[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last year, we started the “To the Streets” initiative where we experimented with ways to bring games to the streets of Toronto. This year, we’re looking to kick the project into high gear with a more focused exploration into the idea of an outdoor arcade.

Once again, we’ll be bringing games to a variety of outdoor venues over the course of the summer. We’re hoping they’ll be your games — unique games that work well in public spaces. We’ll be doing events in June, July and August to beta test them in public, and possibly culminating with an exhibit at Nuit Blanche 2015 that will showcase everything we’ve learned and developed.

We’re looking for short, 250 word descriptions of  original games that respond to the many unique design challenges that outdoor venues and large crowds introduce. It’s one thing to put 4 players in front of a large projection while others walk by, but we’re interested in finding out what it means to meaningfully engage the crowd and the space. Such a game might do any of the following:

 

• Involve lots of players — 5? 10? 20? What can you do with alternative controllers or control schemes?
• Engage a large crowd in some aspect of the gameplay — think of 10, or 100, or the 1 million people out and about during Nuit Blanche. What if the crowd and the players interact in some way?
• Be visually spectacular in multiple dimensions — think about the spectators! Can you have people move around? Maybe the game’s subject matter can activate onlookers?
• Utilize the unique physical context in some way — the open field of a park, the cramped urban sidewalk or the sprawling wall of a large building.
• Do any of the above in a conceptual sense or a totally physical sense — we’re totally interested in seeing how custom controllers and peripherals might fit into this vision, and have a number of hardware hackers who we can connect you with.

 

Also:

• Team-based games are really good at this sort of thing — think of the mass spectacle of team sports.
• Adaptations of existing games or games-in-progress are welcome!

 

If your proposal is accepted, we will work closely with you to ensure that it is complete and awesome in time for these events. If it isn’t accepted, well, you’ve spent a bit of time generating a new game idea.

To submit, send a 250ish word description of your game, along with a little information about yourself, to david@handeyesociety.com by February 4.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]