tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31750099234320183342024-03-12T04:51:31.010+00:00Jack LoweJack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-59702200915664406112023-07-09T14:25:00.001+01:002023-07-10T13:32:03.072+01:00Time Travel as Wayfinding: Assembling Past and Present in Location-Based Games<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="367" scrolling="no" src="https://onedrive.live.com/embed?resid=8892F9C4BCF3D635%2119573&authkey=!AFzQYgZiAZEFt3o&em=2" width="610"></iframe></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #626262; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #626262; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Below is a written version of the paper I presented at the <a href="https://bristoldigitalgamelab.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2023/05/15/virtual-realities-as-time-travel-workshop/" target="_blank">Virtual Realities as Time Travel</a> workshop hosted by the <a href="https://bristoldigitalgamelab.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Bristol Digital Games Lab</a> on 12th May 2023. In the text below, I have indicated where each slide should be viewed in the embedded PowerPoint above.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #626262; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’d like to thank everyone at British Digital Games Lab for making this excellent event happen, in particular Richard Cole for inviting me to participate. I'd also like to thank the other speakers and attendees for contributing to such interesting and rich discussion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #626262; font-size: 19.8px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">--------------------------</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 1)<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi everyone. I’m Jack Lowe, a post-doctoral research
associate at the University of the West of England’s Digital Cultures Research
Centre. I also design location-based games and I do narrative design for
digital games and other media.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 2)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m here to talk about what time travel might mean in the
context of location-based games – that is, games in which players’ physical
locations and/or actions are incorporated into the gameplay through media
interfaces. What does time travel mean in the context of these types of games?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 3)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, I want to start by stating the obvious: we can’t
literally be transported back in time, nor can we create perfect emulations of
the past through media, no matter how ‘immersive’ they supposedly are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, we can literally engage with elements of the
historic past in the <i>places</i> we inhabit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 4)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Throughout this talk, I’m going to be talking about places
as <i>assemblages</i>. Assemblages are relationships between component parts that
aren’t stable or fixed. Things can be replaced or displaced, and some things
can also remain.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By thinking about places as assemblages, we can grasp how
elements of the past remain in the present, but how there are always elements that
are changing too – whether they’re material things, meanings or lived
practices.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 5)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve got this quote here from Tim Ingold, an anthropologist
who talks about places in this kind of processual way. He says:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">“…every place holds within it memories of previous arrivals
and departures, as well as expectations of how one may reach it, or reach other
places from it. Thus do <i>places enfold the passage of time</i>: they are
neither of the past, present or future but all three rolled into one. Endlessly
generated through the comings and goings of their inhabitants, they figure not
as locations in space but as specific vortices in a current of movement, of
innumerable journeys actually made.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So when I look at this quote, it really makes me feel that
places are <i>sites of time travel</i>. They have multiple time periods folded
into them, produced by the journeys of the things that assemble in those
places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 6)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And what I’m here to discuss today is how our engagement
with these elements from different time periods depends on how we <i>navigate</i>
through places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In particular, I going to use the concept of<i> wayfinding</i>
in this presentation to discuss how we interact with different time periods in
location-based games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wayfinding is a practice of coming to understand your
whereabouts by connecting your movements with the narratives of other journeys
made in that place, by you and by other people and things.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But wayfinding isn’t a clear-cut process. Not everyone
finding their way through a place will make the same connections.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 7)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And this is a theme I’m going to be returning to when I talk
about how we engage with the past in location-based games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My aim is to highlight how location-based games present compelling
opportunities for <i>expanding</i><b> </b>and <i>complicating</i> understandings of
the past and how the past connects with the present through place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I’m going to do this by exploring the relationships
between navigation and narrative in the design and play of <i>two</i> games I
created that directly focus on historic events.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let me introduce them briefly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 8)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The first is The Timekeeper’s Return. The Timekeeper’s
Return is a story-based treasure hunt designed for all ages, in which players
scan QR codes to discover the hidden histories of locations in Canterbury’s
Cathedral Quarter. The story follows the journey of a time-travelling
researcher called Mia Augustina, whose time machine has malfunctioned and
trapped her in the past. By interacting with role-playing local businesspeople
and using the information they provide, players must find and scan all the QR
code ‘triangulation markers’ in the Cathedral Quarter to recalibrate Mia’s time
machine and help her return. These QR codes also communicate Mia’s research
diaries, sharing the stories of what she has encountered in the past, in those
same locations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 9)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The second game is The Gates to Dreamland. The Gates to
Dreamland is an interactive audiowalk set around the Dreamland Amusement Park
in Margate. The player triggers audio diary extracts to be played when they
find each of the 5 gates located around Dreamland’s perimeter. These diary
extracts describe the journey faced by Italian scientist Galileo, as he
attempted to publish his final book. Through symbolic and metaphorical
connections to the landscape around Dreamland, the audiowalk explores the
obstacles Galileo faced, as he lost his eyesight and his health worsened, and
how his perspective on the world changed. It’s ultimately about the power of
imagination in changing how you see the world, and it can be played in person
or online using Google Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So now I’ve introduced the games, let’s use this idea of
wayfinding to think about how we engage with the past by navigating through
places in location-based games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 10)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In location-based games, one of the features of how you
navigate is that you can generally look and move in any direction that your
body allows. You are in control of your body and what you choose to focus on in
your surroundings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This feature is one of the reasons that many digital games
and other interactive experiences are considered different when compared to other
narrative media like films or books. You have more agency to determine the
perspective from which you encounter things happening in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is called ‘dynamic focalization’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 11)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, in digitally-rendered worlds, designers still have
tactics to influence what you pay attention to. They can use visual techniques
like lighting and signposting, they can use sound design or they can change the
characteristics of the avatar you control. So while it still feels like you
have a great deal of agency in where you direct your attention, it is still
being manipulated by the designers of the digitally-rendered world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In location-based games, you engage with a material world
using a fleshy body, not an avatar, in a way that isn’t limited by what has
been programmed into some software.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But this agency brings with it an awful lot of uncertainty.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 12)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m going to use an example from The Timekeeper’s Return to
illustrate this, which was <span class="normaltextrun"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; padding: 0cm;">the
QR code treasure hunt engaging with hidden histories of Canterbury’s Cathedral
Quarter.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; padding: 0cm;">One
of Mia Augustina’s research diaries from the past, communicated through a QR
code sticker, referred to the building pictured here. This building was
believed to be the inspiration for the house of Mr. Wickfield in Charles
Dickens’ novel David Copperfield.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I tested the game, some players misinterpreted that the
building being described was the stone tower you can see in the image on the
right. To me, it seemed obvious from the positioning of the QR code that the
building people would look at would be the white building. As it turned out,
players would usually end up focusing on the more intricate, striking features
of the stone tower instead. So in the end, I had to change the research diary
text to deliberately direct players to look across to the other side of the
road, where the relevant building could be seen.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised, though, because
this is a common outcome when wayfinding in an unfamiliar setting. I’m sure all
of us can recall moments when we’ve been following directions that describe
landmarks, or when we’ve looked at the road layout on a map, yet still managed
to go the wrong direction because of what we happened to notice at the time, or
what we were paying attention to.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 13)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For Misha Myers, this is one of the particular qualities of
mobile media storytelling: that even in a linear story with pre-determined
routes, the narrative experience can be “undone by the particularities of ‘just
this body in just this place’ at just this time.” Wayfinding is an <i>embodied</i>
practice, and each body will have different capacities in different contexts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, so the embodied navigation that people do in
location-based games introduces <i>contingency</i> to the experience, which can
affect how players engage with historic elements in their environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 14)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what happens if you lean into this contingency? What
happens if you accept the possibility that people might not notice certain
historic details, or will actively ignore information connecting to the past?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is what I experimented with in The Gates to Dreamland, <span class="normaltextrun"><span style="background: white; color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">which was
the locative </span></span><span class="normaltextrun"><span style="color: black; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">audiowalk<span style="background: white;"> about the Italian scientist Galileo.</span></span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whether you’re playing in person in Margate or using Google
Streetview, when players listen to the audio diaries describing events in Galileo’s
life, as a designer I had no way of knowing what players might be looking at
or paying attention to at the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, one player described how, at this point in the
experience, they decided to use Google Streetview to zoom in on the person
pushing the pram. As you can see, that’s just one detail visible in the 360-degree
view of this location.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 15)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But rather than deliberately directing players’ attention to
particular things, like I did with The Timekeeper’s Return, instead I decided
to write audio diary scripts that were saturated with references to all sorts
of things in your surroundings. Even though Galileo was living in 17<sup>th</sup>-century
Florence, I could make connections to present-day Margate using metaphors and
symbolism.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I interviewed players about the game, they all
described how what they focused on completely changed the connections they drew
between Galileo’s experiences and the area of Margate they were navigating. They
might only notice maybe a maximum of 40% of the references in the audio diaries,
because of what they happened to be paying attention to at the time. But that’s
fine, because when they did notice them, it was they themselves who had
uncovered that link to the past. And often they would perceive connections I
never even intended too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This then helped them to understand the wider themes of the
experience: about the power of the imagination in creating connections across
different time periods and different parts of the world. Perception itself is a
form of agency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By actively drawing on the contingency of wayfinding as an <i>embodied</i>
practice, the game demonstrated that there are no stable, unchanging
understandings of the past. The past is always encountered in a present, lived
context.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 16)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So we can see that the relationship between past and present
isn’t a neat one. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And this is clearly shown by places. In all places, some
elements of the past remain, others don’t, some are detectable, some aren’t,
some we know about and some we don’t.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In location-based games that engage with the past, the aim
of designers is to find forms of navigation that assemble <i>interesting</i> or
<i>compelling</i><b> </b>connections between the past and the present in the places
people inhabit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 17)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Timekeeper’s Return was all about the hidden histories of
Canterbury’s Cathedral Quarter, and the excitement of following the journey of
time-travelling researcher Mia Augustina as she encountered them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some of these histories are still visible in the environment
in some form – players just needed the opportunity to notice them. In this
image, the stones you can see embedded in the brickwork are the last remains of
the Burgate, a gate in Canterbury’s city wall that existed in various forms from the
Romans until 1822. Simply through the placement of a QR code at this location, the
attention of players who successfully found the sticker was drawn to this
material feature.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 18)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For other histories, however, there is no obvious physical
remnant for people to find. For example, while Canterbury’s Cathedral Quarter
was extensively bombed during the Baedecker Raids of WW2, many of the bombed
areas have since been rebuilt.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In these situations, connections with the past must be made
in other ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One technique is to use the material features that do exist
as a reference point. For example, referring to the heights and distances
between things in players’ surroundings to indicate the scale of something no longer
there.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the WW2 bombing example, one of the QR code research
diaries draws players’ attention to a street where the entirety of one side of
the street was flattened by the bombing, while all the buildings on the other
side remained intact. While the bombed side of the street has now been rebuilt,
I could still use this comparison between the two sides of the street to
demonstrate the extent of the destruction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In The Timekeeper’s Return, then, wayfinding by using
historic details in the story and its comparison to the present-day landscape
gave players dramatic agency in how they assembled connections to the past.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 19)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But in The Gates to Dreamland, where the history being
explored happened somewhere else entirely (17<sup>th</sup>-century Florence), how
could players’ navigation of the environment engage with the past in a
compelling way?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The answer was to draw <i>figurative</i> and <i>symbolic</i> connections
between material features in the player’s surroundings and Galileo’s situation,
as described in the audio diaries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At one of the gates to Dreamland<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">, between the metal bars, </span>the amusement park’s <span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Helter Skelter is visible in the distance.
The words from the scripted </span>audio diary at this location <span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">imagine how Galileo’s first action, when
returning to his villa </span>under house arrest in 1634<span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">, was to climb straight to the highest window of the house. Here, he
gazes upon the familiar view of the Torre del Gallo</span> – a tower in
Florence – <span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">but his sight problems
render the view inaccessible.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here, the listener
is invited to draw a figurative connection between the inaccessibility of
Dreamland’s landmarks and that of Galileo, in being house-bound and
increasingly visually impaired.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, there are slippages in this process. In discussing
mobile media storytelling, Misha Myers describes the breakages and detours that
occur when participants ‘move between the fault lines of <i>two presents</i>’ –
one represented by the media, and one inhabited by the participant.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s compelling about this process of <i>juxtaposition</i>,
however, is that it provides <i>gaps for players to fill in</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 20)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This can lead to all sorts of unexpected impressions too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, one of the people who played The Gates to
Dreamland using Google Streetview decided to play with the platform’s date
range feature as they were navigating. As they witnessed the Margate landscape
change over time, their interpretation of the audio diaries shifted depending
on the version of Margate they navigated through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wayfinding is ultimately a <i>propositional</i> process:
proposing a way through the world by finding connections between the diverse
range of information you encounter, however jarring or conflicting it may be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In these location-based games, players navigated the fault
lines between present-day contexts and information from the past, and then used
this to construct an understanding of place and its relationship with time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 21)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The juxtaposition of a mediated history with an embodied
encounter of a place means that the impressions of the past that players form
typically aren’t simple, singular narratives. There are all sorts of influences
and perspectives that shape what people perceive about these histories.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Often, players of these two games would report how their
perceptions of places and their history <i>changed</i> as a result of playing.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For those who played The Timekeeper’s Return, probably the
two most common responses to the game were that a) they became newly aware of
historic features in the Cathedral Quarter that they didn’t know were there,
and b) that they learnt about the history behind landmarks which they
encountered on an everyday basis (as this quote shows).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 22)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In The Gates to Dreamland, which was often played remotely
using Streetview during the pandemic, the experience provoked interesting
relationships with <i>memory</i>. Galileo’s history became coloured by people’s existing
knowledges and impressions of Margate, as well as the version of Margate they
encountered on Streetview. Likewise, their impressions of Margate became influenced
by Galileo’s story. Suddenly, Margate became seen as a place connected to many
other entities across space and time. The understanding of the past that
resulted was deeply hybrid; an impression that cut across many different
influences.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 23)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, there’s an interesting question about authenticity
here, which ties to some of the discussions we had during the last Bristol Digital Games
Lab event. Does it matter that people are engaging with Galileo’s history in a
context that’s completely foreign to the one he actually lived in? Does it
matter that the diaries aren’t Galileo’s own words, even though they’re based
on academic research and evidence from the historic record? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 24)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a debate that goes far beyond the scope of this
presentation, but what came out consistently from my interviews with those who
played these games was a heightened awareness of the <i>range</i> of possible connections
with the past that can be made – how multiple impressions of a place and its
past can come to define a site. Players recognised that one person’s impression
of Galileo’s journey, or one of the Cathedral Quarter’s histories, would be
constructed completely different from somebody else’s, depending on all sorts
of contextual factors. In The Timekeeper’s Return, in particular, players
frequently referred to a sense of community being generated. This collective, extroverted
sense of place came about as players engaged with a wide range of historic information
shared by several role-playing local businesspeople in order to navigate
through the game area.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Which brings me to the final point of this presentation. Wayfinding
is an<b> </b><i>intersubjective</i> practice – it unfolds through the relationships
between things, rather than depending on a single person’s intentions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And the same thing is happening with these games.
Impressions of the past unfold through the continual wiring and re-wiring of
connections between materials, meanings and practices that people encounter as
they navigate through places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 25)</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So overall, what can we say about time travel in
location-based games?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, location-based games as media forms are defined by
relationships between navigation and narrative. They’re about the synergy
between how you find a way through the world and the story of what unfolds.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In location-based games that engage with the past, different
forms of navigation are curated to connect what players encounter in the present-day
world with historic events.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This happens through a process of <i>wayfinding</i>, which I’ve
argued is an embodied, propositional and intersubjective process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s embodied in how players have agency in the ways they move
and pay attention to the things they encounter, to feel their way through the
world.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s propositional in how there are ‘gaps’ or ‘fault lines’
between past events and what players encounter during the game, which players
have the opportunity to fill with their ideas and imaginations.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And it’s intersubjective, in how the impressions of the past
players form are created by drawing relations between multiple paths and
perspectives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By arguing that time travel in location-based games is akin
to wayfinding, then, I’m suggesting that players’ interaction with the past isn’t
neat or uncomplicated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Rather, location-based games present compelling
opportunities for <i>expanding</i> and <i>complicating</i><b> </b>understandings of
the past, by demonstrating the myriad ways that past and present are
continually assembled in place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Slide 26)</span></b></p>
<div><br /></div>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-83101881386569114652023-06-20T11:43:00.000+01:002023-06-20T11:43:09.064+01:00Interment: Showcase and Responses<p style="text-align: justify;">Since releasing our narrative puzzle game <a href="https://interment.itch.io/play" target="_blank">Interment</a> to the public in April,
I’ve had the pleasure of being able to watch several people play it through.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It’s the kind of game that’s really compelling to watch
other people play, because the journeys players take are so varied each time.
