Playfool

[[𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮]] 𝙋𝙇𝘼𝙔! Following up from the game jam, on the 28th, we play tested all the games our London jammers made. From hunting for the perfect colour, to becoming an agent that reports IRL glitches, each game allowed us to experience and see the city from a completely different perspective ⸝⸝꙳ We didn’t get a chance to try out all of the 60+ games submitted but you can see and play them yourself over on itch.io/jam/alternative-reality-jam Thank you Newspeak House for letting us use the space this time, and thank you @rect_repair @gaemzmu @the_nomi for bringing the game communities together! And thank you again to all who joined!! Let’s stay in touch ୧(˃◡˂)୨୧(˃◡˂)୨ 
@sidequest.osp @yoshitsugukosaka @productionsbysymone @_l_x_nd_rt_yl_r @byrrushika @wombokgames @marcus___rnd @carmen.lights @benjamin.ez @wigyramadhan @nomi_lea @lumaoluyan @studiowifegames @j.xuan123 Kin and Xinyue

[[𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮]] 𝙅𝘼𝙈! These past few weeks we’ve had the pleasure of hosting the London edition of [[alternate reality]]: WEEK! led by Shanghai based collective @rect_repair . On the 21st, over a dozen participants joined us for a game jam all about exploring the potential of alternative reality games. After an incredibly inspiring talk by Matt Adams from @blasttheory , everyone got exploring what it means to intervene in IRL worlds ☼꒰๑ϋ๑꒱♬ In total, the game jam gathered over 60 game entires from all over the world! We’re so happy to be involved in the project, and joined by our fellow international cohosts @jyolyyyu @v10101a @yueminanada @ferran.games @farfama.har @janarom @kaho.art.games Congratulations for London jammers👏 It was a first for us to hosting a game jam, but we enjoyed it a lot! Looking forward to doing it all again next year! @sidequest.osp @yoshitsugukosaka @productionsbysymone @_l_x_nd_rt_yl_r @byrrushika @wombokgames @marcus___rnd @carmen.lights @benjamin.ez @wigyramadhan @nomi_lea @lumaoluyan @studiowifegames Kin and Xinyue And huge thanks to @morning.fyi for supporting the project and letting us use their great studio ✧⁺⸜(●′▾‵●)⸝⁺✧

𝘾𝘼𝙇𝙇𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙁𝙊𝙍 𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙄𝘾𝙄𝙋𝘼𝙉𝙏𝙎! [[alternative reality]] WEEK! is a one day game jam (21st March) followed by playtest session (28th March) designing playful experiences that combine game mechanics with the real world. No-tech, low-tech, or high-tech all welcome. Initiated by shanghai-based collective @rect_repair , this game jam taking place simultaneously in Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai, The Hague, London, New York, and Mexico City. The London edition will be hosted by us ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ .°˖✧ “Wait, do you mean Augmented Reality (AR)? “ Nope! “Do you mean Alternate Reality Game (ARG)?” ..Well, kind of! Alternative, as in alternative games, alternative tech, alternative media, alternative infrastructure: another, perhaps more radical way of engaging with what’s already here. We’re inspired by practices including Alternate Reality Games, Pervasive Games, Urban Games, LARP, Immersive Theater, etc., but we’re not precious about genre. You are in an [[alternative reality]] game. You have been playing it your whole life. It has weather, people, rankings, transit systems of varying reliability… and no clear win condition. [[alternative reality]]: WEEK! takes this situation seriously, we want to welcome game creators and players across time-zones to make and play [[alternative reality]] games that spill out of the screen and into the IRL world. 🗓️ 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣? [[alternative reality]]: JAM! (gamejam) - 21st of March (Sat) 9:30-20:00 [[alternative reality]]: PLAY! (playtesting) - 28th of March (Sat) 13:00-18:00 *each city has different schedules. This is for London edition. 👀 𝙒𝙝𝙤? The in person gamejam event in the London branch will be open to up to 12 game makers and creatives interested in exploring alternative reality games. Whether or not you have experience in making games, we welcome anyone who is open-minded and committed to the week to sign up 🌱 🔗 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙚? The link is in our bio! The signup form is open until the 14th March. ~ This project is funded by @morning.fyi

Installation view at Miraikan, Tokyo. Artists: @tomo_kihara and Playfool (Daniel Coppen and Saki Maruyama) Commission: @miraikan Fabrication: @fujiart_design_official Developers: @kyeshimizu , Daiki Hashimoto, @cyan_etc Exhibition graphics: @u380 Sound design: @plot.generica Photo: @aya.kawachi

