PLAY16 – Creative Gaming Festival

HIGHLIGHTS

PLAY Show with Uke Bosse, Escape the Room, Retrobörse, Creative Gaming Award Show, PLAY Conference, Performances, Family Day, Workshops, “The Pillars of the Earth”: E xclusive Preview, Spiele in der Diele with Sofia Kats

“Mir ist übel, muss das so sein?” – The History of Virtual Reality from Shutter glasses to Virtual Boy

Gunnar Lott and Christian Schmidt, known from their podcast Stay Forever, go on a vivid and entertaining expedition to explore the history of virtual reality. The show will be in German.

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Thursday, 03.11.2016 20:00 Uhr

ABZÛ

by Giant Squid From the art director of Journey and Flower, ABZÛ is a beautiful underwater adventure that evokes the dream of diving. Players can immerse in a vibrant ocean world […]

ADR1FT

by THREE ONE ZERO ADR1FT is an immersive First Person Experience that tells the story of an astronaut in peril. Floating silently amongst the wreckage of a destroyed space station […]

Alexander Doggus

by Sam Klitsner Alexander Doggus is a wheelchair-bound old-timer who used to be the world’s greatest show dog. Jaded by his exuberant past, Alexander now cares only about his favorite tennis […]

Beyond Eyes

by Tiger & Squid Players help the blind protagonist to find a cat whom she befriended, but that disappeared one day. With the means of noises, smells and touching the environment, […]

Bongo Controllers

The workshop “Bongo Controller” lets particpants modify almost everything into a controller. The computer is a handy device – but its controlling has become predictable. With ...

Chaos Projectile

by Anna Dorokhova, Maik Helfrich Chaos Projectile is an open source game with roleplaying elements. The development of Chaos Projectile started early 2014 and has not ended yet. The levels, that ...

Chariot Simulator

As part of the “Sensoria” project at the HAW Hamburg this prototype for a chariot simulator in VR was developed. A vibrating chariot and VR devices let players explore snowy ...

Closer

by Marie Claire LeBlanc Flanagan Closer is a cooperative game for two people: to start you must stand close together, and to succeed you must work together. Closer uses a […]

Closure: Coffee and Games

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Sunday, 06.11.2016 16:00 Uhr, 18:00 Uhr

Codex Bash

by Alistair Aitcheson One physical space, four big buttons and codes to be cracked! Players have to decipher the on-screen clues and run around to bash the buttons in the […]

Colorena

by Miriam Komorek, Adam Michniewicz, Sven Dettmers, Bent Nürnberg Colorena is a team-sidescroller in which the players have to interact with each other to complete the game. The specially for the ...

ComputerSpielSchule Hamburg

The ComputerSpielSchule Hamburg (Hamburg ComputerGameSchool) was established in 2015 and is a regular and open media educational offer on locations in the libraries of Hamburg that change every ...

ComputerSpielSchule Hamburg

During the regular school days the skill tree, a tree that shows different abilites and situations, offers the structure for the occupation with games. The teenagers are encouraged to write […]

Conference Impulse (Day 1): Players and Characters – The Role of Bodies in Gaming (English)

How are game figures controlled? This clearly with a controller, mouse or keyboard; however, no figure moves without us, the players. In a very real sense we enter into the […]

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Thursday, 03.11.2016 11:00-12:30 Uhr

Conference Impulse (Day 2): Avatar or Human? Motion Capturing in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (English)

Avatar or human? Computer game figures have gone through a tremendous development process over the past decades. The trusted pixel look has been superseded by photorealism. With increasing ...

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Friday, 04.11.2016 11:00-12:30 Uhr

Conference Workshop I: Game Accessibility

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Thursday, 03.11.2016 13:00-14:30 Uhr

Conference Workshop II: Gaming Interfaces Beyond WASD (English)

Why do we always play sitting down? What game control possibilities exist beyond game pads and WASD? With “Urban Invention” Amelie Künzler and Sandro Engel have adopted an unusual approach […]

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Thursday, 03.11.2016 13:00-14:30 Uhr

Conference Workshop III: Prospects and Challenges of Virtual and Augmented Reality (English)

With the release of devices like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, the previously quite exclusive worlds of virtual and augmented reality became available to the wide public. Game developers ...

