BLOC MAGAZINE WINTER 18-19

T he exhibition explores how contemporary designers, players and critics are push- ing boundaries in playful and radical new ways. Rare glimpses from the creative process of de- veloping games such as The Last of Us to Kentucky Route Zero, in- cluding original prototypes, early character designs and notebooks, are on show alongside cultur- al inspiration from a Magritte painting to a viral cat video. From blockbuster titles pro- duced by leading studios such as Splatoon from Nintendo, to independents such as Journey by thatgamecompany, the exhi- bition explores the craft and skill of creating ground-breaking vid- eogame design. These examples are presented alongside large- scale immersive multimedia and interactive installations fromMi- necraft to League of Legends and investigations of the social and political issues in the field, of- fering an insight into the design process, community and culture of videogames. The exhibition explores videog- ame design since the mid-2000s, when major technological ad- vancements, such as increased access to broadband, social me- dia and newly available means of making, transformed the way games are designed, discussed and played. With at least 2.2 bil- lion players worldwide, the reach and range of gaming is examined within creative online player communities who modify games and create fan art; spectators and competitive performers at large scale esports stadium events and surprising spaces of the niche DIY arcade scene. Videogames: Design/ Play/ Disrupt builds on the V&A’s activity as a space for contemporary debate, which ac- tively collects, displays and pro- grammes digital design. The V&A actively collects digital design and is expanding its col- lection extensively in this area, exploring how videogames as dig- ital objects can be preserved and exhibited. Related activity has included a videogames-themed Friday Late in September 2017 which attracted nearly 8,000 visitors, held in collaboration with a major conference Parallel Worlds: Designing Alternative Realities in Videogames. Other activities have included the V&A Digital Design Weekend which features creators sharing their creative process, workshops for young people about careers in games design, community pro- jects and digital learning pro- grammes. DESIGN / PLAY / DISRUPT A new V&A exhibitionVideo- games: Design/ Play/ Disrupt celebrates the innovative and rapidly changing design field of videogames... 24 // WWW.BLOCHOTELS.COM