A new Deviation Game exhibition opened at @miraikan in Tokyo on Christmas Day last year! 🌱 For this exhibition, a special “Local Challenge Mode” featuring prompts related to topics found in Miraikan have been added. While AI may “know” a lot of data about Miraikan, it cannot physically experience the space like a human — it cannot sense what you see, touch, or feel around you. This embodied, situated experience might just be the key to surpassing the AI’s predictions. Can your individual human experience transcend AI’s vast knowledge and spark new forms of expression? Artists: Tomo Kihara @tomo_kihara and Playfool (Daniel Coppen & Saki Maruyama) Commission: @miraikan Fabrication: @fujiart_design_official Developers: @kyeshimizu , Daiki Hashimoto, @cyan_etc Exhibition graphics: @u380 Sound design: @plot.generica Exhibition text translation: @liaololiao Photo: @aya.kawachi (In the image #3, a person is playing the local challenge mode, drawing Super-Kamiokande, a neutrino observatory in Japan.)

Here are some behind-the-scenes moments from our set up @scigallerymty . From the cleansing ritual to late-night prepping, we had so much fun working together! We felt truly blessed to be supported by such a loving team and community 🌱🫶 Thank you @scigallerymty @miguel_gonzalez_virgen @ladydelirium @katzillachigurh for having us and thank you everyone who made that 10 days so special!

The exhibition CONSCIOUSNESS at @scigallerymty will be on until June 2026. If you’re around the area, please say hello to our tortoise 🐢💫 With the gallery’s beautiful, locally sourced marble floor alongside local red gravel, and rocks made by caring fabricators, the tortoise has found a very nice habitat for the next few months! 🪨 One thing we noticed was how people spoke about the tortoise differently. For example, in the UK, people often referred to them as “he” or “they”, while in Mexico everyone called them “she”. Is this related to the significance of the mother figure in Mexico? * This project was initially supported by @w_shed @myworldcreates @universityofbristol

We are delighted to announce that we’ll be presenting our project ‘a (re)imitation of life’ as part of @scigallerymty latest exhibition, CONSCIOUSNESS. A beautiful show is coming together thanks to the ambitious and dedicated team at Science Gallery Monterrey. If you’re in the area, please come and visit the show! ☀︎ What is consciousness? How does it work, where does it come from, and where exactly does it reside in our bodies? Under the guidance of a group of international artists and researchers, we invite you to explore one of the greatest mysteries of today: the nature of consciousness. Science Gallery Monterrey invites you to the opening of CONSCIOUSNESS / CONSCIENCIA, a major international exhibition where art and science collide. 🗓️ Thursday, October 23, 7:30 p.m. 📍 Expedition FEMSA, Monterrey Campus, Tecnológico de Monterrey Join us for a new expedition into the future. ✨ Consciousness is not (only) what you think.

Back in April, How (not) to get hit by a self-driving car was invited to be part of ALT: GAMES, a new games festival in Sydney hosted by the @powerhousemuseum It was fascinating to experience Australia—where Dan often visited family in his childhood—through the country's complex relationship with "gaming", which is being rapidly redefined by a flourishing indie game scene. Huge thanks to @c.appleby_ and the team for inviting us to the event and taking such great care of us!

We are excited to announce that Deviation Game will be a part of Science Gallery Melbourne’s @scigallerymel latest exhibition DISTRACTION. If you’re around Melbourne, please visit the gallery @unimelb 26.07.25 – 09.05.26 🫧🐨 Thank you @berntfigs and the team for having us 🧡 ☀︎ DISTRACTION plugs into the streaming torrent of content and the places our brains go when we want to focus on anything but the thing. You know…that thing you’re supposed to be doing right now?
 Your distraction of choice could be scrolling, daydreaming or escaping into a digital universe. When we are bouncing around the whirring, flashing pinball machine of existence – is our wayward attention a way of coping with the chaos?
 Visit Science Gallery Melbourne to experience the playful ways we devote our time in an increasingly nonsensical world . With a hundred tabs open and endless avenues to explore, how do we harness the cacophony of content and find meaning within it?

Back in February this year, we were invited to a week-long camp titled "Can AI Become Life?", directed by Ikegami Lab at the University of Tokyo—the leading Artificial Life research group and creators of the humanoid robot Alter. In response to the theme, we developed a performative game called Court of Life. Thanks to a diverse and enthusiastic group of participants, the session once again demonstrated how simple games can provoke different perspectives and surface a wide range of thoughts and opinions. Thank you @ccb_tokyo @alter_machine_ for having us! And huge love to our sound designer @plot.generica and our courtroom sketcher @muneslice for joining in on the mischief 😛💘