Each player notices different details and draws different connections between
them to get to the answers.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For the same reason, Interment also lends itself to being
played collectively, by two or more people around the same screen, as the different
observations each individual makes can guide the group’s decisions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ve watched people play the game individually and
collectively. But one thing that is common across both playstyles is that
people often opt to make handwritten notes while they are playing, to keep
track of information presented to them by the game.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKuaU-wpRompkBIDym94Ma0DpIHwZdif-s6qNUygT4MypRcu1g8JQZBw0NQG5G_nnd4bH8L4Sg3NyPlGR1umEnmrx4DIx0s9uAznvl_0TqXhZOPoCmm0bbzW67F8i1e11wLhZRxFdUVcTPnWMebkOqv7b7Wrc-pBE_AIryijVvChKSOkNiTyoQXk_h4Bt/s4032/20230612_190845.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVKuaU-wpRompkBIDym94Ma0DpIHwZdif-s6qNUygT4MypRcu1g8JQZBw0NQG5G_nnd4bH8L4Sg3NyPlGR1umEnmrx4DIx0s9uAznvl_0TqXhZOPoCmm0bbzW67F8i1e11wLhZRxFdUVcTPnWMebkOqv7b7Wrc-pBE_AIryijVvChKSOkNiTyoQXk_h4Bt/w640-h480/20230612_190845.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWw7ENFAnlF9-ycKT_28mfVDAWEPdJhI9bBYDuuz2t5LNmCZBxxGIMT26qSifEYtwyr8G9K3cNjL3HNsWs50SsoJblWBvrbaD8ZwTFanRMPO1cDfB1_0jFZcr5U2d18Os4lMzk27bzL6jSxSmamtQyC3umrdHMPwI7PZdkS8ZnekCMi93ygfDtuZMELoV/s4032/20230612_190855.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjWw7ENFAnlF9-ycKT_28mfVDAWEPdJhI9bBYDuuz2t5LNmCZBxxGIMT26qSifEYtwyr8G9K3cNjL3HNsWs50SsoJblWBvrbaD8ZwTFanRMPO1cDfB1_0jFZcr5U2d18Os4lMzk27bzL6jSxSmamtQyC3umrdHMPwI7PZdkS8ZnekCMi93ygfDtuZMELoV/w640-h480/20230612_190855.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkghhiEg5_9CQZIS9PTm8SRNYSUSYjKhbzLlHVfYtmGcd-2tz18jEICqTxzA36Sji7Tqj3qYlYQv21Z9L88vx4uAN6O_SNCOvGsxS4QItO3ZF4Q-dlExE6mNV7gvp-txQtfsulmYPYjm5M06tiYmpv7WF-ssFY2xRXtnxE_08-j08uewCRxyjEnLTaaKBR/s4032/20230612_190830.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkghhiEg5_9CQZIS9PTm8SRNYSUSYjKhbzLlHVfYtmGcd-2tz18jEICqTxzA36Sji7Tqj3qYlYQv21Z9L88vx4uAN6O_SNCOvGsxS4QItO3ZF4Q-dlExE6mNV7gvp-txQtfsulmYPYjm5M06tiYmpv7WF-ssFY2xRXtnxE_08-j08uewCRxyjEnLTaaKBR/w640-h480/20230612_190830.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4HsBYZeCQo5sZlgZ9BQ3fnR-nRVhTrWHTDnX7yYb5pSxCBPN7ayq0s-NK99y7bRFN2D_DUWV9JGjMGt5E8y9YNz5hANFuNTb5ZZvoRXTLhXUmxrUiEFHYbqqI99hiIP4BPHVpYLPsMh-sPqsILDAg0n45xTPExaJ521NK5kJLXceCjT4LeWI5MLnQdHT7/s4032/20230612_190914.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1466" data-original-width="4032" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4HsBYZeCQo5sZlgZ9BQ3fnR-nRVhTrWHTDnX7yYb5pSxCBPN7ayq0s-NK99y7bRFN2D_DUWV9JGjMGt5E8y9YNz5hANFuNTb5ZZvoRXTLhXUmxrUiEFHYbqqI99hiIP4BPHVpYLPsMh-sPqsILDAg0n45xTPExaJ521NK5kJLXceCjT4LeWI5MLnQdHT7/w640-h232/20230612_190914.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXnKO9zlZRsQ3jUF7fJMhPQdd41_WJz_OSxuyvW7h99W7bwPvGbs63WBxEti3Ncij5cEEBrMMbTeWw9u2SRMntN_Yo61ntNzhi8LiMctLsS9CoODuuexRbmAeC4T4-n_Hnt98lHpSEGEOFOxzCrzeT7OnHYIGe4f2hWsVJWXzQNDvWFuIsxHlvG3wJEsB/s1728/327462570_246518734491277_3073515581137273752_n.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1728" data-original-width="1127" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeXnKO9zlZRsQ3jUF7fJMhPQdd41_WJz_OSxuyvW7h99W7bwPvGbs63WBxEti3Ncij5cEEBrMMbTeWw9u2SRMntN_Yo61ntNzhi8LiMctLsS9CoODuuexRbmAeC4T4-n_Hnt98lHpSEGEOFOxzCrzeT7OnHYIGe4f2hWsVJWXzQNDvWFuIsxHlvG3wJEsB/w418-h640/327462570_246518734491277_3073515581137273752_n.jpg" width="418" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I love watching this happen. There’s a moment where people
quickly realise there are deeper layers of significance or connection between
these bits of information, and their instinct to write them down adds an extra
embodied dimension to the role players adopt.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Some of my favourite games provoke the same reaction: the
likes of <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/653530/Return_of_the_Obra_Dinn/" target="_blank">Return of the Obra Dinn</a> and Sam Barlow’s games <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/762830/Telling_Lies/" target="_blank">Telling Lies</a> and <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/368370/Her_Story/" target="_blank">HerStory</a>. One of the previous games I was involved in making, the theatrical
detective mystery experience <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/10/interrobang-curious-departure-of-dustin.html" target="_blank">Interrobang?!</a>, actively
encouraged this. We even included an interactive evidence board as part of the
experience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For Interment, the most common notes people made were
drawings of family trees, as players sought to understand how the characters
buried in the Hawthorn family graveyard were linked to each other. Maps of the
graveyard were also common, as people wanted to have the information from each
gravestone to hand when looking through the graveyard’s archive documents. Little
diagrams of connections between characters and/or documents, key dates, names
and theories were the other details that would frequently show up in players’
notes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It’s fair to say that I’ve enjoyed watching people make
sense of the game’s world, slowly unravelling the threads that tie it together
and re-assembling it in their own unique ways. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On 5<sup>th</sup> May, Interment was showcased as part of
the <a href="https://www.watershed.co.uk/studio/" target="_blank">Pervasive Media Studio</a>’s monthly social event, First Friday. This gave me
the opportunity to observe how a large audience of players reacted to the game.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For this event, with the fantastic support of the Studio
team, we were able to set up six laptops with headphones for attendees to play
the game, as well as a larger screen where we could demonstrate the game in
front of an audience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Of course, I also made sure each player had pens and paper
to hand.<o:p></o:p></p>
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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnO0Y1tk1rbCDss_PqnADGgwkNPrWXNpoZKB6XSZLcE9v-SgdDOdK9JFqaI1ABrwg4MZKliPYcgm5_BJsZ4liCcpOc_NMZFZbUf_Qst1Tcs0X2iftzI9xmFhCT0MB9DKZloIxFjltgNSuHv67u26C3tyf7x8qVm90E005heTNxurTaw68K7tYsOdVyHNbl/s6240/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-96.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnO0Y1tk1rbCDss_PqnADGgwkNPrWXNpoZKB6XSZLcE9v-SgdDOdK9JFqaI1ABrwg4MZKliPYcgm5_BJsZ4liCcpOc_NMZFZbUf_Qst1Tcs0X2iftzI9xmFhCT0MB9DKZloIxFjltgNSuHv67u26C3tyf7x8qVm90E005heTNxurTaw68K7tYsOdVyHNbl/w640-h426/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-96.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsviOcQWuQ4PGHTN8ug0HyJvLrwkDsK97bcCCL2bX-sZF_9Cs4Lj3bWUXt8bn9oj1egfO1QNw_CU-81vnhNAJuk_MP80bEvMKI2qvg-aa0JwJkfMDgVZQISvY96su5b55XnWDZzLD2M-KOejhXqVe22icWv-oLiF6MV46GCK1fSUkJRkPxwtP0y3Qqf9Ft/s6240/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-102.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsviOcQWuQ4PGHTN8ug0HyJvLrwkDsK97bcCCL2bX-sZF_9Cs4Lj3bWUXt8bn9oj1egfO1QNw_CU-81vnhNAJuk_MP80bEvMKI2qvg-aa0JwJkfMDgVZQISvY96su5b55XnWDZzLD2M-KOejhXqVe22icWv-oLiF6MV46GCK1fSUkJRkPxwtP0y3Qqf9Ft/w640-h426/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-102.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8W7i9T--5ACXkuRxjGkoDjKTSrv6lsix9ldW7vlmCCJLnJEjoILEtF_IEH2BJesov1y--woNUZa2SVwX1dtUk-uLTCKm80CnVNT9LEDSxpl72OeBK48YhWS42XAqivnTYzM9lR0QKMGmT0gqeqC67wRWphAQUv9hqFovdgkRsub_11kEDhU-x2_iiqbMM/s6240/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-56.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8W7i9T--5ACXkuRxjGkoDjKTSrv6lsix9ldW7vlmCCJLnJEjoILEtF_IEH2BJesov1y--woNUZa2SVwX1dtUk-uLTCKm80CnVNT9LEDSxpl72OeBK48YhWS42XAqivnTYzM9lR0QKMGmT0gqeqC67wRWphAQUv9hqFovdgkRsub_11kEDhU-x2_iiqbMM/w640-h426/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-56.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YNGx9qqAwxfQZwGKbiju1bMbZLKLMwU42_lw2TwwfxbLwnUqMb051sur4R1odBym6S0x_I6In8O9SpatQsqQ8nHrZsGIMTxixnC_r7X_b4EzOA1kUKudNVKO4_PZG4VUEZFW0me9ggJNZ19YjI43Oc0LPg_qVJFfuiv3ThL0GJJERC_09bzij_0UrrQr/s6240/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-76.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4160" data-original-width="6240" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-YNGx9qqAwxfQZwGKbiju1bMbZLKLMwU42_lw2TwwfxbLwnUqMb051sur4R1odBym6S0x_I6In8O9SpatQsqQ8nHrZsGIMTxixnC_r7X_b4EzOA1kUKudNVKO4_PZG4VUEZFW0me9ggJNZ19YjI43Oc0LPg_qVJFfuiv3ThL0GJJERC_09bzij_0UrrQr/w640-h426/Shamphat%20photography-wshedffmay2023-76.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Credit for all event images: Shamphat Photography</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The event was very well attended and the laptops were
occupied throughout, with lots of people giving the game a try (there were
perhaps 60-70 people in the Studio that evening). Many players gave the game
5-10 minutes of their time and then took the game’s details from our posters to
finish it at home. One person did manage to complete the entire game during the
event, which was very impressive in the limited time available.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There were a couple of attendees who got very engrossed in
solving the puzzle and would’ve liked to spend more time on it, but were
limited by the timing of the event. Even so, it was heartening to see that the little
game we put together in 48 hours inspired such deep engagement.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The feedback people gave us was positive too. As an
hour-long event that is primarily for networking with other people, attendees
dipping in and out obviously wouldn’t have time to unravel all the intricacies
of a narrative that’s typically experienced over 30 minutes. Yet players told
us they appreciated the level of detail in the game and enjoyed the time they
could commit to it. I was told by several people that they wanted to go back to
the game at home so they could take the time to delve into the world properly.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As the game’s creators, we’re very aware of the limitations
that the 48-hour development time imposed upon what we made. Even if we’d had
all the time and resource in the world to perfect it, the game wouldn’t have
been everyone’s cup of tea. Happily, these limitations didn’t seem to hold much
sway in players’ opinions of the game.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All of the feedback we received during the event was told to
us directly. However, I did get sent one generous piece of written feedback
from a Studio member who played the game in their own time:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">“I really enjoyed
playing it, you did a great job creating an engaging narrative and I enjoyed
the graphics and sound design. I got super focused in the first few minutes and
went into detective mode scribbling away which I didn’t expect to do straight
away, you’ve done a great job at hooking people in quickly and keeping them
involved.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you’d like to try Interment for yourself, it’s free to
download on Windows and Mac <a href="https://interment.itch.io/play" target="_blank">here</a>
and takes roughly 30 minutes to complete.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’d love to hear your comments on the game if you do try it.
And do feel free to send me any scribbled notes or esoteric diagrams you make
while playing!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Read more about the making of Interment <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2023/04/interment-making-prize-winning-game-in.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-60025051390921010942023-06-05T17:00:00.000+01:002023-06-05T17:00:51.130+01:00Designing Place-Based Games (Pervasive Media Studio Lunchtime Talk)<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5sLZr7S7iH8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the end of April, I gave a lunchtime talk at the <a href="https://www.watershed.co.uk/studio/" target="_blank">Pervasive Media Studio</a>, located in Watershed on Bristol's historic harbourside, which hosts a diverse community of artists, academics, technologists and businesses exploring creative technology and experience design.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since July last year, I have been part of the Pervasive Media Studio community myself, as part of my post-doctoral research role at UWE's <a href="https://www.dcrc.org.uk/" target="_blank">Digital Cultures Research Centre</a>. Now thoroughly embedded in the life of the PM Studio, I wanted to use the opportunity of a lunchtime talk to share insights from my creative practice and research into designing games that engage with place.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not only was the aim to give some practical tips for those designing (location-based) games, but to provide something thought-provoking or inspirational for those interested in engaging with place across any kind of interactive or digitally-mediated experience.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Pervasive Media Studio's talks take place every Friday at 1pm, both in the building and streamed live online via YouTube. You can watch the recorded stream of my talk above, which also has BSL interpretation.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-60033975552777818182023-04-12T13:01:00.000+01:002023-04-12T13:01:12.657+01:00Upcoming Public Appearances in Bristol<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the next few weeks, I’m sharing
creative and academic work as part of three different Friday events in Bristol.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Pervasive Media Studio Lunchtime
Talk, Friday 28<sup>th</sup> April, 1pm<o:p></o:p></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJ4-LaX2askKqFcLVl7ubD5Ns6nCI2ultpUyFA7sAAWwT2PpCNptO5H6v0BtVZgWJsylRLgKa2KmmCtHejg40BR5CfTODX-32GXKdbIokjzDa1rud9PS0fk6HzKaJGfMtwMcsg6Cwg3KYOKxcAeXr2R2GHKJo_E3f1azySuB3bcwjk6sNfMXelrnECA/s1301/Jack%20Lowe_QR%20code.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1301" height="408" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDJ4-LaX2askKqFcLVl7ubD5Ns6nCI2ultpUyFA7sAAWwT2PpCNptO5H6v0BtVZgWJsylRLgKa2KmmCtHejg40BR5CfTODX-32GXKdbIokjzDa1rud9PS0fk6HzKaJGfMtwMcsg6Cwg3KYOKxcAeXr2R2GHKJo_E3f1azySuB3bcwjk6sNfMXelrnECA/w640-h408/Jack%20Lowe_QR%20code.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p>Every Friday, the <a href="https://www.watershed.co.uk/studio/">Pervasive Media Studio</a> offers free,
informal lunchtime talks from people sharing projects, process, ideas and
provocations around pervasive media and creative technology.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On Friday 28<sup>th</sup> April,
I’m presenting a Lunchtime Talk titled <a href="https://www.watershed.co.uk/studio/events/2023/04/28/lunchtime-talk-designing-place-based-games">Designing
Place-Based Games</a>. This talk will be sharing practical insights into
designing games that engage with place, drawing on findings from my PhD. However,
it will also be informed by my more recent creative projects and my earlier MA
research on creating a sense of place in video games. It will consider what
focusing on ‘place’ means for the play experience and how different design
techniques can influence these experiences across digital and non-digital
media.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Join us online on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbP2rruaw4OvyHmG5tYtqgtJ67xIJ5rOf">YouTube
Live</a>, or in the Pervasive Media Studio on 28th April at 1pm. Pervasive
Media Studio is located within Watershed in the city centre on Bristol’s
historic harbourside.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>First Friday, Pervasive Media
Studio, Friday 5<sup>th</sup> May, 5 – 6pm<o:p></o:p></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pzPx2xvDxupbyG9soEztpEZaV3sEF4TrKAfnH9KSncx46LB5bVrUSqDTloRJS0VVAMkmFCNKA7OQqVfQ-zB68ucLptvfIgfMwOkXWaJal0YWRoghVwijnJAT16lmF7sg7srd4ewUX_qoaJqR8FoNfz3goxKNAeOtgefqE3D0qZa_EoCvu81_g05MGQ/s1919/03LkKp%20(1).jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1919" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pzPx2xvDxupbyG9soEztpEZaV3sEF4TrKAfnH9KSncx46LB5bVrUSqDTloRJS0VVAMkmFCNKA7OQqVfQ-zB68ucLptvfIgfMwOkXWaJal0YWRoghVwijnJAT16lmF7sg7srd4ewUX_qoaJqR8FoNfz3goxKNAeOtgefqE3D0qZa_EoCvu81_g05MGQ/w640-h350/03LkKp%20(1).jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p>Then, on Friday 5<sup>th</sup>
May from 5pm, I will be sharing work in the Pervasive Media Studio again. This
time, my team and I will be sharing our new narrative puzzle game, <a href="https://interment.itch.io/play">Interment</a>, for people to play and
learn more about as part of <a href="https://www.watershed.co.uk/studio/events/2023/05/05/first-friday-may">First
Friday</a>.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First Friday is a monthly social
event open to anyone. These events are somewhere between the last meeting of
the week and the first event of your weekend. You might meet an artist or an
engineer, a school teacher or a city leader. It is a place to connect with
someone you might not otherwise meet, and hear about stuff you didn’t already
know. All are welcome: from inside and outside the city, online or in the
Watershed building.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u>Virtual Realities as Time
Travel workshop, Centre of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of
Bristol, Friday 12<sup>th</sup> May, 9.30am – 5pm<o:p></o:p></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTWfNfvjJ0h5kZn_L_CmUnTEDtYswPgp9C4TjXoLE4ktNWTyi1lMsVtCSjseYXdIy2cmajZYbwxVmucm1dTDys9Mg-xahx4rovj0znz-XSwEKnyZfY7f4fSREj3rRiZtlVZSJr64eN-2V5NspRcN2eW6IHIvuuLzgLElB5Fai8gmNxTrUii634mRj-Q/s999/b52a0eef-f6aa-47e0-aabf-0df9c3d7d236.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="314" data-original-width="999" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBTWfNfvjJ0h5kZn_L_CmUnTEDtYswPgp9C4TjXoLE4ktNWTyi1lMsVtCSjseYXdIy2cmajZYbwxVmucm1dTDys9Mg-xahx4rovj0znz-XSwEKnyZfY7f4fSREj3rRiZtlVZSJr64eN-2V5NspRcN2eW6IHIvuuLzgLElB5Fai8gmNxTrUii634mRj-Q/w640-h202/b52a0eef-f6aa-47e0-aabf-0df9c3d7d236.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Lastly, on Friday 12<sup>th</sup>
May, I will be presenting and taking part in the <a href="https://www.tickettailor.com/events/virtualrealityoracle/859641">Virtual
Realities as Time Travel</a> workshop, hosted by <a href="https://bristoldigitalgamelab.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/">Bristol Digital Game
Lab</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This workshop will bring together
speakers from the <a href="http://www.vroracle.co.uk/">Virtual Reality Oracle
project</a> team and from across academic disciplines and industry to explore
how users and producers of both immersive experiences and historical video
games conceive of journeying to the past.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My presentation in this workshop
is titled Time Travel as Wayfinding: Assembling Past and Present in
Location-based Games. Here’s a summary of what I’ll be talking about:</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i><span style="background: white;">As a so-called ‘immersive’ media form that typically centres
upon people’s live physical locations and/or actions, how can location-based
games connect us to different time periods? In this talk, I chart how
relationships with the past emerge through the ways designers and players of
location-based games engage with </span>place<span style="text-align: start;">. Drawing on two location-based games I developed
and tested as part of a practice-based PhD project, which both focus on
historic events, I reframe the concept of time travel away from being
‘transported through time’ using immersive media. Instead, I understand it as a
process of </span>wayfinding<span style="text-align: start;">: a propositional and intersubjective form of
navigation through which people assemble impressions of a place (and its past).
I show how designers and players of location-based games negotiate</span></i><span class="xcontentpasted1"><i><span style="background: white; border: 1pt none windowtext; color: red; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; padding: 0cm;"><span style="font-feature-settings: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; line-height: inherit; text-align: start;"> </span></span></i></span><i><span style="background: white;"><span style="text-align: start;">the contingency and multiplicity inherent in live,
physical, everyday contexts of location-based gameplay to produce diverse,
complex and insecure impressions of historic scenarios. Ultimately, I suggest
that the significance of location-based games as media for connecting with the
past is in the relationships between </span>navigation <span style="text-align: start;">and</span> narrative<span style="text-align: start;"> that are performed by designers and players.
These relationships do not enable mimetic representations or experiences of the
past, but create compelling opportunities for expanding and complicating
notions of what went before, what exists today and how both are interconnected
in place. </span></span></i></p>
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It would be lovely to meet those with shared
interests at any of these events. Do get in touch if you want any more
information.</span></span><div><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-21883421797981736192023-04-03T16:26:00.000+01:002023-04-03T16:26:56.563+01:00Interment: making a prize-winning game in 48 hours<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QyN2Q75nws8yOo8LpkPW1jE4ibAMGMXehST3bKFcZQViEOYf-xatZ988o6zb8SurNwxTRQq_fyM3V5LvCLkYEeER_VvooRz7oHssP5pj9IppdLZluQ9f3NlfVBsGtS0f52nhcwWNfuqFdAx7oSfE4R3adPz8Sh1pbDy19WB0U2Eb-CykBzqPcKITJA/s1919/graveyard%20large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="1919" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1QyN2Q75nws8yOo8LpkPW1jE4ibAMGMXehST3bKFcZQViEOYf-xatZ988o6zb8SurNwxTRQq_fyM3V5LvCLkYEeER_VvooRz7oHssP5pj9IppdLZluQ9f3NlfVBsGtS0f52nhcwWNfuqFdAx7oSfE4R3adPz8Sh1pbDy19WB0U2Eb-CykBzqPcKITJA/w640-h348/graveyard%20large.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For the past five years, I’ve
been making games which explore our relationships with the places we live in.
These games have all been location-based: taking place outdoors and focusing on
interacting with your physical environment. However, until now, I hadn’t been
involved in making a fully digital game.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This changed when I learnt about <a href="https://globalgamejam.org/">Global Game Jam (GGJ)</a>. GGJ is the world’s
largest game creation event, bringing together tens of thousands of
participants in locations all over the world. Over 48 hours, participants are
tasked with creating a game that responds to a central theme revealed when the
jam begins. This year, the theme was ‘roots’.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Following the reveal, everybody
at the Bristol site where I was participating gathered to form teams. After
meeting Grace Ball, a writer who shared my interest in designing a story-rich
game, we met Josh Regan, a programmer who would make the interactive parts of
our game work. His brother, musician Frank Regan, later joined us to bring our
world to life through sound design.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Out of nothing, we had a
multi-skilled team of four people who had never worked together before (even
the brothers!).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What we ended up with 48 hours
later was a narrative puzzle game called Interment.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Interment is about the connection
between the stories of our ancestors and the stories we make today.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You play as a contractor for developers
who are planning to build houses on an old family graveyard. As part of the
planning permission, the graves must be reinterred elsewhere with accurately
named headstones. Your job is to match the currently unreadable, crumbling
headstones to the correct person using archive material and clues in the graveyard
itself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This archive consists of
transcripts of documents belonging to family members buried in the graveyard,
including a will, diary entry, death certificate, letters and even song lyrics.
