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Focal Point – new game for the State Library of Victoria

Written by Sayraphim

focalpoint1
Due to regularly scheduled maintenance the State Library will be undergoing Temporal Disturbances during the hours of 12:00 and 5:00.  If any library patrons encounter such disturbances, remain calm and follow the procedure as outlined.

A story telling game for all ages in which players help trapped echoes of the library deliver lost messages between each other across the decades.

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As part of the State Library of Victoria’s Dome Centenary Celebrations, Focal Point is presented as part of the Carnival of Curiosity 

Sunday 7th July from 12 – 5pm

Free entry, bookings not required

Focal Point, State Library of Victoria,

Newsletter hot off the presses!

Written by Sayraphim
Dr Christ Dena checks the sight on her Tech Assault laser rifle

Dr Christ Dena checks the sight on her Tech Assault laser rifle

Straight from our hard drive to yours… sort of…

Anyway, our newsletter just went out! Including info about our PAX Australia panel, our upcoming game League of Extraordinary Nations and more! http://eepurl.com/A2bcH

League of Extraordinary Nations, newsletter, Tech Assault, Universe Creation 101, , , , ,

New Games playtest 1 update

Written by Sayraphim

may13_3aaaOn the 25th of May, we headed to Richmond with a faithful band of playtesters to try out some new games and relive some old favourites.

We started with a warm-up game of Wushu Party Popper, which is a whatever-you-have-to-hand modification of Turtle Wushu. We have also, in the past, played Wushu Dinosaur, which works better if you manage something solid and four-legged, like a stegosaurus rather than a more wobbly, two-legged type like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. These are the types of things you learn when playing games…Read More

playtests,

New game – The League of Extraordinary Nations

Written by Sayraphim

League_smA New Game by Pop Up Playground

Nuked up tin-pot dictators, egomaniacal madman and intergalactic super villains are all just a day’s work for The League of Extraordinary Nations.

Protecting the earth from evil through reasoned debate, careful planning, bureaucracy and consensus since 1976.

Players are ambassadors to the League of Extraordinary Nations and must outwit the Super Villain du jour to foil their nefarious plans for world domination.

The League of Extraordinary Nations is a large-scale conversation game of suspense, cliché and hilarity.

Will you work together to achieve world peace (like the real UN) or will suspicion turn you against each other out in the hour of earth’s greatest need.

 

Games, News,

The theatre of rehearsing for life by Robert Reid

Written by Sayraphim

Rob wrote an article for RealTime about the performitivity of play. You can read it below, and you can find the original article here.

The theatre of rehearsing for lifeRobert Reid, Coney [UK] and new games

Image: Coney, A Small Town Anywhere, BAC Scratch 2012 Image: Coney, A Small Town Anywhere, BAC Scratch 2012
photo Matt Howey Nunn

In 2009 the Battersea Arts Centre in London hosted A Small Town Anywhere, a new work by UK-based company Coney. In it around 30 participants took on the role of villagers in a small country town. Each concealed a terrible secret and likewise had a mortal enemy among the other villagers.

A Small Town Anywhere condensed an entire week of drama into the space of roughly two hours; days and nights passed with subtle shifts in lighting; paper snow fell at one point and gossip, treachery and paranoia threatened to tear the little community apart.

Tom Bowtell and Tassos Stevens, two of the company’s co-directors, describe Coney as mixing “live and digital art forms to create immersive stories and play.” Their work, as well as the work of other groups such as Hide and Seek, Slingshot, Splash and Ripple and The Larks, is part of an emerging practice that, for ease of reference, I’ll call New Games. Their work varies widely encompassing Tiny Games, a series of 99 “easy to play” site-specific games designed for the streets of London by Hide and Seek, and 2.8 Hours Later, a city-wide zombie chase game, by Slingshot. Read More

articles, media,

Interviews with Robert Reid, Sayraphim Lothian and Ben McKenzie

Written by Sayraphim

During This Is A Door in 2012, film maker James Tresise interviewed Robert and Sayraphim about their work, what Pop Up Playground is doing and why it’s important.

Interview with Sayraphim Lothian from James Tresise on Vimeo.

Interview with Robert Reid from James Tresise on Vimeo.

Earlier in the year, James also interviewed Ben McKenzie about games and play

BenGameMechanic from James Tresise on Vimeo.

interview, This Is A Door, videos, ,

Playtesting Office Wars video

Written by Sayraphim

We’ve just uploaded a new video which shows a little about our design process and what happens at a playtest.

Check it out!

Playtesting Office Wars from popupplayers on Vimeo.

playtests, videos,

Newsletter!

Written by Sayraphim

Newsletter! Newsletter has just gone out! We hear those of you who arn’t on the mailing list gasp about missing out, but never fear, you can find it here: http://eepurl.com/y4n0b

(and sign up on the right so you wont ever miss one!)

newsletter

New PlayTests to build New Games

Written by Sayraphim

New PlayTests to build New Games.11

Come play the newest of the new games by Pop Up Playground.

27th July
10 am – 5pm

310-314 Church Street, Richmond

Come play and help us finish these games off

email us at rabbithole@popupplayground.com.au to let us know you’re coming

Also, we’ll gladly receive any gold coin donations to help us pay for the space hire.

7

playtests

Workshop at UNSW

Written by Sayraphim

On the weekend, Pop Up Playground went off on adventure, beginning in the dark and cold and rain of a Melbourne morning and flying bedraggled and bleary eyed to Sydney.

The good people at University of New South Wales invited us to run a workshop with some of their games design students and interested members of the public.

We ran some warm up games, then got into a massive double game of Werewolf where the accused could run from the lynch mob and join the other town. We also ran a brand new Constructive Play work called Table Town. Then we took a break for lunch and then came back to have a quick chat about what it is Pop Up Playground does and why we do it. We finished off with two games of Pudding Lane (its been a while since we’ve run it, which prompts me to think we need to do semi regular training sessions so we remember the rules) and then showed the documentary we made at IGfest and the weekender.

We would have liked to have a bit more time for reflection and a chance to throw around ideas, but time has a way of getting away from us when we’re having fun.

It was great playing with all those guys and to meet some of the playful people in Sydney. It was also totally awesome to welcome Grant and Mary from Serious Business to Sydney, having just gotten off the plane from the UK that morning.

We’ll be back up soon, we’ll keep you guys in Sydney posted.

New Games doco, Serious Business, UNSW, workshop, workshops, , ,