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Thursday, 03.11.2016 15:30-17:00 Uhr

Conference Workshop IV: A Media Educational View on Games and Theater

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Thursday, 03.11.2016 15:30-17:00 Uhr

Conference Workshop V: The Role of Gender and Games in Media Education

“Zocken mit Sinn” (Gaming with mind) is a series of workshops for children and teenager, founded by the “infocafe” in order to develop a place for gamer and pedagogs to ...

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Friday, 04.11.2016 13:00-14:30 Uhr

Conference Workshop VI: Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Games (English)

The end of the 19th Century: Players embark on journeys of discovery and encounter native peoples and previously unknown tribes. With the September release of expedition simulation, Curious ...

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Friday, 04.11.2016 13:00-14:30 Uhr

Conference Workshop VII: Bodies in Games in the Course of Time (English)

How has the depiction of the body changed over the course of the history of video games? In this workshop Andreas Rauscher looks into this question and positions body depiction […]

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Friday, 04.11.2016 15:30-17:00 Uhr

Conference Workshop VIII: Diseases in Games

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Friday, 04.11.2016 15:30-17:00 Uhr

Creating games things

Are your headphones always tangled? Do you need a pocket for your smartphone? Fear no longer! This workshop shows you how to create such things that are useful and creative […]

Creative Gaming Award Show

The great ending of this year’s Creative Gaming Awards will be the celebration and awarding ceremony on Saturday. The jury has had time to play all nominated games and will […]

Location: Hamburg Rathaus

Saturday, 05.11.2016 20:30 Uhr

Daedalic’s Game Adaption of Ken Follett’s Novel “The Pillars of the Earth” – Exclusive Preview (English)

The Creative Leaders of the adaption of the novel “The Pillars of the Earth”, Matthias Kempke and Kevin Mentz, show exclusive impressions of the new game, which will be released […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Friday, 04.11.2016 17:00 Uhr

Dark Room Sex Game

by Copenhagen Game Collective Dark Room Sex Game is a multiplayer audio game. Players see a black screen and the gameplay is based on sound and feeling. By finding a rythm […]

Das Narrenschiff – Verhandlung einer Utopie

Assuming theater is game, it is defined by rules and played by actors and spectators. Assuming theater is game, the rehearsal work means development of latitude and rules that evolve […]

Location: Gängeviertel

Thursday, 03.11.2016 16:00-20:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 16:00-20:00 Uhr
Saturday, 05.11.2016 14:00-18:00 Uhr
Sunday, 06.11.2016 14:00-18:00 Uhr

Die beste aller Welten

Looking for a better world we do not find better people, but those in whose refelection we feel best. And if we shouldn’t find them we will build them. What […]

Location: Haus 73

Thursday, 03.11.2016 20:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 20:00 Uhr

Digital Handcraft or Digital Art? Or: The Demoscene and its Sonnet.

Since the 1980s, the demoscene is a vivid group of code-enthusiastic programmers, musicians and graphic designers that create digital art together: so called demos. Regarding their develpment, ...

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Saturday, 05.11.2016 17:00 Uhr

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture

by The Chinese Room Deep within the Shropshire countryside, the village of Yaughton stands empty. Toys lie forgotten in the playground, the wind blows quarantine leaflets around the silent ...

Excursion on Friday

How do indie developers work and what does a TV channel look like that streams in the internet? On Friday, the excursion visits Rocketbeans TV and the indie developers from Osmotic, […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Friday, 04.11.2016 13:30-17:00 Uhr

Excursion on Thursday

The excursion on Thursday visits Daedalic, a game developer from Hamburg. With Deponia and many other games from different genres they are successful worldwide. Afterwards, we will visit the ...