In these, you get a fleeting sense of the family members’ lives and
relationships.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVCwYf1arY0P4tmsqCl3cyO1smj7hSLJULfUoh6AfYDFLpTssXMjGVCoO77uKuMV_PXNp74NYOvq7q6U1yeiPCHi3IVtqCTbqMX3-Ej0PzGS6g_cuol37pvIsvaGveV15v3Diia8hsPvnEEE738lBT2HugQlAbv-oSqbqmXmg13K4nQXT3nFx-LPJYQ/s1919/grave%20description%20large.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="1919" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVVCwYf1arY0P4tmsqCl3cyO1smj7hSLJULfUoh6AfYDFLpTssXMjGVCoO77uKuMV_PXNp74NYOvq7q6U1yeiPCHi3IVtqCTbqMX3-Ej0PzGS6g_cuol37pvIsvaGveV15v3Diia8hsPvnEEE738lBT2HugQlAbv-oSqbqmXmg13K4nQXT3nFx-LPJYQ/w640-h347/grave%20description%20large.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDrbbKBfPRGm8Q-a7XafbZ0IJsxWi5foLZq7Wb4E_bZk2HXjopfLozkhOHUT71rihviWA21Jly02Ptn-fmu0qfVZIWUN-4OQyiSIzzT9SvurXOdsmiQ-p2MwTQfiBoWqRS34HqNeeafSI_4vfaeecxSyGmLe1G9LjGIAjTQL0u1ovcuvd1Hxhr8MdCQ/s1920/evidence.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDrbbKBfPRGm8Q-a7XafbZ0IJsxWi5foLZq7Wb4E_bZk2HXjopfLozkhOHUT71rihviWA21Jly02Ptn-fmu0qfVZIWUN-4OQyiSIzzT9SvurXOdsmiQ-p2MwTQfiBoWqRS34HqNeeafSI_4vfaeecxSyGmLe1G9LjGIAjTQL0u1ovcuvd1Hxhr8MdCQ/w640-h360/evidence.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0oNeNb4XkF4LmiXyHWtYpiRzw0e98EwkDcALhF_tU5928BfPUOhzJVBngmDIj0O8-CUv8Cv2K0BJAd64uT97SsGIgwtFrXPZP3C1b_dTZa72P-vGXv8rHdZShokfk6Vlz_lJlgJFlzg0j9cZ8dxnk9hha7hnjhL0igag-EHDtvezFTjre1rF5J2ywA/s1919/graveyard%20map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1919" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif0oNeNb4XkF4LmiXyHWtYpiRzw0e98EwkDcALhF_tU5928BfPUOhzJVBngmDIj0O8-CUv8Cv2K0BJAd64uT97SsGIgwtFrXPZP3C1b_dTZa72P-vGXv8rHdZShokfk6Vlz_lJlgJFlzg0j9cZ8dxnk9hha7hnjhL0igag-EHDtvezFTjre1rF5J2ywA/w640-h350/graveyard%20map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My role in the team was as a
narrative designer and writer, working with Grace to build the fictional world
of the game.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The first stage of this process
was ideation with the entire team on the first evening of the jam, simply using
pen and paper. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our initial responses to the jam
theme led to the idea of an old graveyard with headstones that were barely
legible anymore. We talked about making a game that involved uncovering the
mysteries behind the graveyard, using historic evidence and the scraps of
information you could still glean from the headstones, like motifs, initials, types
of stone and objects positioned next to the stones.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In asking the question of what fictional
justification there could be for deciphering who was buried in an old
graveyard, I came up with the idea that the graves were being re-interred
elsewhere. The player needed to work out exactly where each person was buried
to ensure they would have accurate headstones in their new resting places.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMrMDgLcYfTmunbNFKqLx0tCEx3RWQcYqa0WDYLlK7UAcy6y6scqB0sLyvBU3yqpU0Vdrj9LFeWNmqACshM_8d7Irm2dWRQWtJkWIB-1k8hIB5nu5aWuGSIZGZQQVT-9Xe1WkNH1X6xodFJBdJJAmWLIP-Gfj7OvV0vf0MikfajyDx9DTiWeCl-S7Aw/s4032/20230403_144556.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNMrMDgLcYfTmunbNFKqLx0tCEx3RWQcYqa0WDYLlK7UAcy6y6scqB0sLyvBU3yqpU0Vdrj9LFeWNmqACshM_8d7Irm2dWRQWtJkWIB-1k8hIB5nu5aWuGSIZGZQQVT-9Xe1WkNH1X6xodFJBdJJAmWLIP-Gfj7OvV0vf0MikfajyDx9DTiWeCl-S7Aw/w480-h640/20230403_144556.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXyYXXsfQSw_kru--7ZJ0melpUiBLBuHVkek-oPM3yoFEGvU3nCAzRf3OVnE6L7OIzbx70apRnWlyI1VeUJ7BILxBH2qwtQScx9YCF3GL_Lx4mqk4AyzqhKKd7Zf545MFO21IMPnkStGA2cXaUEPymLvEwy97V9AjRhNgxFe-Kp1E3Suk241Tu3yX_A/s4032/20230403_144626.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXyYXXsfQSw_kru--7ZJ0melpUiBLBuHVkek-oPM3yoFEGvU3nCAzRf3OVnE6L7OIzbx70apRnWlyI1VeUJ7BILxBH2qwtQScx9YCF3GL_Lx4mqk4AyzqhKKd7Zf545MFO21IMPnkStGA2cXaUEPymLvEwy97V9AjRhNgxFe-Kp1E3Suk241Tu3yX_A/w640-h480/20230403_144626.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">With this basic idea and some
initial character designs, we all got on with our individual tasks. Josh developed
the 2D graveyard environment in Unity; Frank worked on musical motifs for each
character and the game’s theme music. For Grace and I, the task was fleshing out
the game’s characters and their stories.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In most cases, we already had a
rough idea of what kinds of stories would be interesting to tell in a family graveyard
environment. Our job was to create pieces of archive evidence that communicated
these characters’ stories – and indicated which graves they were associated
with – in an interesting and evocative way.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As this was a puzzle game, we
wanted the player’s discovery of the stories and their associated graves to
involve a satisfying degree of thought and interpretation. This meant thinking
carefully about the relationship between the fabula (the factual events/details
of the story) and the syuzhet (how the narrative information would be represented
to, and encountered by, the player).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our design process involved
deciding which bits of information would be shared with the player upfront, which
would be subtext (i.e. implied or inferred), which would need deciphering based
on several smaller bits of information, and which details would be left to the
player’s imagination. We also had to think carefully about what<i> order</i>
players would encounter different narrative details.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All these factors influenced the
writing we did: the types of documents we created, the writing style and the level
of detail contained in each piece of text. For example, because we knew the
gameplay would involve interpreting relationships between characters, the archive
evidence we created would often tie two or more characters together (e.g. a
letter from one character to another, or a document that mentions multiple
characters).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We used a shared Google Doc to
write and edit the game’s text in tandem and decide on its positioning, as well
as pen and paper to sketch out the boundaries, relationships and intricacies of
the fictional world. Two sketches in particular were crucial here.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The first was a family tree, to visualise
how the characters were related to each other, when they were born and when
they died. This was important to ensure we were consistent with all of the
dates and names we mentioned in our documents (making a mistake with these
details could make the puzzle impossible to solve!).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The second was a sketch map of
the graveyard, to show how all the individual narrative details would be portrayed
within the game’s environment. This not only helped our programmer Josh to know
where each piece of content should appear, but also made it easy for us, as
narrative designers, to keep in mind exactly what the player would be seeing
and hearing at any point.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By having this at the forefront
of our thinking, we could design the game such that players would encounter
information in a way that was satisfying for unravelling the mystery of the
graveyard.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw-nSx2uoC04DYZoOME8_qJz8gKlkeVumppHacNw7CycQmXnStYU45577KRc5tti1tEs1avk6GDbYWse9eXyp5OF5hvVHTb7oZNiX64JGzgJpotILV4Z-1Z_rqWPr4264Qzgff5eGkbWmjAuQH373PdDJitD3i2wTHG376yv5rpSxjA7VRimVIvRi7Q/s4032/20230403_144720.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtw-nSx2uoC04DYZoOME8_qJz8gKlkeVumppHacNw7CycQmXnStYU45577KRc5tti1tEs1avk6GDbYWse9eXyp5OF5hvVHTb7oZNiX64JGzgJpotILV4Z-1Z_rqWPr4264Qzgff5eGkbWmjAuQH373PdDJitD3i2wTHG376yv5rpSxjA7VRimVIvRi7Q/w640-h480/20230403_144720.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the end of the jam, each team
presented their game to the other participants and a panel of judges.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To our amazement, Interment <a href="https://twitter.com/wespeakgames/status/1622690913578323989" target="_blank">won the Bristol jam’s Grand Prize</a>. The judges praised the completeness of the game,
how it responded to the jam’s theme and the detail in the game’s design.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We each won a mug labelled
‘Global Games Jam Winner 2023’ and some chocolates.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Having since fixed a few small
bugs in the game, we have now released Interment to the public, where you can <a href="https://interment.itch.io/play" target="_blank">download and play it for free on Windows and Mac</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It will take most people about 30
minutes to complete.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Overall, we’re really proud of
what we were able to make in such a small period of time. We hope the game is
both enjoyable and makes players think, reflecting on what it is to have roots
in a place and what it means when these roots are severed.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61rLdR4yw_bmYZIhBQf8rkG5D38qAsxyXRw-IlS5yjauqj1qCkDHPxsMQcqWShEhXPT0GBCvgNdA8X2xD_u9TdFWluqsqxmr2pgm7yZD4QY3P_msMuozrMAbnoI51lOjNzqxHSmx2517nXfknpmA8TxKQLJ-RoC0SVa2pAicpRbqN2tM-124VVPrgUg/s959/FoT0yE_XoAEWF9V.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="959" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61rLdR4yw_bmYZIhBQf8rkG5D38qAsxyXRw-IlS5yjauqj1qCkDHPxsMQcqWShEhXPT0GBCvgNdA8X2xD_u9TdFWluqsqxmr2pgm7yZD4QY3P_msMuozrMAbnoI51lOjNzqxHSmx2517nXfknpmA8TxKQLJ-RoC0SVa2pAicpRbqN2tM-124VVPrgUg/w640-h640/FoT0yE_XoAEWF9V.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-77516409805145436312022-10-31T23:56:00.009+00:002022-11-01T00:42:43.204+00:00The Materiality of Digital Geographies: Agencies, Affects and Impacts<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This Friday 4th November, the
<a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/" target="_blank">Digital Geographies Research Group</a> will be holding its annual symposium as an
online event. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The symposium is themed around
the topic of materiality, departing from long-outdated notions that equate the
digital with virtual realms detached from material reality. We will be exploring
the hardwares and infrastructures involved in making what we perceive as ‘digital’,
the impacts such technologies have on our physical environment, what agency
different people/organisations have to influence how such technologies are used,
the politics and possibilities of these potential uses, and the impacts these material
processes ultimately have on the bodies, objects and institutions that we live
with.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The event will feature a range of
session types with plenty of space in between for breaks and lunch. There are three
presentation sessions, each with four presentations brought together around particular
sub-themes (I’m chairing the session on Place, Platforms, Politics). There is a
section during lunch where I’ll be screening digital shorts (videos 2-5 minutes
in length that explore an area of research related to the symposium theme). And
finally, there will be a keynote presentation from Dillon Mahmoudi, whose
research focuses on the relationship between technology, cities and capital. <o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You can sign up for the event via
the Eventbrite page <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-materiality-of-digital-geographies-agencies-affects-and-impacts-tickets-432424000827" target="_blank">here</a>,
and view the full programme below.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtXpZoTEDv0qPHjEMrmAGgCGawx6L-mftCsncXsi3i8NrmszCMHAVHVEgImg9ZkHUQvCsfWzVBoQg9V4S41ar8greHeMKoXoyvqQpgjmATJVRPualABh67WSTrfcrTJcQgusZssnoMUbtRV4zKtC9FtIz8qy-VkLeK716tnSENz9-E9JbimEszelsag/s792/resized.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="612" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRtXpZoTEDv0qPHjEMrmAGgCGawx6L-mftCsncXsi3i8NrmszCMHAVHVEgImg9ZkHUQvCsfWzVBoQg9V4S41ar8greHeMKoXoyvqQpgjmATJVRPualABh67WSTrfcrTJcQgusZssnoMUbtRV4zKtC9FtIz8qy-VkLeK716tnSENz9-E9JbimEszelsag/s16000/resized.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-45586534958411853402022-07-30T21:04:00.003+01:002022-07-30T21:04:41.364+01:00Call for Papers: Digital Geographies Research Group 2022 Annual Symposium<p class="MsoNormal">The Materiality of Digital Geographies: Agencies, Affects,
and Impacts</p><p class="MsoNormal">
Symposium Date: Friday November 4th, 2022<br />
CfP Deadline: Monday September 12th, 2022<br />
Location: Online. Details TBA<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<u>Symposium Theme</u></p><p class="MsoNormal">
Digital geographies pose important questions of how digital technologies
reshape the production and analysis of geospatial knowledge, and what
implications this has on everyday spaces, territories, and places. As digital
geographic research continues to attract a wide range of interdisciplinary
perspectives, the materiality of digital technologies, software, and data, and
their impacts on the natural and built environment has become a focal point of
discussion that engender key questions of dematerialization, and the need to
better understand the agencies and materiality of technology.<br />
<br />
This symposium seeks to discuss and reflect on the agencies, affects, and
impacts of the materiality of digital geographies. The objective is to reflect
on the everyday relations of technologies, infrastructures, objects, bodies,
and institutions that stabilise digital geographies into a coherent body of
research. In turn, it is also important to consider the socio-cultural, and
politico-economic forces that sustain material investment in digital
geographies to better understand the material politics of knowledge production.<br />
<br />
This symposium aims to extend our understanding of the materiality of digital
geographies by focusing broadly on the historical materialisms, political economies,
material affects, and infrastructural affordances that shape the production and
dissemination of geospatial knowledge. We aim to better understand the material
politics and economies that can steer digital geographic research, including
the kinds of tools, labour, platforms and data used to produce spatial
knowledge; the impacts of the private sector on academic research; and the ways
in which space and place are shaped by political and economic forces.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3175009923432018334/4558653495841185340">Digital
Geographies Research Group</a> invites theoretical and empirical
contributions that broadly relate to critically understanding the materiality
of digital geographies from researchers and practitioners at any level. Topics
may include, but not limited to:<br />
<br />
- Materiality, agency, and affects<br />
- Political economy and historical materialism<br />
- Infrastructures, interfaces, and Science and Technology Studies<br />
- Everydayness and mundaneness of digital geographies<br />
- Mobilities, boundaries, and hybridities of digital geographies<br />
- Critical theories of inequalities, divides, and exclusions<br />
- Environmental, embodied, and ecological issues of digital geographies<br />
- Digital cartography and territoriality<br />
- Dematerialization, software, and data<br />
- Financialization and digital technologies<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<u>Submission information</u></p><p class="MsoNormal">We welcome abstracts for paper submissions at any stage of
research. Beyond paper proposals, we also welcome abstracts for contributions
in the form of digital shorts. Digital shorts are short videos (between 2 and 5
minutes in length) that provide an introduction to, or summary of, an aspect of
your research. Your video could discuss:</p><p class="MsoNormal">
- Recent research findings<br />
- An emerging research idea or interest<br />
- A new or upcoming research output, publication, creative work etc.<br />
- Research methodology<br />
- Approaches to teaching<br />
- Uses of digital technologies within academia<br />
<br />
This format has been deliberately designed to require limited preparation, so
is ideal for postgraduates, early career researchers, those with caring
responsibilities, or other commitments. You can view examples of digital shorts
on the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/3175009923432018334/4558653495841185340" title="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfw3yN5P7dduwDJ7z7KH5CA/videos">DGRG
YouTube channel</a>.<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Abstracts should aim to be approximately 250 words and
submitted before Monday, September 12th.<br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal">Please email your abstract to harrison.smith@sheffield.ac.uk
before the deadline.<o:p></o:p></p>
<br />Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-45021445564966021122022-06-08T12:52:00.000+01:002022-06-08T12:52:46.754+01:00YouTube Video: Engaging with Place through Location-Based Games<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Glzui8eyrEQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The video above was produced by me for the <a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/" target="_blank">Digital Geographies Research Group</a>'s Work in Progress <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuTP1ZUD6o7YTskVywF4H1RjthYrXSGa7" target="_blank">YouTube series</a>. The series shares</span> recent or current work being undertaken by researchers on a wide range of topics that connect geography and the digital.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This video briefly summarises findings I made from my PhD research, outlining the key ways that the development and play of location-based games engages with place (where a place, broadly speaking, is a meaningful location). I explain how location-based games are designed to tap into the close relationship between how you navigate an environment and how you perceive the 'story' of it as a place.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-34795283420808753012022-05-11T14:21:00.000+01:002022-05-11T14:21:06.287+01:00DGRG Work in Progress YouTube Series: Spring Showcase 2022<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the past two years, I have
served as Postgraduate Representative on the committee of the <a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/" style="text-align: justify;">Digital Geographies Research Group
(DGRG)</a>, a research group of the <a href="https://www.rgs.org/" style="text-align: justify;">RGS-IBG</a>
focused on the relationship between geography and the digital.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Working together with fellow
Postgraduate Representative Daisy Curtis, and Events Co-ordinator Maxwell
Mutanda, one of the main innovations I have overseen during my time on the DGRG
committee is the creation of our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfw3yN5P7dduwDJ7z7KH5CA">YouTube channel</a>.
