat in different countries. For this exhibit I worked with Bivouac for the design and Dilski for the illustration.
Play the food game >
The carbon calculator was also created for the Newcastle Centre for Life. They had a pretty clear idea of what they wanted so we responded by giving it a cool clean design and adding some elephants... The exhibit asks you questions about your lifestyle and then calculates the amount of carbon dioxide you've produced. Once you're feeling sufficiently guilty it then gives you help and advice on cutting down. Thanks to Bivouac for help with the design of this one.
Try the carbon calculator >
The grain game was created for the Science Museum's web site to publicise the well known Launch Pad gallery. It's proved to be enormously popular and at one point was accounting for over 10% of all hits to the museum's site. Players have to use the various conveyers belts, funnels and other equipment to catch all the grain before the time runs out.
Play the grain game >
Joe's niece received an interesting toy for Christmas. It was a small plastic car which would follow any line that you drew on a piece of paper. After spending a while playing with this we were inspired to create a game based on the same idea. In Ants you have to guide a small group of er, ants by drawing a trail for them to follow. The little creatures are pretty obedient but as the levels progress it gets much trickier than you'd think.
Play Ants >
This demo lets you create beautiful symmetrical pattens with ease. Although very simple to use it's enormously engaging and everyone who tries it produces their own style of image.
Do some drawing >
The ball game is inspired by an old favourite, but with a clean, stripped back style. To play, you simply match balls of the same colour. Sounds easy, but as the levels go on it becomes more challenging and addictive.
Play the ball game >
This demo shows off several visual effects and activities. They range from the "kaliedoscope" effect shown above to the motion based "blur" and "wiggle" effects. There's also the more abstract "fly" and the "snow" game in which you have to wipe the snow from your screen quicker than it falls. You'll need a webcam to try these demos.
Try some camera tricks >