TWO people in home-made sleeping bags, heads stuffed into makeshift boxes, wriggle around on the floor. By twisting left and right they each move a caterpillar on a screen. A small crowd cheers them on. This is . Welcome to the future of the video game arcade.
âGames arenât just about the things happening on a screen, theyâre about the people playing them,â says , director of the annual , which celebrates video games by setting up public game spaces across the city. âIn ROFLpillar only the players can see the screen. But theyâre creating a performance that you watch.â
Public gaming has come a long way from traditional arcades, with their rows of coin-eating cabinets. Over the last decade or so, with the rise of consoles and online play, gaming has become something we do at home, and arcades have mostly closed down in the West â although they survive in Japan. Now they are getting a reboot. The GameCity festival is just one of many events that aim to introduce the wider public to the variety of experiences that video games can now offer.
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A permanent space is next. We have live venues for music and film where people come together to share experiences, says game designer , who ran the experimental game studio until it closed last year. âWhatâs the equivalent for games?â
Simons has one answer. In March, he will open the doors to the first , a five-storey building in the centre of Nottingham. It will be both a place to play games and a video game counterpart to the British Film Institute, with public lectures and exhibition spaces. The ÂŁ2.5 million project â supported by organisations including Nottingham Trent University and the city council â is a far cry from the old arcades.
For one thing, the building itself will be playable â a platform for its own games. Many components, including the buildingâs lighting, sound system and temperature controls, will be open to manipulation. âWeâre building a PlayStation but itâs a building,â says Simons.
At the end of this month, the first games designed specifically for the space will be announced. âBut this canât just be a thing for bearded men in their 30s to get excited about,â says Simons. As a public space, the NVA is also aimed at families and schools. Simons is excited about commissioning celebrated game designers, but says it is equally important that a 10-year-old can come in and program the buildingâs LEDs to chase each other around the walls.
Screen-free gaming
âThere are going to be a lot of games that people recognise,â Simons says. Classic arcade games like Pac-Man could sit alongside console hits like Tomb Raider. âBut this is as much about making,â he says. âThe best way to learn about games isnât always to play them. Itâs to make them too. And this will be a home for that activity.â
ÂThe best way to learn about games isnât always to play them. Itâs to make them tooÂ
The NVA may be the most high profile UK project to date, but thereâs a big revival in arcades, says London-based game designer George Buckenham.
âThere are at least four gaming bars in London now. That wasnât the case a few years ago.â The same is happening in the US, with venues like the LA Game Space and Barcade in New York.
Then there are events like Wild Rumpus, which Buckenham helps organise. This and other evening events are showcases for experimental games, like ROFLpillar, that use screens or controllers in novel ways. Many do without screens entirely.
â a homage to gun-slinging Westerns â uses the PlayStation Move motion controller as a pistol in a game where the fastest-drawn controller wins. In , players must hold their Move controller as steady as possible while trying to jostle others into moving theirs â all to the accompaniment of J. S. Bachâs Brandenburg Concertos. Without the need for screens these games can be set up and played almost anywhere, even outdoors.
Similarly, â designed by Hide&Seek â uses Microsoftâs Kinect motion sensor in a game where players have to move objects out of the game space without being caught by a roving spotlight. It is played on the floor, again without need for a screen.
The mix of digital and physical elements helps make games more accessible. Unlike in traditional arcades, the idea is to cater for people who are not typical gamers, says Buckenham. âThese weird, experimental interfaces are actually a great leveller. No matter how experienced you are, youâre still going to be doing the same ridiculous thing and youâve got a similar chance of winning.â
ÂThe weird, experimental interfaces are a great leveller. Youâre all doing the same ridiculous thingÂ
As Simons notes, the performance aspect is often key. Only a handful of people can play a game at any one time, but watching can be as fun as playing. âOne of the main things we look at for Wild Rumpus is this sense of spectacle,â says Buckenham. âIt should feel like an event, a thing you can only see there.â
For example, Buckenham has made a game called , specifically designed to be played in public spaces. âIt doesnât really make sense other than that,â he says. He has also made a version of the popular console game that is . In it, you bounce around the gameâs pretty, pixelated world like a giant rabbit.
Being able to enjoy watching the games â even if you donât play yourself â is important, say Simons and Buckenham. âOne of the best things to hear is someone saying, âI didnât think I was into games, but this is amazingâ,â Buckenham says.
This article appeared in print under the headline âReturn of the arcadeâ