As well as hosting recorded video content from events like our Annual
Symposium, the channel is home to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuTP1ZUD6o7YTskVywF4H1RjthYrXSGa7">Work
in Progress</a> series. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This series consists of short
videos between 2 and 5 minutes in length, aiming to communicate recent or
current work being undertaken by researchers on a wide range of topics that
connect geography and the digital. Topics can include emerging research ideas,
approaches to research methodology, research findings, approaches to teaching
digital geographies and discussion of research outputs.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through this series, we want to promote
the fascinating, diverse work being done in digital geographies throughout the
academic calendar and across the globe, developing our research community further.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">By keeping the videos concise,
our aim is that making them will require limited preparation and time
commitment, helping to ease participation from postgraduates, early career
researchers and those with caring commitments, for example. The short video
format also makes this content highly shareable, helping contributors to
communicate their ideas in a digestible way that can reach a wide range of
audiences. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Towards the end of last year and
early this year, we announced a new call for contributions to the Work in
Progress series. These videos would make up our 2022 Spring Showcase. I’m very
pleased to say that this new batch of videos launched two weeks ago, beginning with
a beautifully edited video by Jude Jabali (UCL) on the relationship between
digital media and the built environment in the redeveloped area of Vauxhall
Nine Elms Battersea, London.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XYKE79WP7A4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday, we published our
second video of the Spring Showcase, featuring Dr. Jamie Halliwell (Manchester
Metropolitan University) discussing how fan and sexual identities are expressed
within the digital ecosystem of Eurovision fan spaces.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-xU-b6_uL8A" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the coming weeks, we’ll be releasing
videos on topics including digital privacy during COVID-19 and the influence of
GIS (geographical information systems) on economic geographies. I will also be
contributing a video to the series, discussing findings from my PhD research on
how people engage with place through location-based games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">New videos are added to the
series every fortnight. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfw3yN5P7dduwDJ7z7KH5CA/featured">Subscribe
to the DGRG YouTube channel</a> to be notified whenever a new video is
released. You can also follow updates from the research group on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/digital_RGS">@digital_RGS</a>. We have some exciting
plans to develop new ways to engage with digital geographies research in 2022,
so look out for more announcements soon from the DGRG. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-43186236637103416812021-12-17T12:21:00.003+00:002021-12-17T12:21:53.577+00:00Call for contributions: DGRG Work in Progress YouTube Series<p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/" target="_blank">Digital Geographies Research Group</a> (DGRG) of the RGS-IBG invites interested researchers,
academics, students, or practitioners from around the world to contribute to
our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuTP1ZUD6o7YTskVywF4H1RjthYrXSGa7" target="_blank">Work in Progress YouTube series</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This series consists of digital shorts (videos between 2 and
5 minutes in length) exploring topics across the full breadth of research
connecting geography with the digital. Your video could discuss:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recent research findings</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">An emerging research idea or interest</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A new or upcoming research output, publication, creative work etc.</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Research methodology</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Approaches to teaching</span></li><li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Uses of digital technologies within academia</span></li></ul><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">View existing videos <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuTP1ZUD6o7YTskVywF4H1RjthYrXSGa7" target="_blank">here</a>
to get a flavour of the wide range of topics and approaches showcased in the
series. All videos in the series are accurately subtitled.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This format has been deliberately designed to require limited
preparation, so is ideal for postgraduates, early career researchers, those
with caring responsibilities, or other commitments. In the spirit of being
inclusive, staying in touch and trying to support each other, we want to use
our channel to promote the fascinating and diverse work being done in digital
geographies throughout the academic calendar. We see this as an opportunity to
foster community, research development, membership growth and international
outreach.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re interested in participating, please submit an
abstract to Daisy Curtis (d.curtis@exeter.ac.uk),
Jack Lowe (jack.lowe.2017@rhul.ac.uk)
and Maxwell Mutanda (maxwell.mutanda@conted.ox.ac.uk)
by <b>21st January 2022</b> for the Spring 2022 showcase period. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyone that would like to follow the Work In Progress series
can do so by subscribing to our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfw3yN5P7dduwDJ7z7KH5CA" target="_blank">YouTube channel</a>
and following the DGRG on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/digital_RGS" target="_blank">@digital_RGS</a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></p><p></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-22689787442893204792021-10-18T12:40:00.000+01:002021-10-18T12:40:33.310+01:00Interrobang?!: The Curious Departure of Dustin Spektor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5geXy4WZehX1Ab85CenI3E_up_wakewROWbHg-PBQtvClGjkp-5u83p67V_KOpjLfRdatkJ3aHEcf2WhWgKfSOTvrhb9pjlEhpxcwby-FnY1YtZmzvn_GTtHrE7lmBrwmJBRJnGoSpZ3O/s1000/GR_Interrobang_Watermans_header_1000x563.%255Brs_1000_1000_f%255D.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="1000" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5geXy4WZehX1Ab85CenI3E_up_wakewROWbHg-PBQtvClGjkp-5u83p67V_KOpjLfRdatkJ3aHEcf2WhWgKfSOTvrhb9pjlEhpxcwby-FnY1YtZmzvn_GTtHrE7lmBrwmJBRJnGoSpZ3O/w640-h360/GR_Interrobang_Watermans_header_1000x563.%255Brs_1000_1000_f%255D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This Wednesday 20th October sees the launch of <a href="https://www.watermans.org.uk/events/interrobang-digital-by-gideon-reeling-theatre-company/">Interrobang?!,</a>
a genre-busting theatre-meets-online gaming experience that draws you into a
real-time thriller, where you become the investigator in a shadowy murder case.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s a unique experience full of intriguing characters,
interviews, challenges, moral quandaries and puzzles. It’s theatre away from
the theatre, and gaming away from the console.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Players use QR code technology and a custom-made website to
take a journey through multiple digital spaces. You’ll delve into a database of
documents and video interviews, with original music and the odd surreal musical
number.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And that’s just what you can play from home. Take your
sleuthing outside in Interrobang?! Local, an immersive location-based audio
experience that expands the Interrobang?! universe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Set in the town of Brentford, decipher the locations of hidden
messages to uncover the mystery of powerful forces shaping the very places we
live. Look out for copies of The Echo newspaper at Watermans and other places
around Brentford to begin your journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Interrobang?! Has been created by trailblazing immersive
theatre company <a href="https://gideonreeling.co.uk/">Gideon Reeling</a> in collaboration
with <a href="https://www.storyfutures.com/">StoryFutures</a> and supported by <a href="https://www.watermans.org.uk/">Watermans</a>, West London’s leading arts
centre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hopefully what is written above has whetted your appetite!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You may be wondering what connection I have to this thrilling
project.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Throughout my PhD at Royal Holloway, I’ve been a consultant
for StoryFutures, an initiative that helps to create and fund R&D projects focused
on immersive storytelling. Part of their remit is to connect academics with companies
and organisations that can benefit from their expertise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Back in March, StoryFutures approached me to say they’d had an
enquiry from a company called Gideon Reeling, who had just reached their crowdfunding
target to develop an interactive murder mystery game. The game would be partly
location-based, and they were looking to work with an academic who could help
to finesse the user experience and game mechanics to achieve their vision for
the project.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve always been a massive fan of murder mysteries as a
genre of fiction. And after looking at their <a href="https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/interrobang">Crowdfunder</a> and learning more
about Gideon Reeling’s vision, history and ventures as a company (they were once
sister company to the immersive theatre pioneers <a href="https://www.punchdrunk.com/about-us/">Punchdrunk</a> and have worked with
huge names across different industries), I was sold.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since then, my actual contribution to the development of
Interrobang?! has morphed into something much more hybrid and more deeply
invested. And I’ve loved every minute of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my main roles has been helping to shape the game’s narrative
design.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the initial pilot version of Interrobang?! that I tested,
there was no website hosting the database of evidence you explore as a player. The
whole mystery was divulged via documents, emails and QR codes contained within
them, which led to videos.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was blown away by the detail and intricacy of the story,
as well as the acting and humour throughout. I was engrossed with the challenge
of identifying the important details in the case and very satisfied when I’d correctly
solved puzzles or noticed crucial bits of information.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But there was so much content that I had to play it over two
days, taking over 10 hours in total! Part of that was down to me being the kind
of player that wanted to note down every detail that might be important. But many
of the videos were also very long.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It also wasn’t the smoothest experience moving between all
the different pieces of evidence, via the individual documents and emails.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So together with the artistic directors and web developer at
Gideon Reeling, we worked to make navigating the game content more intuitive, identify
any plot holes and decide what could be cut down (e.g. times when evidence was
corroborated by more than one character) to make the experience more streamlined.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most impactful suggestions that I and other testers
had was to host the game on an integrated website framed as a police database, which
would allow players to view and move between the different pieces of
information more smoothly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also thought it would be effective to incorporate the
player’s note-taking and information-gathering process into this website,
through something like an interactive evidence board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Both of these ambitions have come to fruition. The evidence
documents and videos (now much shorter edits) are all accessed via the police
database website, which has an interactive evidence board that updates
depending on which information you’ve uncovered. It’s a much tighter, more user-friendly
experience that envelops you in the Interrobang?! universe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My other main role in working with Gideon Reeling has been
to lead the development of the location-based element of Interrobang?!.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the pilot version of the game, the only way the player’s
physical location mattered was in the suggestion that players go to (or imagine
they were in) certain kinds of places to watch the videos that loaded when the
QR codes were scanned. The characters would say things like ‘go to the local
church’ or ‘find somewhere quiet’, with the idea that the game could be played
anywhere. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But we found that players unanimously preferred to be accessing
evidence sitting at a desk, preferably in front of a computer, where they could
easily take notes, watch/read things multiple times and not use lots of mobile
data loading content on their devices. The story also stood so well by itself
that being in certain kinds of places made little difference to how it was
received.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Through my prior experience in location-based game design, I
knew that this component of the game would need to be something much more bespoke;
making the most of the specific affordances of engaging with material outside
and in physical places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This led to the creation of brand-new, tailored content that
expands the Interrobang?! universe through the use of location-based audio. QR
codes positioned around Brentford (home of Gideon Reeling and local arts centre
partner Watermans) play a series of voice notes when scanned. These follow the
story of one very important character and how they became entangled in the
wider mystery and peril of Interrobang?!.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would love to say more, but I can’t give too much away!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m proud to say that I came up with the concept behind this
new design of Interrobang?! Local and also wrote the scripts for all of the
voice notes, which I then edited together with Gideon Reeling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thankfully, Gideon were on-hand in Brentford to do the
location scouting, place the QR codes and make the necessary local contacts to turn
our vision into a reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, again, when can you take part in these dual online and
location-based experiences?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They launch officially this Wednesday, 20<sup>th</sup>
October!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This current version of Interrobang?! is live until 27<sup>th</sup>
January 2022. I say current version because Interrobang?! is an ongoing
project. Not only will we be addressing any feedback from this run, but there
are plans to add more exciting features to the game website in future versions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore, we’re planning to bring the location-based experience
to places other than Brentford, partnering with local theatres and arts companies
across the country to bring a slice of Gideon Reeling’s immersive magic to different
audiences. The script is deliberately designed to be adapted to other places and
it’ll be fascinating to see how to story connects to a completely different set
of sites.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m really excited to hear what people make of both the
online and location-based aspects of the game. Do get in touch with me if you want to
know more about the project or have any feedback that you want to share.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">---<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">How to take part<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Visit the <a href="https://www.watermans.org.uk/events/interrobang-digital-by-gideon-reeling-theatre-company/">Interrobang?!
booking page</a> on the Watermans website to book your ticket to play the game
online. Tickets cost £15 and the game takes approximately 2-4 hours to
complete. It is suitable for anyone aged 12 or over (contains moderate bad
language).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You’ll be asked to provide an email address for each player.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Register to play by following the email link. Log in and
begin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You’ll need a laptop or desktop for the best viewing
experience and a trackpad, mouse or direction keys to make choices through the
game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To take part in the Interrobang?! location-based audio experience,
look out for copies of The Echo newspaper at Watermans and other locations in
the Brentford area. You’ll find everything you need in The Echo.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-72959664857111558182021-09-02T10:51:00.004+01:002021-09-02T10:53:04.508+01:00RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2021: Designing digital games as a geographical research method<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gdibRz3day4" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Above is a recorded version (with subtitles) of the paper I presented in the Innovative Digital Geographies session at the Royal Geographical Society (with Institute of British Geographers) Annual International Conference on 31st August 2021. This paper discussed designing digital games as a geographical research method and considered the relationship between this method and digital geographical knowledge more broadly, particularly in terms of what we consider 'innovative'.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">I'd like to thank Zoe Gardner, Stefano de Sabbata, Katy Bennett and Tess Osborne for convening this fascinating double session, and the <a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/" target="_blank">Digital Geographies Research Group (DGRG)</a> for sponsoring it. Thank you also to the other presenters in the two sessions for sharing such inspiring research insights and techniques.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-78271902018917483052021-07-13T11:32:00.001+01:002021-07-13T12:37:36.853+01:00Digital Geographies Research Group 'Work in Progress' YouTube Series<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since the beginning of this
academic year, I have been a Postgraduate Representative on the committee of
the <a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/" target="_blank">RGS-IBG Digital Geographies Research Group</a> (DGRG). The DGRG brings together scholars and practitioners from a
wide range of disciplines, whose work engages with the relationship between the
digital and geography.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As part of our work within the
DGRG committee, we’ve been thinking about ways we can better provide a platform
for sharing the research that is happening in our community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One popular and successful feature
of DGRG events in recent years has been our ‘digital shorts’. These are 2 – 5-minute
videos made by researchers to give an overview of an aspect of their work.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Digital shorts have proven
particularly popular during the pandemic, as a simple and quick way to communicate
research that does not require too much work from the presenter. There were 13
shorts presented during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POMp4xQUG5Q" target="_blank">last year’s DGRG Annual Symposium</a> and 11 created for the DGRG-sponsored session
Digital Geographies and the Everyday at the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum Midterm
Conference earlier this year. Other research groups such as the Participatory
Geographies Research Group have recently even begun to use the digital short
format for their own events.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Following the utility and
popularity of the videos in these events, we considered whether we could create
an ongoing programme of digital shorts, as a way to share
the diversity of digital geographies research with a public audience on a
regular basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This idea has led to the launch
of our new <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAjdf861sA&list=PLuTP1ZUD6o7YTskVywF4H1RjthYrXSGa7" target="_blank">Work in Progress</a> series on YouTube (also linked at the bottom of this post). This series will feature digital geographers
at different career stages and from different disciplinary and methodological
backgrounds discussing a wide range of current research.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A couple of weeks ago, we
released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQAjdf861sA" target="_blank">our first digital short by Phil Jones</a>, discussing the opportunities and challenges of
analysing VR content.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today, our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_2VLCHmhN8" target="_blank">second video</a> has been
released. Created by Jeremy Crampton, it discusses his research interests in facial
recognition technology and its implications for surveillance in urban life.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We are aiming to publish a new
digital short roughly every fortnight from now on.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, if you’re
interested in hearing more about digital geographies research, you’re in luck.
Our annual symposium ‘Where Next for Digital Geographies? Pathways and
Prospects’ is taking place online this Wednesday 14<sup>th</sup> July and is
completely free to attend. You can find the full programme and Eventbrite page
to book your ticket <a href="https://digitalgeographiesrg.org/dgrg-events/annual-symposium-2021" target="_blank">here</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLuTP1ZUD6o7YTskVywF4H1RjthYrXSGa7" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></div><br />
<br />Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-91301510228483949202021-05-03T13:19:00.001+01:002022-03-08T01:19:33.290+00:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: Future Directions<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>On 25<sup>th</sup> September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Set around the boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book – one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>In this series of blog posts, I’m delving into how The Gates to Dreamland was made, discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</i></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When I first agreed to get
involved with A Different LENS, I was approaching my contribution as a side
project to my PhD research. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Indeed, I had only just launched <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/Canterburyin3Words" target="_blank">Canterbury in 3 Words</a> – a project made specifically in response to my PhD research questions –
when I received the brief for A Different LENS. The latter was therefore my
opportunity to keep the creative juices flowing, connect with other artists and
gain experience in producing another kind of locative digital media art, alongside
my PhD work.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It wasn’t until late in the
development of The Gates to Dreamland when I realised that my contribution to A Different LENS had
been answering those same PhD research questions all along, albeit from a different
angle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Gates to Dreamland was
fundamentally concerned with the processes through which places become
meaningful to us. And being a form of playful locative media that tells a story, I
found myself making many of the same considerations as I had done for other
projects during the PhD.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These included how to account for the diverse things and processes that make places what they are; how to manage the difficulties of
designing for physical locations that can change without warning; and how
to make interacting with places using locative and playful media something
that is evocative and interesting.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The project seemed too relevant
not to incorporate into my PhD research.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So once The Gates to Dreamland
launched, I began considering what kinds of material I could gather and
analyse to produce useful findings I could write about in my PhD thesis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, I am pretty rigorous
when it comes to documenting the process behind any creative work I do. I
already had numerous design documents, notes and other original files that I
could use in my analysis.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">But I knew it would also be
valuable to discuss the work with other people, to gauge their responses to the
project and its relationship with place.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I identified two groups of people
who I felt could provide important insights: collaborators in A Different LENS
who tackled<span style="color: red;"> </span>the same design brief as me, and
members of the public who were willing to test the audiowalk and give me
feedback.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Opportunities to talk with some
of the other contributing artists arose after the opening of A Different LENS
for Margate NOW 2020. The project was featured in Sound Walk September, an
annual global festival held online to celebrate audiowalks, and as a result we
were invited to host a ‘café’ event with Walk Listen Create. We ran this as a <a href="https://walklistencreate.org/walkingevent/psychogeography-and-disruption/">‘Long
Table’</a>, where all of the participating artists spoke about their projects
as if talking at a dinner party, while attendees could openly ask questions and
discuss the work with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After this more performative
event, a group of us then took part in an ‘after party’, where we chatted with
each other about how we found the process of taking part in A Different LENS. This
allowed me to ask each contributing artist more targeted questions about their
experiences in responding to the project brief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alongside this group discussion, I organised a separate
conversation with the project curator Elspeth Penfold, who incidentally also
wanted to interview me about A Different LENS for her MA research. In the end,
the 90-minute discussion we shared left us both with plenty to work with.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As for feedback from people actually
trying The Gates to Dreamland, over November and December 2020 I ran a handful
of tests with some really great people who volunteered to take part. Due to the
pandemic, all of these people participated online using Streetview, with the A
Different LENS webapp open on a separate browser tab. After completing the
walk, I then interviewed the testers for 30 minutes about their experiences.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m pleased to say that the
feedback I’ve received so far has been very positive. It was heartening to hear
all the connections the testers identified between the areas around Dreamland
and the events described in the audio diaries, which were based on Galileo’s
life in 17<sup>th</sup>-century Florence. They picked up on lots of the key
themes and ideas I wanted to explore in the work and praised the writing for
being engaging and evocative. The testers were also complimentary about my
voice performances and the audio quality in general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alongside this positive feedback,
I was grateful to get some constructive comments that could help to shape the
future of The Gates to Dreamland.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There were some useful
suggestions of small technical changes that might improve the experience for
different kinds of participants, such as raising the overall volume of the
audio for those without headphones. Many of these ideas were tweaks that can be
made relatively easily.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">However, the testers also offered
some interesting thoughts on how remote participation in the walk via
Streetview could be developed further.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I was fully aware before testing
that the online-only version of the walk was not a seamless experience. The
Gates to Dreamland was primarily designed to be completed in Margate, so
simulating the walk via an internet browser was always going
to be a compromise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The testers still found the
format effective, though, and wondered whether there could be an opportunity to
make a more bespoke online version of the walk.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This would likely involve
integrating the audio diaries and navigation via Streetview into a single
platform, creating a single, accessible place (e.g. website or app) where
people anywhere in the world could access the walk online at any point in the
future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It was also suggested that the
online version of the walk could include ambient sound and/or music. This is something
I would’ve liked to do for the original version if I had more time, and is certainly a feature I’d be interested in working on for any future versions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While writing my PhD thesis will
prevent me from working further on the project over the coming months, I’ll
certainly be thinking about what options are available to take these ideas
further.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the meantime, I’d still be
delighted if anybody reading this wanted to try the current online version of
The Gates to Dreamland.<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To do this, visit the A Different
LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/">here</a> and find the
blue pin titled ‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading. This
is the start of the walk, and the pink pins that lead from it show the route you
need to follow.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en">here</a>
in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Each point of the audiowalk is
located by one of Dreamland’s gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk
in Streetview, navigate back to the A Different LENS map and click on the
relevant pin to play the audio for that location. Try to stay in Streetview as
much as you can on the walk, but there may be times when you need to check that
you’re at the correct location by switching to satellite view and comparing
with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The walk should take about 30
minutes to complete.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you do try it and have any
feedback you’d be willing to share, do send me an email using the contact
information on my About page.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Before I wrap up, I’m delighted
to tell you about one special piece of positive feedback relating to this
project.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In January, we learnt that A
Different LENS received an honourable mention at the <a href="https://walklistencreate.org/2021/01/14/sound-walk-september-2020-awards-winners-and-honourable-mentions/">Sound
Walk September 2020 Awards</a>! In total, there were 50 different soundwalk
projects that were submitted to the event, which were narrowed down to a
shortlist of 13 for the awards. To not only be shortlisted but also to receive
an honourable mention is a huge credit to everyone involved in the project, and
it made me very proud to have contributed myself.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">--------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To finish off this series of
posts exploring how The Gates to Dreamland was made, I’d just like to thank a
few people who made all of this possible.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First and foremost, <a href="https://elspeth-billie-penfold.com/">Elspeth Penfold</a>, for her
sterling work in curating A Different LENS and for inviting me to contribute to
the project. I’ve mentioned all the different jobs Elspeth took on in this role
previously, but I can now add organising the post-launch events and chatting
with me about her curation of the project to the list. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’d like to thank the other
artists who contributed to A Different LENS for their valuable advice, ideas
and the numerous conversations we shared that have helped me to make – and make
sense of – The Gates to Dreamland.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Thank you to Arts Council
England, Margate NOW, Kent County Council and the Margate Bookie for funding
and supporting A Different LENS.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And finally, many thanks to those
who have tested The Gates to Dreamland and taken the time to share your
impressions with me. Your contributions have been a huge help for my PhD
research, and will help to shape how the project develops in the future.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-16745220455114747782021-04-26T16:02:00.001+01:002021-05-03T14:10:22.708+01:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: Mapping Between Worlds<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>On 25<sup>th</sup> September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Set around the boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book – one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>In this series of blog posts, I’m delving into how The Gates to Dreamland was made, discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</i></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The final stage in making The
Gates to Dreamland was uploading all the materials for the audiowalk to the <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS map</a>, hosted on a webapp called <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/info/" target="_blank">CGeoMap</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By this point many of the other A
Different LENS projects had already been uploaded, and I was able to see how
their content was displayed. It was inspiring to find such a treasure trove of
media types on the map, including images, audio, text, video and links to
external websites, with each entry combining these in different ways to make connections
between works by visually-impaired authors and places in Margate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I knew that I wanted my entries
to remain focused on the spoken diary extracts I had recorded. But seeing the other map
contributions did make me consider what might or might not be interesting to include
as additional relevant information. I briefly flirted with the idea of
summarising or linking to some of the materials I found during my research on
Galileo’s life, which I’ve highlighted throughout this blog series.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the end, I decided that the
only content I would include alongside the audio would be a single image for
each pin on the map. I wanted users to be as engaged as possible with the spoken
diary extracts and their surroundings, rather than feeling the need to spend much
time looking at their phone screens.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By sticking to a single iconic
image for each pin, the images would help users to easily distinguish between
the different entries, which are situated fairly close to each other. I was
also able to use the image titles and captions to give little leads to follow,
for anyone who wanted to delve deeper into the life of Galileo and the events
described in the audiowalk.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The images I chose for each entry
all related to an element of the subject matter described in that diary extract.
For example, the opening entry includes a present-day image of Galileo’s former
villa in Arcetri, Florence, to contextualise what you hear about the building.
