Exhibits and demos to play
The Science Museum in London asked us to create an exhibit on the complex topic of gene therapy for cystic fibrosis. To make things more difficult gene therapy isn't yet possible. Inspired by spy dramas such as Spooks we created a sophisticated exhibit which uses short games to explain the gene therapy process. The gallery version is controlled by a real physical "Big knob" to give visitors a direct feeling of control. Thanks to Rose Tomlinson and James Bates for making it look great.
The Science Museum in London wanted to explore how we'll be using genetic tests in the future. Is it fair to deny sick people a drug just because they have the wrong genes? It's a complex topic and one that could easily have become dry and abstract. We kept the exhibit direct and simple by controlling it with just two buttons labelled "Yes" and "No". We also created a whole cast of weird and wonderful patients who show that even technology is different in the future, people are going to be pretty much the same. Thanks to Rose Tomlinson and James Bates for making it look great.
The Yorkshire Air Museum were looking for a way of bringing to life a local aviation pioneer called Robert Blackburn. There aren't many pictures of Robert and he always looks very stern. We created an interactive which lets you relive the decisions the Blackburn Aircraft company made when designing three of its aircraft. Design your aircraft and then try and test flight to see if it flies.
Play Design a plane>
East Sussex Council are very proud of their new industrial composting facility, and rightly so. It finds a new use for hundreds of tonnes of garden waste and stops it ending up in landfill. But how could they communicate this without getting entangled in jargon and the general ickyness of the process? We focused in on the really fun part of the process - driving the truck. We then created a simple game which lets you try for yourself. Can you pick up all the waste and get it in the right vessel without denting your truck?
Play Composting>
Extinct! - Are you smarter than a plant?
Professor Ottoline Leyser from the University of York wanted more people to understand the strategies that plants use to maximise their chances of survival. So we created a "sim city" type game which lets you take the role of a wild or farmed plant. Can you avoid getting eaten by pests, attract bees to pollinate your flowers and make enough seeds to ensure your chances of survival?
Thanks to the BBSRC for funding support.
Play Extinct!>
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 >
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 >
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 >
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 >
There's something very seductive about the movement of fluids. Whether it's water in a stream, or smoke rising from a fire the patterns are similar and beautiful in their complexity. We've been doing some experimentation and managed to create a fully functional simulation of a wind tunnel. You can choose different vehicles and see how they perform or use the brush and draw your own streamlined shape. To do this we've had to solve the Navier-Stokes equation which until recently was the preserve of dedicated high power computers. These days however, you can try it yourself if you've got a recent multi-processor PC. Even if your PC is getting on a bit you can still see the video. Go on, give it a go.
Try the wind tunnel >
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 >