The Dataspelsgruppen artist collective shows the development of Yod Burrow and the mix-up of Chaste City. The game is at the production stage, and visitors can take a look at the creative process. Screenshots, sketches, game examples and animations give an understanding of the game’s appearance and design.
Dataspelsgruppen consists of Olof Broström, Carl-Erik Engqvist, John Huntington, Anders Johansson, Eskil Liepa, Ida Rödén and Per-Arne Sträng, all of whom are students at Umeå Academy of Fine Arts at Umeå University. The group uses computer games as an art form, and explores collective artistic processes within the field of game design and development.
Dataspelsgruppen does not distinguish between art and computer games, and works in a different way compared to the traditional games industry. “We believe that the gaming experience is the same as the art experience, hence our interest in basing a game on artistic grounds. We have concentrated on making something that is evocative, memorable and inspiring.”
The group takes one of the gaming world’s most fundamental concepts – the platform game – and attempts to twist and turn conventional notions of what a platform game can be. The work involved in Yod Burrow and the mix-up of Chaste City is a collective process, and includes a variety of aesthetic expressions and interests. “The game will be a mixture, a contradiction and a joining of different artistic approaches.”