This then also guides interested listeners to the knowledge that the villa still
stands today.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another example is the portrait
of Vincenzo Viviani in the entry where his character is introduced, with a
caption explaining how he remained a disciple of Galileo for the rest of his
life. Those who were curious could then do their own research, if they wished
to find out exactly how Viviani devoted himself to his former master’s studies.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfsn_d0j9Sovj7frdGA9F6CiRlEuhFuwTlXHmQ5tR9eaKqvXmJn5iJqI3gajzJldobHlcEgNC-iwBitkEoLpGBwqwCqD1n3P4bdMH60HMeTcecPAlGuMeuabdGpaedavDPp2LY1z5E_VTW/s923/viviani.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="491" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfsn_d0j9Sovj7frdGA9F6CiRlEuhFuwTlXHmQ5tR9eaKqvXmJn5iJqI3gajzJldobHlcEgNC-iwBitkEoLpGBwqwCqD1n3P4bdMH60HMeTcecPAlGuMeuabdGpaedavDPp2LY1z5E_VTW/w341-h640/viviani.jpg" width="341" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The map entry introducing Vincenzo Viviani, viewed on PC</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The one entry that did contain
more than just the diary audio and image was the opening entry, which needed
some text to introduce the walk and provide guidance as to how my series of
entries worked. Because the character limits for sections of text in CGeoMap
were quite narrow, I needed to provide this scene-setting and guidance as concisely
as possible, but still convey all the necessary information clearly so that
anyone could understand.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, I was able to get a
couple of people who had no prior knowledge of the project to read over what
I’d written, advising me on how I could make the text more understandable on
first view.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4AweItVzngtdzwqLvl-_SSfmhjuroF4KinwpWptAjRfuusWKxfdYUNc4XcVNNuB4UdSHf4aYPuUtrCWRLu-VOLuSo32u4EsVwTbmh6rfHWWO2f46WdcBNLE3Rup5iisu3BafQfq-3Zd-/s1373/opening.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1373" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje4AweItVzngtdzwqLvl-_SSfmhjuroF4KinwpWptAjRfuusWKxfdYUNc4XcVNNuB4UdSHf4aYPuUtrCWRLu-VOLuSo32u4EsVwTbmh6rfHWWO2f46WdcBNLE3Rup5iisu3BafQfq-3Zd-/w640-h436/opening.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The opening entry of The Gates to Dreamland, viewed on PC</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the spirit of clarity, I also
decided to number each of the walk’s entries in their subtitles: ‘1 of 6’, ‘2 of 6’ etc. Unlike some of the
other collections of entries on the map, my walk was linear, with the user’s
agency coming from the connections they draw between the events in the story
and what they observe in the appropriate locations, rather than the order they
piece together the story’s events. Numbering the entries would clearly indicate
which comes next, how many were left to listen to at any given point and
whether an entry had been missed by the listener.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This clarity was doubly important
for my walk, as only the first of my six map entries would be visible to those
accessing the map via smartphone in Margate. I decided that the remaining
entries should only appear on the map when the user got to within 40 metres of
the correct location.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This provides a basic ‘treasure
hunting’ mechanic when doing the walk in person; encouraging participants to pay
closer attention to their surroundings by asking them to find Dreamland’s gates
for themselves. Attention to detail is important for the broader experience of
the work, as the audio diary scripts make numerous references and figurative
connections to things participants encounter when navigating in Margate.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">With all these decisions made, the
final task was to map my entries.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To make the process of adding the
A Different LENS entries to CGeoMap smoother, it was decided that project curator
Elspeth Penfold would upload all the materials rather than each individual
participating artist.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So once all the content for each
of my map entries was finalised, I had to create a document outlining in
precise detail exactly where each map pin should be situated (GPS coordinates),
what content should be attached to them (titles, subtitles, images, captions,
audio files and text – clearly distinguishing between modules, titles and file
names) and how this content should be organised.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Elspeth was very efficient with
the upload process. After a little back-and-forth to address some small
formatting issues, everything was where it needed to be and looked how I wanted
it to look.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Gates to Dreamland launched
publicly on 25<sup>th</sup> September 2020, with the opening of <a href="https://margatenow.co.uk/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">Margate NOW Festival</a>, for which A Different LENS was one of the featured projects.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ll <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/05/making-gates-to-dreamland-future.html" target="_blank">finish this series of blogposts</a> by talking a little bit about the public reaction to A Different LENS, the
future of The Gates to Dreamland and how it connects to my PhD research on
location-based games and site-specific storytelling.<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">How to try The Gates to Dreamland from home</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Gates to Dreamland is primarily designed to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load the A Different LENS map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and you must discover the remainder by finding the rest of Dreamland's gates in person.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, you can try a version of The Gates to Dreamland for yourself online via PC/Mac (this is the only way to access all six points of the audiowalk without being in Margate).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To do this, visit the A Different LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">here</a> and find the blue pin titled ‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading (it is the most southerly blue pin in the main cluster). This is the start of the walk, while the pink pins that lead from it show the route you need to follow. Read the introduction and instructions that appear when you click on the pin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a> in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each point of the audiowalk is located by one of Dreamland’s gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk, navigate back to the A Different LENS map and click on the relevant pin to play the audio for that location. Try to stay in Streetview as much as you can on the walk, but there may be times when you need to check that you’re at the correct location by switching to satellite view and comparing with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The walk should take about 30 minutes to complete. Think about the relationships between the words you hear and what you can see in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you do try it and have any feedback you’d be willing to share, do send me an email using the contact information on my About page.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-65400257786162477572021-04-06T13:39:00.001+01:002021-04-26T16:03:37.456+01:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: Recording and Editing<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>On 25<sup>th</sup> September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Set around the boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book – one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>In this series of blog posts, I’m delving into how The Gates to Dreamland was made, discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</i></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p><p><u style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Preparation</span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once the script for The Gates to
Dreamland had been written, the process of recording and editing the audio
diary extracts was surprisingly swift.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was fortunate that I already
owned the necessary equipment to make high-quality voice recordings from home.
This simply consisted of a condenser microphone, a stand and clamp to keep the
microphone steady, a pop filter to eliminate the distortion from plosive sounds
in my speech, and my laptop where the files were recorded. Windows has an
in-built voice recorder which is perfectly capable, and the files it generates
can be imported into audio editing software.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyx7TWkINLIV8TWRf3Z2NT8dswhpu-mJRhx-mT9kxKgCMj0Bgi-M48HPnHcuZnA3togTwEE7b4x8jr6MnNIZ3kV9vcEOWioX8npbTL5dqZpd2l_Nun5pEd_syW76-Fho4FYtUU591OZE5Z/s2048/20210406_130318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyx7TWkINLIV8TWRf3Z2NT8dswhpu-mJRhx-mT9kxKgCMj0Bgi-M48HPnHcuZnA3togTwEE7b4x8jr6MnNIZ3kV9vcEOWioX8npbTL5dqZpd2l_Nun5pEd_syW76-Fho4FYtUU591OZE5Z/w640-h480/20210406_130318.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My recording setup</td></tr></tbody></table></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For each of the six diary
extracts, I decided to record three full takes. I could then use the editing
software to select the best bits from each recording and merge them together
into a single track to upload for each entry on the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I use <a href="https://www.audacityteam.org/">Audacity</a> for audio editing. It’s
excellent, open-source software that is freely available online for all
operating systems. The basics of importing/exporting files, copying/pasting,
recording, cutting, zooming and playback are all very intuitive for regular PC
users. Many more complex functions are also possible, with plenty of guidance
available online.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, before any recording or
editing was done, one consideration I had to make was the 5MB file size limit
for audio that could be uploaded to CGeoMap, the webapp which hosted the A
Different LENS map entries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From other map entries already
uploaded, I could see that there were audio clips that far exceeded the length
mine would be. But the limit did make a small difference when it came to the
quality of the final files that would be uploaded, as I had to export my files
in Audacity to MP3 at a ‘standard’ quality of 170-210 kbps to ensure they
remained within the 5MB limit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Voice acting<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After the technical needs of the
recording were sorted, one of the most daunting – yet ultimately rewarding –
experiences in this creative process was taking on the role of a voice actor.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Originally, I had toyed with the
idea of finding someone with experience in voice performing who could
conceivably replicate the voice of a man in his 70s. But with the project
deadline approaching ever closer, and not having the money or contacts to hire
a voice actor, I decided that I’d attempt the narration myself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I sought out as much advice and
guidance as I could before I made the recordings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A couple of the other artists
contributing to A Different LENS shared their words of wisdom during our
regular Zoom calls, including speaking somewhere where you can see your
reflection, and over-enunciating your words.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Online, I also found plenty of
tips for beginner voice actors relating to breathing, posture, warming-up
exercises and practising. I found it particularly helpful to record myself when
practising, so I could identify the points in the script where I’d have a tendency
to mumble, or where I could afford to take breath.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve mentioned previously in this
series of blog posts how I drew inspiration from the video game Dear Esther, in
how its narration evocatively connects distant places, times and characters. As
well as learning from the game’s script-writing, I was inspired by the performance
of its narrator, Nigel Carrington.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carrington had also performed in
a beautiful soundwalk called <a href="https://jessicacurry.bandcamp.com/album/remix-fields-were-the-essence-of-the-song">Fields
Were the Essence of the Song</a> (incidentally also made by Jessica Curry and Dan
Pinchbeck, the creators of Dear Esther), which was another key touchstone for
The Gates to Dreamland. It is described as a ‘site-specific soundtrack to a
film which does not exist, one which is created by the ever-changing
relationship of the listener, formed by their self-steered journey, around the
environment’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I listened carefully to audio from
both of these works to pick out voicing techniques Carrington used.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most noticeable
features, I found, was how he varies the pitch in his voice throughout sections
of speech; much more than anyone would in everyday conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lowering the pitch at the end of
a phrase gives it the quality of a remark – an observation or expression of
something inevitable. Adding a roughness to this kind of phrasing gives it the
quality of a sigh. While raising the pitch perhaps indicates a sense of
surprise, or that there is something notable you should pay particular
attention to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As the speech navigates these
contours of expression, the recording takes on a sort of melody that leads the
listener along a thread of individual thought; drawing you into the headspace
of the character being narrated.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thinking about my voice performance
in this way subsequently affected how I edited the script I wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One technique I found
particularly effective in Fields Were the Essence of the Song and Dear Esther was
the use of short sentences with very few conjunctions. Paying close attention
to the words made me acutely aware of how every moment you spend using words
that don’t paint a picture, you’re gradually drawing the listener out of the
world into which you’re inviting them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having learnt from these examples
and having sought as much guidance on voice performing as possible, I finally recorded
all 18 takes (three for each diary entry) over a couple of hours, in order from
the first to the final diary entries.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I took plenty of sips of water
throughout, and short breaks between each entry, but it still put a noticeable
strain on my voice. Fortunately, my gradually thinning speech was appropriate
as I moved towards narrating the later diary entries, which describe events
that happened as Galileo has become older and more unwell.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">Editing<o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once all the takes were recorded,
I listened back to them very carefully for each point of the walk. I created a
document in which I colour-coded the script according to which take I thought sounded
best for each line (sometimes even more fine-grained than that, if there were
enough pauses to make a clean cut when editing).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This document then guided the
editing process. Editing mostly consisted of importing the three recordings for
each location side by side as separate tracks in Audacity, then cutting and
pasting the relevant sections from each into a single final track.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NXnKU8gLK-Po0tHXm4jkggxUxXauSOSSakwc0d5MUpLjKoTzxHe92eQ_64hk5Ub_FYMotyJ9_G37z5K1kFIHDqnCME3WpyFBbf0lv7NTxBKVwKMkGSFtp3ukfr2OXF0AiiWkGs7r4XBZ/s1919/Editing+screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1029" data-original-width="1919" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NXnKU8gLK-Po0tHXm4jkggxUxXauSOSSakwc0d5MUpLjKoTzxHe92eQ_64hk5Ub_FYMotyJ9_G37z5K1kFIHDqnCME3WpyFBbf0lv7NTxBKVwKMkGSFtp3ukfr2OXF0AiiWkGs7r4XBZ/w640-h344/Editing+screenshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot taken during editing of the third recorded diary entry</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was particularly attentive to
the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">pacing</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> of each piece of audio. I wanted to ensure I gave listeners
enough time to reflect on the words they heard and their observations at each
site, curating a listening experience that was mindful and atmospheric. This
meant focusing on the pauses as much as the recorded speech.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was able to easily adjust the
length of pauses between each section of speech by cutting and pasting ‘silent’
sections of the track. In most cases, this involved lengthening the gaps to
enhance opportunities for reflection. I also tried to ensure that pauses were of
roughly equal length, to create a consistent rhythm that might help participants
attune with the words of the script.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Once each final track was
complete, the final stage of editing was reducing the background noise picked
up in the recordings. Condenser microphones are very sensitive, meaning that
even in quiet locations faint sounds will be picked up (the bulk of mine came
from my laptop’s fans).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thankfully, Audacity has a noise
reduction tool that I’ve always found very effective. The way it works is that
you select a ‘silent’ portion of the track (i.e. that only contains background
noise) and feed it into the tool. The tool will then filter out sound from the
track that matches the profile of the background noise sample, which is
particularly effective when the noise in question is relatively constant, like
my laptop’s fans.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can adjust the sensitivity of
the noise reduction to match your needs, as in some audio projects you may want
a degree of ambient sound to remain. In my case, I wanted as little noise as
possible, because I wanted the ambiance of the listening experience to come
from sounds in Margate that listeners would hear in situ, rather than those
from my living room.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After this stage was complete, I
was left with six very clean, detailed audio tracks that effectively captured
the nuances of my voice performances.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Editing was painstaking, precise
work that involved a lot of tinkering and repeated listening back, but
ultimately was a fairly swift process, only taking a day or two.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/04/making-gates-to-dreamland-mapping.html" target="_blank">next post</a> in this series discusses
the process of curating each recorded diary entry into an entry for the A
Different LENS map.</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">How to try The Gates to Dreamland from home</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Gates to Dreamland is primarily designed to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load the A Different LENS map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and you must discover the remainder by finding the rest of Dreamland's gates in person.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, you can try a version of The Gates to Dreamland for yourself online via PC/Mac (this is the only way to access all six points of the audiowalk without being in Margate).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To do this, visit the A Different LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">here</a> and find the blue pin titled ‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading (it is the most southerly blue pin in the main cluster). This is the start of the walk, while the pink pins that lead from it show the route you need to follow. Read the introduction and instructions that appear when you click on the pin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a> in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each point of the audiowalk is located by one of Dreamland’s gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk, navigate back to the A Different LENS map and click on the relevant pin to play the audio for that location. Try to stay in Streetview as much as you can on the walk, but there may be times when you need to check that you’re at the correct location by switching to satellite view and comparing with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The walk should take about 30 minutes to complete. Think about the relationships between the words you hear and what you can see in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you do try it and have any feedback you’d be willing to share, do send me an email using the contact information on my About page.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-67906670398194969272021-03-21T20:40:00.006+00:002021-04-06T13:40:25.780+01:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: Script-writing and Wayfinding<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">On 25<sup>th</sup> September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Set around the boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book – one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this series of blog posts, I’m delving into how The Gates to Dreamland was made, discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</span></i></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the overriding resonances
I detected in Galileo’s story was the feeling of enclosure and inaccessibility.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Galileo was under house arrest
for the duration of his time writing <i>Two New Sciences</i>; an experience of
confinement that recent lockdowns have only briefly exposed us to. Losing his
sight at the same time ‘confined’ him further, in a different sense; altering
his ability to perceive the world beyond him. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Along the route between Dreamland’s
gates, I used the words of my script to draw attention to moments of enclosure
in the listener’s journey through the physical environment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the opening gate, between the metal
bars, the sight of Dreamland’s Helter Skelter is visible in the distance. The
words from the first scripted diary entry imagine how Galileo’s first action,
upon returning to his villa marshalled by armed guards, was to climb straight to the highest window of the
house. Here, he gazes upon the familiar view of a tower on a hill (though I do
not name this, it would have been the Torre del Gallo in Arcetri), but his
sight problems render the view inaccessible.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here, the listener is invited to
draw a connection between the inaccessibility of Dreamland’s landmarks and that
of Galileo, in being house-bound and increasingly visually impaired.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kFXMJVIWLY2Oew_yH51DVrRPG09lcsIt2g3-IzLqtCNEkJdhrJlj2KYjDs_05dLPsH1_fOxUAjRipGd8rk-fo79sjqRt6JNAY9eFqvodOxSVGc9g4DZWN_W4VIMaaS2dfOtKHpyxH-vz/s4608/41784541160_d57b4c3c4f_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kFXMJVIWLY2Oew_yH51DVrRPG09lcsIt2g3-IzLqtCNEkJdhrJlj2KYjDs_05dLPsH1_fOxUAjRipGd8rk-fo79sjqRt6JNAY9eFqvodOxSVGc9g4DZWN_W4VIMaaS2dfOtKHpyxH-vz/w400-h300/41784541160_d57b4c3c4f_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Torre del Gallo in Arcetri, Florence</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rZV7HlJDZ3Jdoqd0Cnaprn-BxXjLxEb3VFyMcxF75rN9YO0gjC_La08yS4PwhEPgbw9_QrKN9ZjOiL0brVR_HM-tVLrYtkDUCTmpCrKLXlYJV2Rc4UB2cXZ4OzP55VWsNbd7UXhuGYdu/s998/geograph-4531246-by-Oast-House-Archive.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rZV7HlJDZ3Jdoqd0Cnaprn-BxXjLxEb3VFyMcxF75rN9YO0gjC_La08yS4PwhEPgbw9_QrKN9ZjOiL0brVR_HM-tVLrYtkDUCTmpCrKLXlYJV2Rc4UB2cXZ4OzP55VWsNbd7UXhuGYdu/w308-h400/geograph-4531246-by-Oast-House-Archive.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dreamland's Helter Skelter</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In this early stage of the
experience, you walk along a road often busy with car traffic and lined with terraced
housing. As you stand beside a seemingly unbreachable metal gate, the words
in the audio diary bring attention to these elements of your surroundings that
convey a sense of being squeezed in.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This continues as you descend down the hill, still confined by terraced housing but with widening
space visible in front, creating the sense of being funnelled down the
street towards an opening. At this point in the scripted diary entries, while Galileo
is still very aware of the limitations he faces, there is a feeling of progress
being made as he begins to chart his plans for writing <i>Two New Sciences</i>. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As the walker’s
perspective briefly widens, another key theme of the work is illuminated: the
opportunities for growth, creativity and imagination that restriction can
entail.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">With the view opening out onto the usually busier area around
Dreamland’s car park, Galileo describes the encounters he has with numerous visitors
to his home. Vincenzo Viviani, who would become Galileo's student assistant, is highlighted as a key figure; and Galileo
describes a clarity and order that emerges from the chaos of his cluttered and
busy home life. In an ironic yet symbolic twist of fate, this is the time when Galileo loses
his sight completely.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Up to this point in the work,
multiple references are made to plants and weeds, which can be seen in many
areas around the outskirts of Dreamland.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I was drawn to the image of his garden
being gradually being overtaken by weeds as he committed himself to writing his
book, while his view outside to the garden would have become increasingly
obscured. There is an interesting parallel here between his intellectual growth
and his body being overtaken by its own ‘weeds’ mentioned in the scripted diary
extracts: his loss of eyesight and worsening arthritis.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpf0bc6IYEPYQsCy96K_3HYnbPgBrcTh4qHCKktWxaLlsC1lGEiaY55TCRPtjRdL_1fQC1-HP0sDylcf27fXBpL3HOH9WmVP1RWsxUXv4tC8m4EGob2lOMfcaaEbjPN818BrDATw-s8D3/s2048/Villa_il_gioiello%252C_int.%252C_cortile_05.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQpf0bc6IYEPYQsCy96K_3HYnbPgBrcTh4qHCKktWxaLlsC1lGEiaY55TCRPtjRdL_1fQC1-HP0sDylcf27fXBpL3HOH9WmVP1RWsxUXv4tC8m4EGob2lOMfcaaEbjPN818BrDATw-s8D3/w266-h400/Villa_il_gioiello%252C_int.%252C_cortile_05.png" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A courtyard garden at Galileo's former home in Arcetri, Florence</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcYI7HXJHAAd50BVQmPYkqBEE8kZjcAGJ5aHSdFYybEw2aDi55iSa_9JSirTIJb4iK3Lz1qaxAZzDpytJUH8WBMvRfUf5FUM46Z_z5h-OsPu-Pq_sC9Z6MZpDy-RJU_S1Wbybo25U0Pqm/s1549/weeds.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1549" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQcYI7HXJHAAd50BVQmPYkqBEE8kZjcAGJ5aHSdFYybEw2aDi55iSa_9JSirTIJb4iK3Lz1qaxAZzDpytJUH8WBMvRfUf5FUM46Z_z5h-OsPu-Pq_sC9Z6MZpDy-RJU_S1Wbybo25U0Pqm/w640-h357/weeds.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Weeds near the entrance to Dreamland's car park</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Aside from Galileo’s physical
condition, the writing of <i>Two New Sciences</i> would certainly have been
worrisome endeavour. All of Galileo’s publications had been banned under order
of the Catholic Church, and being under house arrest with armed guards lurking
meant that anything potentially illicit would have had to be kept very
secretive.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Later on in the walk, you
navigate a narrow back-street with tall buildings on one side and a high fence on the other; a road apparently used most often for delivering and loading goods. It’s
a place evidently not designed for you to dwell in.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here, the words in the audio diary draw
comparisons between this discomfort and compression you feel when physically walking and
Galileo’s own anxiety, as he prepares to release his illicit work out into the world.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the words of the audio, ambiguous
references are made to objects like CCTV cameras, back entrances, invisible
onlookers and hidden doorways in the audiowalk's Margate locations, which become symbols of
these themes of surveillance and secrets, ‘front stage’ and ‘backstage’.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8w_q_sNmJCT3HE06MlYkkbmJu91IQVHNp6QjJ9-sDWFpqStM2ft27Rnu8J7eWGYLhS2O8ItsWw8a5tr8sOZYqzid_Q8_cuiYF_4jVfVc_mOFkE9Kd2E2Q6WvpcyYKCWV0-uBfWBhPkyy/s1917/hbts+road.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1917" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8w_q_sNmJCT3HE06MlYkkbmJu91IQVHNp6QjJ9-sDWFpqStM2ft27Rnu8J7eWGYLhS2O8ItsWw8a5tr8sOZYqzid_Q8_cuiYF_4jVfVc_mOFkE9Kd2E2Q6WvpcyYKCWV0-uBfWBhPkyy/w640-h314/hbts+road.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Streetview image of Hall by the Sea Road, Margate</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, though, Galileo’s
story is one of his work transcending the confined spaces and times in which he
lived. As a form of epilogue to the events leading to the publication of <i>Two
New Sciences</i>, I chose to set a sixth and final scene on Margate beach.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here, the view over the sea to
the horizon, the coastal breeze, sound of road traffic and sensation of sand
under your feet are called upon in the script as symbols of this transcendence: the passing of time, movement between distant places, and the power of
imagination and motion to connect everything.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-C88kz514vhAhU7_M_lRWCdhCoy3Vb9eLzVySTuIOuJjt7UR8j3OJQjsnT6UDTtYSGsPoEiQJsPwMLpiM0elb_LpUFlil6DeeP97FY5T1zZfszJUGLH03vU8kXgLbW0oxKS0E8XLAGbi/s2048/geograph-2400431-by-David-Anstiss.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1496" data-original-width="2048" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-C88kz514vhAhU7_M_lRWCdhCoy3Vb9eLzVySTuIOuJjt7UR8j3OJQjsnT6UDTtYSGsPoEiQJsPwMLpiM0elb_LpUFlil6DeeP97FY5T1zZfszJUGLH03vU8kXgLbW0oxKS0E8XLAGbi/w640-h468/geograph-2400431-by-David-Anstiss.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Margate beach</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These are just some of the
intricate, enigmatic connections that the audiowalk’s script draws between the
landscapes of Dreamland in the 21<sup>st</sup> century and Galileo’s life in 17<sup>th</sup>-century
Florence.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Alongside these broader themes of