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Thursday, 03.11.2016 13:30-17:00 Uhr

FAR: Lone Sails

by Mr Whale’s Games Service and Mixtvision Under cloud filled skies, the player travels across the seemingly endless dried-up sea, littered with the remains of a once vibrant seafaring ...

Fork Lift Man

by Toco Games Forklift Man is a 3D Puzzle Platformer where players play as one of the most unusual heroes in gaming history. As Forklift Man players use the ability to stretch arms and legs to ...

FRU

by Through Games FRU is a puzzle platformer that features an innovative use of Kinect, in which the player’s silhouette becomes a “portal” between two worlds. Solving puzzles by ...

Fun without boundaries (?)

What has inclusion to do with PLAY16? Can all people move through virtual worlds without boundaries? The JAM! Jugendbeirat asks questions like these during PLAY16 and invites everyone to think ...

Further Education: Computergame analysis for teacher – from selection to approach

“Computer games in class?”, “Sure! But how?” If you use games in class the big question is: How can that work? This workshop will provide answers and offer practical ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Thursday, 03.11.2016 13:00-15:00 Uhr

Further Education: Creative Gaming – Game design and media literacy in school

How can digital media support learning processes in school? Which digital media are appropriate for a playful and media pedagogical use in class? How can one support a reflected and […]

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Friday, 04.11.2016 16:00-18:00 Uhr

Further Education: TuSCH – Theater and School

This TuSCH (which stands for Theater and School) further education for teachers is a discussion with Friedrich Kirschner, artistic supervisor of the theatrical performance Die beste aller Welten. ...

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Saturday, 05.11.2016 10:00-12:00 Uhr

Future Unfolding

by Spaces of Play Future Unfolding is an action adventure where players can explore a forest filled with life, both beautiful and dangerous. The world is procedurally generated – each player will ...

Gamedesign

At the Gamedesign Station you can discover and try the bascis of gamedesign and game development. How is a game constructed? Which working prozesses are behind it? Bring your own […]

Generation Game. Let’s Talk About Games.

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Saturday, 05.11.2016 15:00-18:00 Uhr

Go! Button Power Team!

by Alistair Aitcheson Go! Button Power Team! lies halfway between digital game and real-world performance. The player must press colored buttons in the sequence shown on-screen. However, the ...

Human: Fall Flat

by No Brakes Games Human: Fall Flat is a quirky, open-ended physics-based puzzle and exploration game set in floating dreamscapes. The player’s goal is to escape these surreal dreams by ...

Inside PLAY Lab (English)

The PLAY Lab invites game designers from different countries and various backgrounds to develop a game in only a few days. We bring them up on stage and talk about their professional […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Thursday, 03.11.2016 17:00 Uhr

JAM! at Play16

What about the accessibility of digital games and can people with handicaps actually move without futher ado at the Play Festival enjoying the program? The youth advisory council will be […]

Kuti

by HAW Hamburg The Kutis arcades are a handmade consoles by students of the HAW Hamburg. You can play their self-made games with 1-6 players.

La discipline du rectangle

by One Life Remains La discipline du rectangle is a game about constraints for the player. The player is seen by a camera and his image is fed back to the screen, […]

Lost Ember

by Mooneye Studios Lost Ember shows players a world that has been completely conquered by nature. Only ruins show the remains of humanity’s culture. A wolf that possesses the power to ...

Lumino City

by State of Play Games The single player game „Lumino City“ is the sequel to the puzzle-game „Lume“ of 2001. The player accompanies the character Lumi on her search for her […]

Magic Tale

by Neele Luckmann, Olivia Mickler Magic Tale was developed as a training for the creation of a scene for a computer game. It is inspired by the atmosphere of “Ori and […]

Magnetize Me

by Copenhagen Game Collective Magnetize me is a two player dancing game where one player is mounted with 4-5 Move Controllers and the other player with 2 magnets. One “blue” […]

Manege

by Dominik Krebs MANEGE gathers players around a table. The smartphone becomes the controller and connects virtual interaction with communication. It is inspired by classical arcade games and ...