enclosure, inaccessibility, creativity, growth, surveillance, secrets, motion
and imagination, there are many other moments when individual details along the
route of the walk are called upon to create figurative, symbolic links between
events in Galileo’s life and your immediate surroundings.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I won’t name these explicitly as
they are designed to be stumbled upon to achieve their effect. But hidden in
the script are references to particular signage, graffiti, road markings,
security infrastructure, photographs, historic wall lettering, paving, and a
familiar Margate sound.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A final feature of the script
worth noting is the series of dates associated with the diary entries
you find. You’ll notice that no numbered days are given, only named dates such
as ‘Ash Wednesday’, ‘Pentecost’ and ‘Epiphany’.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In historic records, none of the
events described in Galileo's story have exact dates. Usually only years are given,
and occasionally times of year.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This ambiguity gave me the
licence to choose dates within a rough timescale that reflect the symbolic significance
these events had within Galileo’s life. In particular, these are all
important dates on the Christian calendar. This was a nod to the fact that
Galileo was a Catholic, who did not see his scientific findings as incompatible
with his faith.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I also figured that a 21<sup>st</sup>-century
listener would struggle to form any kind of impression from a specific date like
‘August 12<sup>th</sup> 1635’, while these holy days still have importance
today. More curious listeners might recognise this level of detail in the work
and choose to investigate further, also becoming more alert to other subtle,
intricate features of the work.</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/04/making-gates-to-dreamland-recording-and.html">next post</a> in
this series discusses how I narrated the scripted diary entries, recording the audio
and editing it to upload to the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">----------------------------</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">How to try The Gates to Dreamland from home</span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Gates to Dreamland is primarily designed to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load the A Different LENS map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and you must discover the remainder by finding the rest of Dreamland's gates in person.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, you can try a version of The Gates to Dreamland for yourself online via PC/Mac (this is the only way to access all six points of the audiowalk without being in Margate).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To do this, visit the A Different LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">here</a> and find the blue pin titled ‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading (it is the most southerly blue pin in the main cluster). This is the start of the walk, while the pink pins that lead from it show the route you need to follow. Read the introduction and instructions that appear when you click on the pin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a> in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each point of the audiowalk is located by one of Dreamland’s gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk, navigate back to the A Different LENS map and click on the relevant pin to play the audio for that location. Try to stay in Streetview as much as you can on the walk, but there may be times when you need to check that you’re at the correct location by switching to satellite view and comparing with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The walk should take about 30 minutes to complete. Think about the relationships between the words you hear and what you can see in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you do try it and have any feedback you’d be willing to share, do send me an email using the contact information on my About page.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-77978218304072464212021-02-08T12:11:00.001+00:002021-02-08T12:11:06.900+00:00Call for Papers: Digital Geographies and the Everyday<p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum Midterm Conference, 19<sup>th</sup> –
23<sup>rd</sup> April 2021</span></b></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Date and time</b>: Thursday 22<sup>nd</sup> April 2021, 1500 –
1700 BST, via Zoom<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sponsored by the Digital Geographies Research Group (DGRG)<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As digital technologies have become increasingly and unevenly entangled
in everyday life on a global scale, so has their influence on the everyday
phenomena we might participate in and choose to study as geographers. The
Covid-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the ways digital technology can
shape <i>what</i> we research, how we <i>do</i> research and how we <i>share</i>
research, perhaps more than we might have intended. Inequalities in everyday <i>access</i>
to digital tools can create ‘digital divides’ at both local and global scales, while
the diverse <i>application</i> of digital technologies has influenced a wide
range of cultural practices across the world. These may be mundane, creative,
ethically problematic, violent, innovative – sometimes many of these words at
once, and others besides.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This centrality of the digital to today’s geographical praxis has
been illustrated evocatively by Ash, Kitchin and Leszczynski (2016), who have
charted the current ‘digital turn’ as one provoked by engagement with
geographies <i>through</i> the digital, geographies <i>produced by</i> the
digital, and geographies <i>of</i> the digital. With this same broad scope, we
invite proposals for <b><u>digital shorts</u></b> (videos summarising research in 2-5
minutes) that engage with a range of everyday geographies through, produced by,
and of the digital.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Topics may include, but are not limited to:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Research methods involving digital technology<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Creative practices using digital technology<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Digital infrastructures<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Regional digital geographies – particularly perspectives from the
Global South<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Forms of digital labour<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Digital technologies, health and wellbeing<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Digital arts and entertainment<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Digital access and digital divides<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Social media and sharing (dis)information online<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 35.7pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -17.85pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: inherit;">·<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Forms of digital mapping<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The digital shorts will be </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><u>pre-recorded</u></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">
by participants and then watched live on Zoom during the session, followed by
questions and discussion. The format of the discussion will be decided once we
have received submissions.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Please submit abstracts of no more than 250
words to Jack Lowe (jack.lowe.2017@rhul.ac.uk) and Daisy Curtis
(d.curtis@exeter.ac.uk) by </span><b style="font-family: inherit;"><u>5<sup>th</sup> March 2021</u></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 12.0pt; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p><p></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-86662225383352266772021-01-19T14:07:00.003+00:002021-03-22T12:29:11.515+00:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: (Dis-)locating a Story<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>On 25<sup>th</sup> September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Set around the boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book – one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>In this series of blog posts, I’m delving into how The Gates to Dreamland was made, discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</i></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;"></span></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">----------------------------</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With most location-based media,
we are used to experiencing content that directly relates to the place we’re
in. This is one of the unique qualities of these media – that you can draw on
the characteristics of a precise location to tell stories, provoke play,
educate, inform and entertain people in an intimate, ‘immersive’ way.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But we can think about these
affordances in a different way. Creating an engaging piece of location-based
media isn’t just about <i>referring</i> to things you can sense in your
surroundings, but the content being <i>enhanced </i>by them in some way.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I asked myself: how can the
telling of Galileo’s story be <i>brought to life</i> through the environments
of 21<sup>st</sup>-century Margate?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In answering this question, the
key example I turned to for inspiration was a video game called <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/203810/Dear_Esther/" target="_blank">Dear Esther</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In Dear Esther, you navigate the
bleak, rugged landscape of a Hebridean island, listening to a man reading
letters to his deceased wife, Esther. While some of what you hear seems
connected to details found on the island, many of the events described by the unreliable
narrator evidently happened elsewhere. Locations such as Wolverhampton, Damascus
and the M5 between Exeter and Bristol are named, as well as a host of
characters and incidents detached from what you can see and hear in your
environment.</span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeXfDMITmtAn1FSFDGbRG-J103FbjtG4O3ZVFop-kZRTGrEztJfQKj6dSoIARKujkdsNuU9-JZg1DxX6NAF410NfwEHsKD8AbrZ6XMpE7ItgCP3abL1-7Th4L0RxusK_wcVzoWPytBAyO/s2048/Screen+Shot+2016-06-19+at+19.50.36.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyeXfDMITmtAn1FSFDGbRG-J103FbjtG4O3ZVFop-kZRTGrEztJfQKj6dSoIARKujkdsNuU9-JZg1DxX6NAF410NfwEHsKD8AbrZ6XMpE7ItgCP3abL1-7Th4L0RxusK_wcVzoWPytBAyO/w640-h360/Screen+Shot+2016-06-19+at+19.50.36.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of dis-locative narration in Dear Esther</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It becomes apparent that the
island’s landscapes may be as imaginary as they are real; taking on </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">figurative</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">
– symbolic and metaphorical – roles in the player’s journey through a story of
grief, loss and redemption.</span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Yu4tp_vl7-1JD5kugFCzVd-nFSGFxlif16pFgHsUiH0135EkrThZ1Il7H4BFpRfdGSnF-ROCkuasOXywbMHHaGUyV612aC6M9yU-0Y8QuZOm4hF8Jd8-9JZw5GjxFCCrK4c-Nt91FhXl/s906/de.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="906" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Yu4tp_vl7-1JD5kugFCzVd-nFSGFxlif16pFgHsUiH0135EkrThZ1Il7H4BFpRfdGSnF-ROCkuasOXywbMHHaGUyV612aC6M9yU-0Y8QuZOm4hF8Jd8-9JZw5GjxFCCrK4c-Nt91FhXl/w640-h382/de.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Symbolic landscapes in Dear Esther</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">With this form of storytelling,
it matters less whether you find all the possible connections between your
surroundings and the overarching story. What’s most important is that when you
do make a connection, your relationship with the storyworld becomes that much
more intimate because you’ve made the connection </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">yourself</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The role of a narrator isn’t to guide
you but to offer narrative prompts<span style="color: red;"> </span>that invite you
to uncover this emotional resonance in your surroundings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I wondered whether Dear Esther’s
figurative approach might be similarly effective in a location-based narrative
– as a way of connecting distant places and times through symbolism and
metaphor, while ensuring that the experience was still embedded in the player’s
navigation of their physical surroundings.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It struck me that this approach would
be a thematic fit for Dreamland, as a place which pulls on the imagination in both
name and practice, despite currently being inaccessible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But what connection could I draw
between Dreamland and the actual <i>events </i>of Galileo’s life?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The answer, appropriately, came in
thinking about Galileo’s deteriorating sight. I started to conceptualise his
growing blindness as a transition from seeing things literally to only being
able to picture them in the mind – a journey towards entering his own
‘Dreamland’.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Coupled with his struggle to
overcome the significant personal challenges that writing <i>Two New Sciences</i>
presented, this period of Galileo’s life appeared to connect with the notion of
‘dreams’ in more ways than one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The next challenge would be to determine
the specific locations around Dreamland that would feature in my work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The webapp we used to host and
map the projects in A Different LENS, CGeoMap, gave some basic location
specifications to work with. I knew that each point had to be at least 40
metres apart. I also knew that I could make certain points invisible on the map
until the user reaches the relevant location.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be sure I’d finish making the
audiowalk in time for the project launch, I also knew I wanted to keep the
number of points to a maximum of 5 or 6; focusing on making these entries as
evocative as possible. Given that my story would be reflecting a series of
events in Galileo’s life, it made sense for the points to be linear in their
organisation.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWZp9ZrQgd3ZOazELwsIkHo5FEu1-nhEp9nbE3gwFeo1bT5uI4dI4v9H80rMip_tFUbC8NZKs7Pa0HGsTNrHIuFMRwy-R9PptXx6zNpmIcu_RemqeB9xVXFQFPQTMxiCQ9RFnMb0xl8tJ/s1897/gates.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="939" data-original-width="1897" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBWZp9ZrQgd3ZOazELwsIkHo5FEu1-nhEp9nbE3gwFeo1bT5uI4dI4v9H80rMip_tFUbC8NZKs7Pa0HGsTNrHIuFMRwy-R9PptXx6zNpmIcu_RemqeB9xVXFQFPQTMxiCQ9RFnMb0xl8tJ/w640-h316/gates.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gates to Dreamland points on the A Different LENS map</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After that, the decision on
locations was purely a creative one, aside from the usual caveats of the sites
being publicly accessible and the walk not being too long.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In thinking about the
inaccessibility of Dreamland at the time and the circumstances surrounding
Galileo’s house arrest, I was particularly drawn to <i>gates</i> as symbolising
some kind of passage or journey, while denying that passage at the same time.
They are physical obstacles, yet provoke you to imagine what is beyond them;
liminal spaces between here and there, inside and outside, near and far.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dreamland has two main entrances
for visitors: from the car park and from Hall by the Sea Road.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, a quick search on Google
Streetview revealed a few smaller gates dotted around the perimeter of the
park. Including the two main entrances, these entrances are labelled as Gates A
to E. Conveniently, they are also quite evenly spaced and all separated by gaps
of more than 40 metres.</span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcd78_uu-ADbVu_SeUO0cNfWaO6SAZV3riPvgXjGgfqNJVFK7QokFkEqJzSs87Kg-olqpXjxmZhE4B-trkgFmebptT1yoeG2d7rzKMukwvxxou5R97BsFz_jag3lY2ZpkFTNLnYWcRoS23/s1913/sv.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1913" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcd78_uu-ADbVu_SeUO0cNfWaO6SAZV3riPvgXjGgfqNJVFK7QokFkEqJzSs87Kg-olqpXjxmZhE4B-trkgFmebptT1yoeG2d7rzKMukwvxxou5R97BsFz_jag3lY2ZpkFTNLnYWcRoS23/w640-h314/sv.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dreamland's Gate A on Google Streetview</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Running with the idea of these
five gates being the points for my audiowalk, I then attempted to decipher
connections between what could be found at these sites and the events in
Galileo’s life during the writing of </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Two New Sciences</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I created a design document that
charted the arc of Galileo’s story, from returning to Florence under house
arrest, to the publishing of <i>Two New Sciences</i>. This was divided into
five key story beats, which later became six.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the same document, I then
listed all the physical features I could identify at each of Dreamland’s gates
and along the routes between them. Due to the pandemic restrictions, I was
unable to visit the sites in person, so I relied on close observation of Google
Streetview images.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally, I attempted to find
connections between the beats of Galileo’s story and the physical
characteristics I’d noted for each of the sites.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The key to this task was to
identify the <i>emotional resonance</i> of the events in Galileo’s life that
I’d pinpointed. Once I’d done that, I could think about which details at each
site might chime with this ambiance in ways that were compelling and reflective
of the wider themes I wanted to explore. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">I go into this
process in more detail in this series’ next blog post, where I’ll be discussing
the process of <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/03/making-gates-to-dreamland-script.html" target="_blank">creating the script</a> for The Gates to Dreamland.</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">----------------------------</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u>How to try The Gates to Dreamland from home</u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Gates to Dreamland is primarily designed to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load the A Different LENS map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and you must discover the remainder by finding the rest of Dreamland's gates in person.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">However, you can try a version of The Gates to Dreamland for yourself online via PC/Mac (this is the only way to access all six points of the audiowalk without being in Margate).</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To do this, visit the A Different LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">here</a> and find the blue pin titled ‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading (it is the most southerly blue pin in the main cluster). This is the start of the walk, while the pink pins that lead from it show the route you need to follow. Read the introduction and instructions that appear when you click on the pin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a> in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Each point of the audiowalk is located by one of Dreamland’s gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk, navigate back to the A Different LENS map and click on the relevant pin to play the audio for that location. Try to stay in Streetview as much as you can on the walk, but there may be times when you need to check that you’re at the correct location by switching to satellite view and comparing with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The walk should take about 30 minutes to complete. Think about the relationships between the words you hear and what you can see in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you do try it and have any feedback you’d be willing to share, do send me an email using the contact information on my About page.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-50596131893711517302021-01-01T12:54:00.003+00:002021-03-21T20:37:58.742+00:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: Discovering Galileo<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>On 25<sup>th</sup> September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Set around the boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book – one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>In this series of blog posts, I’m going to delve into how The Gates to Dreamland was made, discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">----------------------------</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For a while in the summer I struggled to believed that I
could come up with a brand-new, workable idea for my contribution to the A
Different LENS map, and get it made in time for a September launch.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the regular Monday Zoom calls we had as artists
contributing to the project, I spent some time chatting to the others about my
predicament. By this point, I think we had all become enamoured by the idea of
Galileo being represented on the map, and particularly that there would be
entries connecting to Dreamland, one of Margate’s most iconic landmarks.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A couple of the artists suggested that I could shift my
focus towards imagining being in Dreamland from outside; of wanting to be in
Dreamland but being unable to enter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I agreed that, in some ways, this sense of Dreamland being
unreachable or distant had clearer links to the project’s themes around
inaccessibility. But, with my head still full of my original concept’s playful
ideas, I struggled to see how I could curate an experience of Dreamland from
the outside that was genuinely engaging, or what form this would take.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking for inspiration, I turned my attention back to learning
more about Galileo.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Where before I had focused on the <i>Two New Sciences</i>
text, and how to communicate the scientific principles debated within it, this
time I focused more on Galileo as a person. As I did, a more evocative image of
his character began to emerge.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the years before Galileo started writing <i>Two New
Sciences</i>, he had faced challenges ranging from the personal to the
profound.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The publication of his previous work, <i>Dialogue Concerning
the Two Chief World Systems</i> (1632), caused significant controversy among the
Catholic Church. It implied support for the idea that the Earth orbits the Sun,
at a time when the Roman Inquisition very actively sought to censor views contradicting
Biblical teachings that the Earth was the centre of the universe.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Galileo was tried on suspicion of heresy in 1633, and he was
interrogated under threat of physical torture.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When the Inquisition found him “vehemently suspect of
heresy,” he was sentenced to indefinite house arrest. It was at this moment
that Galileo is alleged to have uttered the famous phrase ‘E pur si muove’ –
‘And yet it moves’, referring to the Earth. There is <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/did-galileo-truly-say-and-yet-it-moves-a-modern-detective-story/" target="_blank">no direct proof</a> that this actually happened, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a brief stay with a sympathetic Archbishop in Siena, in
1634 he returned to his villa in Arcetri, on the outskirts of Florence, where
he remained under watch by armed guards for the rest of his life.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The entirety of <i>Two New Sciences</i> was written during
his confinement.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9_ZSTkVHiYlZaEAm1KCBOrpstPrT5T5D7hjXzsdrEkc7a9PSggDaODM7brsfyDhEsX3by09E7DILoINh65JXO5f7x2C8tZV4nexjGqd_F8PBZuS1FfITDWayZyDgrcjg89RRkjTch0e9/s1280/Image+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="1280" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy9_ZSTkVHiYlZaEAm1KCBOrpstPrT5T5D7hjXzsdrEkc7a9PSggDaODM7brsfyDhEsX3by09E7DILoINh65JXO5f7x2C8tZV4nexjGqd_F8PBZuS1FfITDWayZyDgrcjg89RRkjTch0e9/w640-h426/Image+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galileo's villa in Arcetri, Florence</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This period was also one of significant medical hardship for
Galileo.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During my research, I found <a href="http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/2011ASPC..441...73T" target="_blank">an academic paper</a>
detailing Galileo’s clinical history in remarkable detail. Alongside chronic
pains caused by arthritis and a serious hernia, he suffered regularly from palpitations,
melancholy and a lack of appetite.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The most profound bodily change he experienced in these
later years, however, was to his vision. It gradually worsened over the course
of his confinement, to the point where he eventually lost all sight shortly
before <i>Two New Sciences</i> was completed and published.</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><i>“All light is
extinguished […] The blindness is a consequence of a very dense cloud which formed
itself in the space of seven months, first in the right eye and then in the left
eye […] that sky, that world, that universe which I, through my astonishing
observations and clear demonstrations, had expanded hundred and thousand times
beyond anything ever seen before by scientists, has now shrunk and narrowed as
to reach no further than my own body.”<o:p></o:p></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: center;">Letter from Galileo to Elia
Diodati, 2<sup>nd</sup> January 1638<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3C-pE_9VDxrh2Qkx7MLc_csEMZBTVs8iTHAjTCyi2m7SeCcOp08SSfLQW_KbChI1N1-QIY_ORdTV_2wyDeu5APSYvyMfeRZHrub0C4ctuAuhRHCCAK7q53IPlFsZF4Hw2FO0G3es8wXHX/s936/Image+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3C-pE_9VDxrh2Qkx7MLc_csEMZBTVs8iTHAjTCyi2m7SeCcOp08SSfLQW_KbChI1N1-QIY_ORdTV_2wyDeu5APSYvyMfeRZHrub0C4ctuAuhRHCCAK7q53IPlFsZF4Hw2FO0G3es8wXHX/w438-h640/Image+2.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Portrait of Galileo in 1624, with visible swelling in his right eye</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Despite these circumstances, Galileo wasn’t completely
isolated from society. In fact, he was able to regularly welcome a large number
of visitors to his home, including academic colleagues, students and other
acquaintances. He even met with a young John Milton – the subject of Virginia
Fitch’s contribution to A Different LENS – in an event that had a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/aug/20/john-milton-paradise-lost-galileo-collision-of-cultures-bbc-documentary" target="_blank">profound impact</a> on the Englishman.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the students who visited Galileo at this time was
Vincenzo Viviani (1622 – 1703), a talented young mathematician who ended up
living with Galileo as his assistant until his death in 1642.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Even in this
relatively short time, Galileo provided a life-long direction for Viviani, who subsequently
devoted himself to collating and preserving Galileo’s works to be published, as
well as writing a biography.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrxb0Q-l6z1xGcozPO3AhIo1uFW2lWYHmolokuSgEquKWdYe6gJX45cYrBnffj2XHU4KQ5DYlloPk5HFLH6t6BjP7xSO90EVLIE_KwxOIkpm-MAWUXqVWzAEuKc2Rp_p6LGBdElQf1Pav/s866/Image+3.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="866" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrxb0Q-l6z1xGcozPO3AhIo1uFW2lWYHmolokuSgEquKWdYe6gJX45cYrBnffj2XHU4KQ5DYlloPk5HFLH6t6BjP7xSO90EVLIE_KwxOIkpm-MAWUXqVWzAEuKc2Rp_p6LGBdElQf1Pav/w472-h640/Image+3.jpeg" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vincenzo Viviani, 1622-1703</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Viviani went on to make his own achievements, but the extent
of Galileo’s influence on him is still evident in Florence today. The Palazzo
del Cartelloni displays a bust of Galileo alongside three Latin epigraphs
celebrating Galileo’s life and discoveries, which Viviani commissioned.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEleyRwWU7lt4bJJ378O7dLWY96mgBWso8aeDTEzv8uKfZOwSULuphMApBjtha9RiTSaw5r1JIa8JZ1iOBzGblbFRR18AtB9Vnfajej6OU_MSdDYSafcF61mv8c4lKgZzMTYy7mvSgdPVw/s2048/Palazzo_dei_Cartelloni_11_via_Sant%2527Antonino_Firenze.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1737" data-original-width="2048" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEleyRwWU7lt4bJJ378O7dLWY96mgBWso8aeDTEzv8uKfZOwSULuphMApBjtha9RiTSaw5r1JIa8JZ1iOBzGblbFRR18AtB9Vnfajej6OU_MSdDYSafcF61mv8c4lKgZzMTYy7mvSgdPVw/w640-h542/Palazzo_dei_Cartelloni_11_via_Sant%2527Antonino_Firenze.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bust of Galileo and epigraphs celebrating his life outside the Palazzo del Cartelloni in Florence, which was owned by Viviani</td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Furthermore, Galileo’s elaborate tomb in the Basilica of Santa Croce was partly
built using funds left by Viviani for this specific purpose. When the church
finally allowed Galileo to be reburied there, Viviani’s remains were moved to
the grave alongside his hero.</span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlQM5OXkHjVYihPr5jLq0GITJbZLJKe_jsPPgZvldG4ZvPnnQTKSojeLOwTB7mWqYiR616FOws1enee6Y_IrjOrCBakmfAjntzmzVoCMGF-Nq7ylNWgYi8CmoH1jSl-IIgHa7bllpILHj/s1154/Image+6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1154" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlQM5OXkHjVYihPr5jLq0GITJbZLJKe_jsPPgZvldG4ZvPnnQTKSojeLOwTB7mWqYiR616FOws1enee6Y_IrjOrCBakmfAjntzmzVoCMGF-Nq7ylNWgYi8CmoH1jSl-IIgHa7bllpILHj/w444-h640/Image+6.jpg" width="444" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galileo's tomb in the Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence. He wasn't allowed a Christian burial until 1737, 95 years after his death</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Taken altogether, the events surrounding the writing of <i>Two
New Sciences</i> painted a poignant picture of transcending life’s adversities.
Despite the harrowing circumstances Galileo faced, his sharing of knowledge brought
people together, connecting distance places, times, people and objects.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It certainly seemed like a worthwhile story to tell that resonated
clearly with the wider themes of A Different LENS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The challenge I then faced as a designer was how to connect
these events from Galileo’s life in 17<sup>th</sup>-century Florence to Dreamland
in 21<sup>st</sup>-century Margate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/01/making-gates-to-dreamland-dis-locating.html" target="_blank">next post</a> in
this series discusses how I set about bringing Galileo’s story to life through
the environments around Dreamland.</span><o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">----------------------------</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u>How to try The Gates to Dreamland from home</u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Gates to Dreamland is primarily designed to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load the A Different LENS map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and you must discover the remainder by finding the rest of Dreamland's gates in person.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">However, you can try a version of The Gates to Dreamland for yourself online via PC/Mac (this is the only way to access all six points of the audiowalk without being in Margate).</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To do this, visit the A Different LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">here</a> and find the blue pin titled ‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading (it is the most southerly blue pin in the main cluster). This is the start of the walk, while the pink pins that lead from it show the route you need to follow. Read the introduction and instructions that appear when you click on the pin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a> in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Each point of the audiowalk is located by one of Dreamland’s gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk, navigate back to the A Different LENS map and click on the relevant pin to play the audio for that location. Try to stay in Streetview as much as you can on the walk, but there may be times when you need to check that you’re at the correct location by switching to satellite view and comparing with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The walk should take about 30 minutes to complete. Think about the relationships between the words you hear and what you can see in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you do try it and have any feedback you’d be willing to share, do send me an email using the contact information on my About page.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-35931082782699282882020-12-23T18:11:00.004+00:002021-03-21T20:38:14.098+00:00Making The Gates to Dreamland: First Steps<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADMGpvUD-UOKJUQtjUU53QMzQXZOC5HMUrn_GRvm7FCWnIsNu8CribSui8alF_grhz6KHj5u5zm1ycbdu8LztiQHIJbspfidrhXu7hS94HC08MjXv4NqOzsU6ZspWB2rFe2ha48erBmn9/s800/Image+5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADMGpvUD-UOKJUQtjUU53QMzQXZOC5HMUrn_GRvm7FCWnIsNu8CribSui8alF_grhz6KHj5u5zm1ycbdu8LztiQHIJbspfidrhXu7hS94HC08MjXv4NqOzsU6ZspWB2rFe2ha48erBmn9/w640-h640/Image+5.png" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">---------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>On 25<sup>th</sup>
September, my new locative audiowalk game The Gates to Dreamland launched to
the public. Created as part of the <a href="https://margatefestival.org/event/a-different-lens/" target="_blank">A Different LENS</a> project in Margate, The
Gates to Dreamland explores how interpreting our surroundings figuratively,
through imagination and motion, can connect us to different places, times,
stories and circumstances, finding resonance within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>Set around the
boundaries of the Dreamland amusement park in Margate, it tells the story of
Italian scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book –
one that would change the study of science forever. It imagines the obstacles
he faced, under house arrest with his eyesight and health failing, and the
changes in perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>In this series of
blog posts, I’m going to delve into how The Gates to Dreamland was made,
discussing how my contribution to A Different LENS came about, how the
design of the project evolved, ideas and inspirations, research and planning, writing
the script, how I created the audio, and how this project connects to my other
work.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>More information on how you can try The Gates to Dreamland for yourself is at the bottom of this post.</i></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">----------------------------</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It was back in May when I first
heard from <a href="https://elspeth-billie-penfold.com/" target="_blank">Elspeth (Billie) Penfold</a>, the curator of A Different LENS.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I had only just launched <a href="https://canterburyin3words.com/" target="_blank">Canterbury in 3 Words</a>, a location-based storytelling game
played using the What3Words app. But after following Billie on Twitter, she got in touch to
say that her and the other artists involved in A Different LENS had been talking
about my work.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Identifying some connections between my game and what A Different LENS aimed to achieve, she asked if I’d be interested in getting involved, sending
me a project brief and arranging a phone call with me shortly afterward.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The brief struck some promising
chords immediately: artists contributing to a widely-accessible digital map
that would lead participants on creative walks around different sites in
Margate. I could see clear links to my interests and prior work with
locative media, the walking arts and site-specific storytelling, as well as the
potential for playful contributions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What I found challenging about the brief, however, was that contributing artists had to respond to a piece of
writing by a blind or visually-impaired author in their entries for the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When searching online, I found
that many of the most famous blind writers had already been chosen
by other artists on the project. I also wasn’t aware that any of the more
obscure literature I’d read had been written by people with visual impairments.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So I decided to expand my search
beyond just ‘writers’ who were blind. And that’s when I found that Galileo
Galilei, the famous Italian scientist, had gone blind around the time he
published his final book.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Discourses and
Mathematical Relations Relating to Two New Sciences</i>, published in 1638,
brought together many of Galileo’s most important findings on kinematics and
strength of materials, helping to shape the study of modern physics. Galileo
died only 4 years after its publication in 1642.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In particular, it outlined possibly
Galileo’s most impactful scientific discovery: that acceleration due to
gravity is a constant value, irrespective of an object’s mass. It also
contained some of Galileo’s other notable findings, such as those relating to
pendulums (he proved, for instance, that the period of a pendulum is the same
irrespective of the amplitude of the swing).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In thinking about places in
Margate that had some kind of connection to Galileo, I began to think more and
more about these physical phenomena that Galileo studied. I was thinking about
where you might see evidence of them in Margate, and that’s when my attention
turned to Dreamland amusement park.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5hgLpY2bClvhmun7KxgRa7bGcabKQDB-cPmGzrqnN-IqFOZjdXr-m_eZ2Zcp8TPO5TXewDYttiqrWdMFIRRJh7OifvX0HKPDSUMgJqMOUzKSmn0V4YpbWcFTUKu4x1VsxZfTzzxUEcyK/s2048/Dreamland_Margate_Scenic_Railway_2016.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dreamland's historic Scenic Railway" border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz5hgLpY2bClvhmun7KxgRa7bGcabKQDB-cPmGzrqnN-IqFOZjdXr-m_eZ2Zcp8TPO5TXewDYttiqrWdMFIRRJh7OifvX0HKPDSUMgJqMOUzKSmn0V4YpbWcFTUKu4x1VsxZfTzzxUEcyK/w640-h360/Dreamland_Margate_Scenic_Railway_2016.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dreamland's historic Scenic Railway</td></tr></tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Clearly, when it comes to rides
at amusement parks, the motion of bodies and the forces experienced are key
considerations in their design. Online, I even found </span><a href="https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/amuse_park_physics.pdf" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">teaching resources</a><span style="text-align: justify;"> using the example of amusement parks to teach students specifically about
the physical principles that Galileo first outlined.</span></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It occurred to me that a locative
walk through an amusement park like Dreamland could be an engaging platform for
people to learn the science by witnessing it in action. But how could I make
this an evocative, unique experience, and not just a science lesson?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When doing more research on <i>Two
New Sciences</i>, one of the details that captured my imagination was the
writing style. Galileo wrote his scientific manuscripts as dialogues between
three characters: Simplicio (reflecting Galileo’s early beliefs as a young man),
Sagredo (representing Galilieo’s middle years) and Salviati (representing
Galileo’s latest understandings).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This struck me as a surprisingly
creative method of communicating scientific knowledge, and I wondered if it could
be rekindled somehow for today’s audience.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I already had an idea about how
to playfully tie the words of the three characters to the locations in Dreamland.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the making of Canterbury in 3 Words, I had recently been working with
the <a href="https://what3words.com/" target="_blank">What3Words</a> platform, a service that divides the world into three-metre squares and gives
each one a unique 3-word address (e.g. home.rinse.apply, on Dreamland’s Scenic
Railway). <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I wanted to find a way for each
of Galileo's three characters to communicate a word of the 3-word address for each point on the walk, directing participants on their journey. I wasn’t sure exactly how this would work yet, but the
symmetry between the three characters and 3-word addresses seemed too good an
opportunity to miss.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In an attempt to flesh out this
early idea for my contribution to A Different LENS, I wrote this blurb:<span style="text-align: center;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt;"><i>bodies.in.motion<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: justify;">This idea seeks to explore <i>The
Discourses and Mathematical Relations Relating to Two New Sciences</i> by
Galileo Galilei. This was the final book Galileo wrote, covering much of his
work in physics, and had to be rushed at the end as he became blind before it
was finished.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: justify;">In <i>Two New Sciences</i>, Galileo
introduces his subject matter as a dialogue between three characters,
Simplicio, Sagredo and Salviati. These figures represent Galileo at different
stages of his life, with Simplicio being the youngest and Salviati the oldest.
These discussions take place over a period of four ‘days’, with each day
covering a new topic, ranging from acceleration to the motion of projectiles.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: justify;"><i>bodies.in.motion</i> aims to guide
participants on a walk that navigates the spaces of Dreamland amusement park,
where they will be able to observe and/or hear Galileo’s physical principles in
action. This will use the What3Words geolocation system and app, which divides
the world up into 3-metre squares and assigns each one a three-word address.
For each of the locations participants navigate to in Dreamland, one of the
words of its What3Words address will be spoken by each of Galileo’s three
characters. Once the location is reached, participants will read and/or listen
to a simplified dialogue that explains one of Galileo’s principles at an
appropriate part of the park (e.g. the Pendulum ride for thinking about
acceleration of falling bodies).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: justify;">The main focus of the work will be on
drawing attention to the creative ways that scientific ideas can be
communicated more accessibly, drawing inspiration from Galileo’s use of
dialogues between characters. There is a comparison here to how What3Words
‘translates’ the geometric, mathematical properties of GPS coordinates into
words, which are easier to communicate and take on greater cultural
significance. In this way, the work aims to respond to the project brief and
aspirations around making the inaccessible accessible, overcoming challenges
and seeing our surroundings differently.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I held onto this concept for quite a
long time, as PhD commitments limited opportunities to develop the work further for a couple of months. I was also waiting to hear news about when
Dreamland would re-open after the first lockdown, as my design relied on people being able to walk between the rides inside Dreamland and see them in action.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By July, Dreamland still hadn’t re-opened,
and eventually the decision was made to <a href="https://www.kentonline.co.uk/thanet/news/rides-at-dreamland-will-not-run-this-summer-229709/" target="_blank">keep it closed for the remainder of the summer</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I had to contend with the fact
that my idea simply wouldn’t work in the timescale needed for A Different LENS,
which was due to launch in September.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I needed a fresh approach; one that could operate beyond the confines of Dreamland amusement park. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Little did I realise exactly how far the project's reach would extend.</p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i>The <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2021/01/making-gates-to-dreamland-discovering.html" target="_blank">next post</a> in
this series explores how learning more about Galileo's life provided the
inspiration for the project’s story.<o:p></o:p></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">----------------------------</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><u>How to try The Gates to Dreamland from home</u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Gates to Dreamland is primarily designed to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load the A Different LENS map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and you must discover the remainder by finding the rest of Dreamland's gates in person.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">However, you can try a version of The Gates to Dreamland for yourself online via PC/Mac (this is the only way to access all six points of the audiowalk without being in Margate).</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To do this, visit the A Different LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/" target="_blank">here</a> and find the blue pin titled
‘The Gates to Dreamland’, with ‘1 of 6’ as a subheading (it is the most southerly blue pin in the main cluster). This is the start of
the walk, while the pink pins that lead from it show the route you need to
follow. Read the introduction and instructions that appear when you click on the pin.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then, open up the link <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.3841188,1.3804318,3a,75y,322.45h,89.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfReIE4aagWZz6iN1T7f4BA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en" target="_blank">here</a>
in a separate tab. This is the starting point for the walk in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Each point of the audiowalk is located by one of Dreamland’s
gates. When you reach the next gate on the walk, navigate back to the A
Different LENS map and click on the relevant pin to play the audio for that
location. Try to stay in Streetview as much as you can on the walk, but there
may be times when you need to check that you’re at the correct location by
switching to satellite view and comparing with the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The walk should take about 30 minutes to complete. Think about the relationships between the words you hear and what you can see in Streetview.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you do try it and have any feedback you’d be willing to
share, do send me an email using the contact information on my About page.<o:p></o:p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-65434903785407945252020-10-01T15:31:00.001+01:002020-10-01T15:31:52.654+01:00Mapping Space | Mapping Time | Mapping Texts Conference Poster<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On 29th September, the
Mapping Space | Mapping Time | Mapping Texts Conference was held online by
<a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/chronotopic-cartographies/" target="_blank">Chronotopic Cartographies</a>, in partnership with the <a href="https://www.bl.uk/subjects/digital-scholarship" target="_blank">British Library</a>. Chronotopic
Cartographies is a research project at Lancaster University, developing digital
methods and tools that enable the mapping of literary works.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This interdisciplinary conference
aimed to explore creative, conceptual and digital methods of mapping the spaces
and times of a range of texts, bringing together fields as varied as the digital
humanities, cartography, geography, literature, narratology and gaming. It
asked what mapping a text can reveal and the challenges of doing so; how we can
meaningfully connect the digital, imaginative and actual spaces of literary
texts; and what methods and models might be useful in these endeavours.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This conference was originally
due to be held in person at the British Library in July, but after the full
scale of the pandemic became apparent earlier in the year, it moved completely online. Instead of
presenting papers, delegates were invited to submit posters of their research
to be displayed on a <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/189983859@N08/" target="_blank">virtual poster wall on Flickr</a>. Participants could then
network via chatrooms on Microsoft Teams, or in <a href="https://gather.town/" target="_blank">Gathertown</a> – a virtual conference space that allows users
to walk up to a person’s avatar and have a separate conversation with them via
video call. The keynote presentations still went ahead as recorded videos which
were shared in advance, while live Q&As with each presenter were held at
designated times throughout the day.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Though it was unfortunate that we
couldn’t hear all the papers in full, the conference team handled the online
move very effectively, creating a well-organised and flexible format for
engaging with each other’s work. On a personal level, this was also the first
time I had produced a poster for a conference, and I was grateful to get
experience in showcasing my work concisely using only visual means. I was
pleased to get some positive feedback on what I’d produced from those who got
in touch with me during the conference.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here is my poster. You can also view it full-size alongside the other fascinating projects featured in the conference <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/189983859@N08/50293624373/" target="_blank">here</a>. It outlines
the design of my location-based game <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2020/04/introducing-canterbury-in-3-words.html" target="_blank">Canterbury in 3 Words</a>, explaining the
research questions I was asking, how the game works, the design challenges I
faced, and the observations I made throughout my fieldwork in making and
testing the game.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Big thanks to the conference
organisers for making this event happen, and the other presenters for sharing
such inspiring and thought-provoking projects.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZGeedBxVID35PKDanF_qL8agx4eeXwaYicebmtNz2JTarwVgGoaxDYWsl7gZkQqCUqqlZ01nnE3vDK11B4BgJcF-XRiWcfShrOynkTeVKq97HsKdf3XgGZgwvNS6_tqOOjL872_mei3n/s1754/Lowe_Location-based+games.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1754" data-original-width="1240" height="860" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0ZGeedBxVID35PKDanF_qL8agx4eeXwaYicebmtNz2JTarwVgGoaxDYWsl7gZkQqCUqqlZ01nnE3vDK11B4BgJcF-XRiWcfShrOynkTeVKq97HsKdf3XgGZgwvNS6_tqOOjL872_mei3n/s16000/Lowe_Location-based+games.png" width="608" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-64802947717304506222020-09-25T14:35:00.003+01:002020-12-23T13:52:51.741+00:00Launching Today: The Gates to Dreamland<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">For the past three months –
alongside my PhD fieldwork, various conference and event contributions, and running
my location-based storytelling game <a href="https://canterburyin3words.com/">Canterbury
in 3 Words</a> – I’ve been working hard on a brand-new creative project.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today sees the launch of my
locative audiowalk game, The Gates to Dreamland.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Set around the boundaries of the
<a href="https://www.dreamland.co.uk/about-dreamland" target="_blank">Dreamland amusement park in Margate</a>, The Gates to Dreamland explores how
interpreting our surroundings figuratively, through imagination and motion, can
connect us to different places, times, stories and circumstances, finding resonance
within our own lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The walk tells the story of Italian
scientist Galileo Galilei’s journey towards publishing his final book: the
obstacles he faced, his eyesight and bodily health failing, and the changes in
perspective that entailed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s a short blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s 1634, and Italian scientist
Galileo Galilei is under house arrest for heresy, after illustrating that the
Earth revolves around the Sun. Bodily health and eyesight failing, he must
transcend his situation to continue his scientific work. Follow Galileo’s
journey as he attempts to write one final book that will change the study of
science forever. A journey that will transform his perspective on the world,
connecting distant places and times through imagination and motion.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: 1.0cm; margin-right: 1.0cm; margin-top: 0cm; margin: 0cm 1cm 8pt; text-align: justify;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Find echoes of Galileo’s words at the
gates to Dreamland. Six lost diary entries that reveal a path forward – a
process of overcoming adversity and encountering your surroundings with a
different lens. The recordings will appear on the map as you approach the
locations of each gate. Your journey begins at Dreamland’s Gate A.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Gates to Dreamland was made
as part of <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/">A Different LENS</a>, a
collaborative story mapping project set in Margate, Kent. It explores how we
overcome challenging events in our lives, through responses by several
Kent-based artists to the writing of visually-impaired authors. Material
produced by the artists for the map engages with methods of making the
inaccessible accessible through creative means. The map can be accessed via
mobile – with users navigating its content by walking at the relevant sites in
Margate – or via PC for those unable to walk there physically.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A Different LENS has been funded
by <a href="https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/">Arts Council England</a>, <a href="https://margatefestival.org/">Margate NOW 2020</a> and <a href="https://www.kent.gov.uk/">Kent County Council</a>, and was created in
association with <a href="https://margatebookie.com/">Margate Bookie</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCnvHtNpnDeZaZDqadiUN1svR97X2usfFTbxtpIC3MAEZrc3QMcMryrg0Aw2rbaAGMYbDf3oSq94kPlSEyNK1GNqO3VIQ1MlSW_-Ib_jU-GwlmLly6_K_r2cdMf2fonotqvVFz_55Wwo0/s1128/Poster.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1128" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCnvHtNpnDeZaZDqadiUN1svR97X2usfFTbxtpIC3MAEZrc3QMcMryrg0Aw2rbaAGMYbDf3oSq94kPlSEyNK1GNqO3VIQ1MlSW_-Ib_jU-GwlmLly6_K_r2cdMf2fonotqvVFz_55Wwo0/w454-h640/Poster.jpg" width="454" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Soon, I’ll be posting here about
how The Gates to Dreamland was made, delving into how my contribution to A Different LENS came
about, the ideas and inspirations behind the design, the process of creating
the audiowalk material itself, and how it connects to my other work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
project is also likely to develop further. Due to time limitations and my other work
commitments, I wasn’t able to incorporate music and soundscaping into the audio
as I had planned. Eventually, I’m aiming to compose short pieces to complement the
spoken words you hear on the walk.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But for now, you can enjoy this
first version of The Gates to Dreamland yourself by visiting the A Different
LENS map <a href="https://cgeomap.eu/adifferentlens/">here</a>, on mobile or
PC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This audiowalk game is primarily designed
to be experienced by walking at the relevant sites in Margate. When you load
the map on mobile, only the first of my six entries is visible on the map, and
you must discover the remainder for yourself by finding the rest of Dreamland’s
gates in person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This way, you can gauge the full
extent of connections between the words you hear and what you can sense in
person at the locations. The trip would also give you the opportunity to explore
Margate further and enjoy the other artists’ contributions to the map for A
Different LENS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When accessing the map via PC, none
of the entries are hidden from view. If you navigate to the relevant locations for
my walk in Google Streetview, you could explore the relationships between what you hear
and what you observe; perhaps even the place where you’re listening from. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But if you’re local, or if there’s
a chance you could be in Margate anytime over the coming months, then I would
strongly encourage you to experience The Gates to Dreamland in situ and explore
the town using the A Different LENS map.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One final thing to mention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As part of A Different LENS,
walking artist and writer <a href="http://www.soniaoverall.net/">Sonia Overall</a>
is coordinating a series of <a href="http://www.soniaoverall.net/tag/drift/">Distance
Drifts</a>: synchronised walks that take place on Twitter each Sunday at 10am.
Using the hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23DistanceDrift&src=typed_query&f=live">#DistanceDrift</a>,
Sonia will be posting prompts for playful walking that connect to the different
entries on the map for A Different LENS.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can participate in
#DistanceDrift wherever you are, and walk in whatever way is possible for you –
indoors, outdoors, on wheels, assisted, etc. If you can, share stories and
images of your responses to the prompts using the hashtag.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This Sunday (27<sup>th</sup>
September), #DistanceDrift will include a response to The Gates to
Dreamland! It would be wonderful to see some of you there on Twitter.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I must end with a huge thanks to <a href="https://elspeth-billie-penfold.com/">Elspeth (Billie) Penfold</a> for her
sterling work in curating A Different LENS and inviting me to participate. It
is not an easy job to coordinate between several individual artists, organisations
and event organisers, arrange regular group meetings, write (and succeed!) with
funding applications, advertise the project, upload and edit creative content,
and contribute to the map creatively herself. I’m particularly grateful for her
patience as I juggled my contribution with my academic work and other commitments,
and her persistent reminders to have fun with the project.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thanks and congratulations also
to the other participating artists for their inspiring contributions and
helpful discussion in earlier stages of the project. And of course, we’re all indebted
to Arts Council England, Margate NOW 2020, Margate Bookie and Kent County
Council for supporting and funding this project.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></p>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-11486263296768724122020-09-09T16:28:00.002+01:002020-09-09T16:28:35.761+01:00Location-Based Games and Place: A YouTube Playlist<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: justify;">On 26</span><sup style="text-align: justify;">th</sup><span style="text-align: justify;"> August, I took
part in the 2020 <a href="https://rgspostgradforum.org/rgs-ibg-postgraduate-forum-twitter-conference-2020" target="_blank">RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum Twitter Conference</a>.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This conference was organised after
many academic events were postponed or cancelled as a result of the coronavirus
pandemic, meaning that postgraduate geographers have had limited opportunities
to share and receive feedback on their work, as well as connecting with other
scholars. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For this conference, participants
were asked to present their research in 5 tweets. This meant not only adhering
to the 280-character limit for each tweet, but also finding creative ways to demonstrate
research findings using images, videos, GIFs, emojis, and more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I’m approaching the final year
of my PhD, when I’ll be writing up what I’ve found from the past couple of
years of research, I thought that the most useful approach to this task would
be to think through how I’ll be structuring my research findings in my thesis.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For <a href="https://twitter.com/jackalowe/status/1298614224864849922" target="_blank">my conference tweets</a>, I decided
to make three short videos (3-4 minutes each), outlining what I’ve learnt about
the significance of location-based games for thinking about how people
experience place in today’s digitally-mediated world. These draw on examples
from my practice-based PhD fieldwork, for which I have been making and testing
location-based games myself.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Each video focuses thematically on a
particular set of research questions, design challenges and observations I have
encountered during my research on location-based games, and connects to a substantive chapter of my thesis:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tGDdVLfdqs&list=PLJWDoRFHPmNnh4hWm2U-Lh30vg78apDGC&index=2&" target="_blank">Interfacing Multiplicity</a>: How can
location-based games account for, and engage with, this diversity of embodied,
discursive and material elements that make places meaningful? And how is this
multiplicity, and the platforms used to interface it, experienced by players?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0y_AANqafE&list=PLJWDoRFHPmNnh4hWm2U-Lh30vg78apDGC&index=2" target="_blank">Bounding Contingency</a>: How can developers
of location-based games negotiate the limitations, specificities and
contingencies that come with designing games set in physical locations? And
how do players themselves negotiate these affordances; how does the playing of
games set in physical locations enable people to engage with place in
particular ways?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L6gInQiVME&list=PLJWDoRFHPmNnh4hWm2U-Lh30vg78apDGC&index=3" target="_blank">Structuring Feeling</a>: How can we design location-based games that make the process of interacting with a place
engaging, meaningful and evocative? What kinds of unique experiences and
subjectivities might emerge from the gameplay?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have now shared these videos as
a playlist on YouTube called ‘<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJWDoRFHPmNnh4hWm2U-Lh30vg78apDGC" target="_blank">Location-Based Games and Place</a>’, which you can
watch below.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Many thanks to the RGS-IBG Postgraduate Forum team for designing such an innovative conference format and making it run so smoothly. It was inspiring to see a great variety of geographical research presented so creatively on Twitter. Thanks also to those who connected with me during the event by discussing our research and asking/answering questions.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLJWDoRFHPmNnh4hWm2U-Lh30vg78apDGC" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br />Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3175009923432018334.post-2066110414368188092020-08-30T15:27:00.000+01:002020-08-30T15:27:52.217+01:00Canterbury Arts Conference 2020: Location-based games as platforms for site-specific storytelling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jd78hytn4CY" width="560"></iframe>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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The video embedded above is the recorded presentation I gave at the <a href="https://www.cartscon.com/canterbury-arts-conference-cartscon/cartsecon-2020-schedule/">Canterbury Arts E-Conference 2020</a>, hosted online on 15th July 2020. This is a conference for practitioners and professionals across all disciplines working with the arts, to share knowledge, network and learn about a wide range of creative projects. While this conference is usually held in person in Canterbury, this year's online version was able to showcase a wonderful diversity of creative work from participants from across the world. The theme of the event was 'Art to the Rescue'.</div>
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My presentation was adapted from the paper I shared at the <a href="https://jackalowe.blogspot.com/2020/06/20-years-of-seeing-with-gps-platforming.html">20 Years of Seeing with GPS</a> symposium in June. It discussed the potential of location-based games as platforms for storytelling about place, drawing on findings from testing my own game <a href="https://canterburyin3words.com/">Canterbury in 3 Words</a>, but this time focusing on its relevance in the creative fields of digital and location-based games, media arts and site-specific art. You can read the words from this presentation below.</div>
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I’d like to thank the organisers at Warnborough College for their work in putting together such a vibrant programme of presentations, and making the online conference format work so smoothly. I'd also like to thank my fellow presenters for sharing such exciting, diverse and worthwhile projects, which illustrated why art of all kinds is so important in our societies - now perhaps more than ever. <o:p></o:p></div>
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--------------------------<o:p></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Digital games are now widely
recognised as an increasingly influential part of cultures across the world,
with a global industry worth more than music and film combined. However, a crucial
part of games’ growing recognition as an artistic medium has been their unique capacities
for telling stories. Across many different genres of games, creators have been finding
innovative ways to use their interactive and playful properties to provoke
particular kinds of narrative experiences for those who play them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Over the past couple of decades, one
genre to have risen to prominence is location-based games – those in which a
player’s physical location is central to the progression of the gameplay. The opening
of GPS to the public in the year 2000 was the catalyst for their emergence. Since
then, a wide range of digital devices and platforms have been developed not
only to help us locate, but to record and attach different kinds of content to
locations, visualise our journeys and share them with others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Today, these functions are often
encapsulated in one device – the smartphone. And it’s on this device that we’ve
seen the development of the most popular location-based games. These include apps
such as Ingress, Pokémon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, which are played
by tens of millions of people worldwide.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While many predicted that the rise
of the internet and digital technologies in our societies would make our
physical locations less relevant, these kinds of locative media arts have shown
how digital technologies can keep us connected to the sites we inhabit, in some
cases arguably intensifying our relationships with our surroundings. To use
geographical terms, these media don’t just impact how we think about space –
the abstract coordinates we use to mark points on the earth’s surface and the
distances between them. Crucially, they can help us encounter sites as places –
those that are meaningful to us as humans, associated with particular cultural
values, feelings, practices and memories. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this way, locative media have
built on a broader range of site-specific arts, in particular those associated
with psychogeography. This toolkit of creative practices – playful, political
and narratological – seeks to encounter our everyday environments as sites with
layers of meaning and emotional significance that both shape, and are shaped by,
our behaviours and the experiences we have in these environments. Today,
psychogeography’s traditions echo in the realm of site-specific arts such as
audiowalks and place writing, and more recently digital media arts that use technology
to reimagine the ways we inhabit places.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My creative practice in making
location-based games aims to achieve something similar. For the past two years,
I’ve been undertaking a research project for my PhD, investigating the
potential of location-based games as platforms for telling the stories that
makes places in Canterbury meaningful to us. My focus on storytelling derives
from its close relationship with navigation. Our experiences of a place are
often shaped by how we encounter and thread together difference pieces of
information about it into stories we tell ourselves and others. I’m studying
how the design and play of location-based games can intervene in – and help to
cultivate – practices of navigation that weave together and bring into focus
the diverse narratives which shape our experiences of Canterbury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This has involved a lot of
experimentation, as well as collaboration with local community groups, and has
resulted in projects as varied as small, unfinished Geocaching trails to
large-scale public projects. For example, in my last big public project in
2018, I was commissioned to make a location-based treasure-hunting game by
Canterbury Cathedral Quarter, a group of independent businesses based in the
historic streets around Canterbury Cathedral. This resulted in The Timekeeper’s
Return, an immersive, story-based treasure hunt played by scanning QR codes, in
which over 200 people took part on the day.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In this presentation, I’m going
to be focusing on Canterbury in 3 Words, a location-based game I’ve been developing
over the past 9 months using the What3Words geolocation service. Aiming to be
both playful and participatory, the game involves players telling their stories
of Canterbury, and trying to decipher the locations other players write about
using the What3Words app.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But first, what is What3Words? What3Words
is a free-to-use geolocation system and app that divides the world into 3-metre
squares and gives each one a unique 3-word address. These 3-word addresses
never change, and are chosen by an algorithm that converts GPS coordinates into
the What3Words grid, attaching words from a library of those approved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The company’s mission is to ‘make
everyone, everything and everywhere easy to find’ – the idea being that it’s
much easier to communicate location by saying three words than reeling off a
list of coordinate digits. This idea came about when a delivery to the
company’s founder ended up in completely the wrong location because a driver
misheard GPS coordinates being relayed over the phone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since being founded in 2013,
What3Words has partnered with a growing number of large corporations who make
use of their system for purposes such as logistics and automotive navigation.
In the UK, the service is often recommended to the public by local emergency
services, as a way to quickly and accurately communicate your location in an
emergency.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can try it out for yourself
right now. Open up a web browser, go to what3words.com, and in the search bar
type in ‘shunts.hammer.honest’. This should take you to a famous Canterbury
landmark. I’ll give you a couple of moments to do that now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I was developing ideas for my
game, I was struck by how evocative the three-word addresses could be, even
though their role on the platform itself is very instrumental. Addresses like
‘snows.alarm.builds’ almost seemed to suggest micro-narratives in themselves.
Furthermore, as the second address on this slide shows, there were occasionally
uncanny moments when the addresses seemed to match or compliment what could be
found physically in the locations. It occurred to me that these combinations of
words could potentially be interesting tools or prompts for storytelling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was also struck by the
company’s aim for What3Words to make things ‘easy to find’. I started thinking
about whether finding locations easier is actually productive for understanding
them as places. I wanted to explore the potential of locative media for
engaging with place beyond the purpose of efficient navigation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The idea of a treasure hunt
appealed to me as a type of game that both relies on locating, yet typically
entails a slower process of navigation that reconfigures forms of attention
with your surroundings. In the process, players adopt a certain critical gaze
through which they notice things about their environment that they weren’t
previously aware of.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was particularly inspired by
the painted rocks game, which is played in local communities worldwide using
Facebook. Players hide rocks they paint themselves in public places, and others
post photos with them to show when they’ve been found and rehidden. What struck
me was how embedded it is in the everyday life of local communities, relying
both on people coming across the rocks during their everyday journeys and when
doing their daily browsing on Facebook. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Drawing these ideas together, I
devised Canterbury in 3 Words. The game involves sharing stories about places in
Canterbury that use all three words of their addresses on What3Words, as well
as a photograph clue. Other players can then attempt to find the locations
using the information provided and the What3Words app.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stories are posted on a
private Facebook group anyone can join, with players commenting on the posts
when they find the correct 3-word address used in the story – without giving it
away.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s an example of a Canterbury
in 3 Words story. The three words highlighted here are the address words, which
have been hidden quite cleverly into the text by the author. If you try typing
in these three words into What3Words, you should be able to see this landmark’s
location in Canterbury. I’ll give you some time to do that now.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In November and December last
year, I tested this game with 15 local people over a period of three weeks.
After monitoring the Facebook group and recording my observations, I then
interviewed 8 of these players. After analysing the results and updating the game’s
design, I launched Canterbury in 3 Words publicly at the end of April. I’m now going
to talk about what I’ve found so far both from the initial test and in the
early gameplay since the launch. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Firstly, I want to talk about
opportunities for transforming people’s relationships with Canterbury through
creativity and discovery.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The two stories I’ve shared here
were two of the earliest stories shared in the test, and I was surprised by the
form they took. The author of the story on the left had decided to write his
story as a poem, while the author on the right was inspired to write her story
as an example of fantasy fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When interviewing the author of
the poem, he highlighted how the requirement of having to include the three
words from the What3Words address in his story stimulated his creativity in a
way that wouldn’t have happened if he was simply asked to ‘write a story about
Canterbury’. The game rules lent him the opportunity to communicate a unique
style of place narrative that might not have been shared otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile, the author of the
fantasy fiction told me she knew she wanted to write a story about these stone
sculptures in the river, but it was the 3-word address that provided the lens
through which her place narrative was told. The word ‘ritual’ in particular led
her to re-imagine the story behind the sculptures in a way that captured what
she understood as the ‘magical’ qualities this place has.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For discovering stories shared in
the group, the treasure-hunt format of the game, combined with the small-scale,
3-metre squares of the What3Words grid, made many players newly aware of places
they didn’t know existed. I experienced this myself with these two sites. I
walk past these spots nearly every day in normal circumstances, but until the
game test I’d never noticed these particular details. I was then inspired to
find out the history behind them, discovering that the ‘Farewell’ plaque, for
example, derives from one side of an old city gate demolished in 1833.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Equally, many players have
remarked on how the attention to detail encouraged by this small-scale
treasure-hunting gameplay changed how they encountered familiar locations. This
participant described how searching for this story location led him to discover
how many different styles of decorative lampposts there are in Canterbury,
which he’d never appreciated before. The game fostered the kind of critical
gaze I mentioned earlier – a form of attunement with players’ surroundings that
could re-enchant superficially mundane sites and invest them with new emotional
significance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This attunement process became ever
more apparent to me in how individual players negotiated the game’s rules creatively
by employing tactics. When sharing stories, in their photographs some players
framed their subjects in ways that made the location less obvious by removing
context from the image. Also, if the landmark was covered by multiple squares
on the What3Words grid, they tended to choose the address with words that were
easiest to fit into the story.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When searching for story
locations, players often scoured the story texts to find words that seemed ‘out
of place’ as clues for those that might be in their What3Words addresses. Furthermore,
navigating to the story location for many participants involved triangulating
between multiple sources of information outside of What3Words and Facebook,
including Google searches, satellite view and Streetview on Google Maps, or even
simply asking for help from others.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All these examples demonstrate
how the gameplay was able to cultivate creative practices of navigation that
used a combination of treasure-hunting and storytelling to transform and
re-enchant people’s relationships with Canterbury.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Digging deeper into how players
used the game’s digital platforms, however, the test revealed how What3Words
and Facebook could be both enabling and limiting in different ways. Because the
stories and records of finding them were all online, many players realised that
the game could often be played without having to physically be in Canterbury.
For those with mobility issues and other commitments, this made the game much
more accessible. However, other participants felt that the game would have more
‘merit’ as a method of engaging with place if players were required to go to
the sites in person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the majority of testers who
did play the game while physically being in Canterbury, the granularity of the
What3Words grid was sometimes found to be a frustrating limitation for both
creating stories and finding story locations. As the 3-metre squares cover such
a small area, any GPS inaccuracies on their mobile devices could lead them to a
neighbouring square instead. This happened with the story location shown here,
where the landmark in question is actually in the square to the right.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The stories themselves are all
shared via Facebook, which players have to already use to join in. Despite this,
many players have expressed their general dislike for the platform in
interview, with some citing privacy concerns. Participants also found some limitations
in how Facebook organised information. Posts on Facebook groups are ordered by
recent engagement rather than most recently posted, which had the effect of
sometimes making newer posts less visible.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, then, we can see that
the digital services used for the game had both enabling and disabling impacts
on how players engaged with places in Canterbury. While some players negotiated
these affordances in ways that provoked creative and re-enchanting methods of
navigating the city, in other instances these platforms presented barriers to
participation that could be frustrating. Particularly with Facebook, it made me
question the ethics of using a platform people often find troubling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, the use of these various
digital platforms has certainly made a big difference in managing the situation
with the Covid-19 pandemic. When the lockdown began just as I was preparing to launch
the public version of the game, I was initially quite worried about how people were
going to participate. Thanks to social distancing and limitations on outdoor
activity, I knew it wouldn’t be possible for many Canterbury people to navigate
to the story locations in person.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having seen how players embraced digital
platforms to play the game remotely during the test, though, I was confident that
I could make the game online-only and still get enough participation. For the
research, this provided an opportunity to study how platforms like Google
Streetview allowed people to engage with place remotely. And for the project
itself, I was able to advertise it as a fun activity during the lockdown that
would keep people connected to the city even at a distance. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some adaptations did need to be
made to the gameplay, though. As well as taking their own photographs of places,
participants can now use licensed images from the internet, including cropped screenshots
from Google Streetview like this participant did here. While there are some
limitations in terms of image quality and framing, it meant that people could still
contribute stories without being near Canterbury city centre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One thing I couldn’t replicate
was the experience of encountering places on daily journeys through the city.
This low-level engagement with the game was important in the test as the game
relies upon people being inspired to write stories about the city and discovering
those already shared, and these situational encounters helped to transform the
ways testers encountered the city in their everyday lives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So to provide a new springboard
for creativity and interest in the online-only version of the game, I’ve been
using two main techniques. The first is weekly themes. At the beginning of each
week, I choose a broad theme which players can decide to respond to in the
stories they write. These prompts provide distinct perspectives on the city
that can sometimes inspire players to share stories about places and
experiences that connect with the theme.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">More recently, I have also
created weekly challenges, where I provide a list of What3Words addresses in
Canterbury and players have to work out the connection between them. Although this
feature is more curated and perhaps less participatory than the normal
gameplay, it’s a fun activity that helps to keep participants engaged with the
game and the city at a basic level.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Looking forward, I’ll be
continuing to iterate on the game’s design over the coming months. One of my
key plans is to create a book out of the stories, which as well as archiving
the project could act as an alternative, playful guidebook to the city. In
order to gather more stories for the book, I’m aiming to host the game on a
wider range of social media platforms and make the whole project more public-facing.
If possible, I also want to work with local community groups to reach a more
diverse set of people. By making a more long-term and wider-reaching
intervention into Canterbury’s social life, I’m hoping that an expanded version
of the project based on making the book can make a difference beyond the
confines of my research outcomes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So while this project is still
very much in development, what I hope to have shown in this snapshot of
Canterbury in 3 Words are some of the opportunities and challenges that
location-based games present for telling stories about places. By reconfiguring
locative media away from simply making things ‘easy to find’, location-based
games can draw attention to small-scale, everyday places in the city and
re-enchant them by telling stories that reveal the unseen emotional residue
these sites can have. My work shows that this doesn’t have to be particularly
high-tech, but you need to think carefully about which platforms you do choose
to use, and the barriers to access and ethical concerns they may present.
Despite these limitations, in my case the versatility of the game’s design and
the platforms used has meant that people could still participate during the
pandemic, at a time when many can’t easily travel to the city centre.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you’re interested in getting
involved in Canterbury in 3 Words yourself, you can find all the information
about the game on the project website, and join the game’s Facebook group using
the link on this slide. Both of these pages will be updated as the project
develops.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /></div></div>Jack Lowehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10107581843477482672noreply@blogger.com0