Metrico+

by Digital Dreams Metrico+ is a new world. A living world of infographics, driven by the player’s input. All the bar charts, line diagrams and pie charts react to what the player […]

Mimics

by Navel Mimics is a multiplayer party team game. The objective is to imitate various faces, masks and forms to achieve maximum amusement. Selfie photographs are made of one player. Then […]

Move

by Leif Rumbke In Leif Rumbke‘s diploma project „Move“, an arcade game from 2006, what counts are coordination, nerves of steel and VERY good reflexes. Beneath the graphically simple 2D-surface ...

Of Bugs and Bubbles

by Kim Reichert This installation is an excerpt of a game developed for children on the autism spectrum. In its original version it tells the story of a small robot asking […]

ooooo

by polysoul ooooo is a virtual reality ascension through interdimensional spaces. Meant to be a dream-like journey, ooooo is designed to be experienced in a lying position. The game will show ...

Opening of the festival

PLAY16 will be officially opened on Wednesday evening. Afterwards, there will be a vernissage in the exhibition with guided tours and the curators, which will allow for first glimpses at […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Wednesday, 02.11.2016 19:00 Uhr

Orwell

by Osmotic Studios George Orwell’s novel „1984“ written in 1949 describes life under a totalitarian regime. Everything and everyone is watched. There is nothing the eyes of „Big Brother“ ...

Pacapong

by kingPenguin Retro in its purest of form, the game is simultaneously a freaky homage to four videogame classics including music in MIDI format. The two player game „Pacapong“ merges the […]

PLAY Lab

The PLAY Lab invites game designer from different areas to develop a game in only a few days. While doing so, PLAY visitors can watch them and experience how a […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Thursday, 03.11.2016 12:00-23:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 12:00-23:00 Uhr
Saturday, 05.11.2016 10:00-19:00 Uhr
Sunday, 06.11.2016 12:00-18:00 Uhr

PLAY Show: Bodies in Games

Pixel Look or Photorealism: What are the current technical trends that define how game figures are configured? How are bodies depicted in games and what roles do diversity, sexuality and […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Friday, 04.11.2016 18:00-19:00 Uhr

PLAY Show: The Players’ Bodies

How do we control game figures? Why do we almost always play games sitting down and what is the ultimate virtual reality (VR) experience? What about game accessibility? We will […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Thursday, 03.11.2016 18:00-19:00 Uhr

PLAY Show: Theater and Games

The PLAY Show “Theater und Games” will be in German.

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Saturday, 05.11.2016 18:00-19:00 Uhr

PLAY Together

What’s the best way to end an eventful day at PLAY16? By playing together at the Festival HQ! On Thursday and Friday evening the Festival HQ in the Kunsthaus will […]

Location: Kunsthaus Hamburg // Festival HQ

Thursday, 03.11.2016 21:30-23:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 20:00-23:00 Uhr

Projekt Arrhythmia

by Lime Studios Project Arrhythmia is a rhythmic adventure in which all things beautiful are deadly. Players need to avoid the musically timed pulse of blocks and bars, and in […]

Quadrapus Sumo

by Shane Cellis Quadrapus Sumo allows players to turn finger fights into reality. They control a quadrapus, a four-legged robot made out of blocks. The quadrapus’ legs mimic the ...

Retrobörse for Classical Video Games

As the word “Retrobörse” doesn’t exist in English we have to describe it. The Retrobörse” is a kind of a flea market for retro games. Discover your favorite childhood ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Saturday, 05.11.2016 12:00-17:00 Uhr

Rogue Legacy

by Cellar Door Games Rogue Legacy is a genealogical rogue-“LITE” where anyone can be a hero. Each time a players dies, the child will continue, making the game equally difficult and ...

Signalis

by Alexander Zwerger, Barbara Wittmann In Signalis, the player controls Elster, an android-girl, who is lost on a dangerous planet that is hostile to life. She has to explore the seemingly […]

Spiele in der Diele – Games at Hamburg’s townhall

The Bürgerschaft Hamburg, the Nemetschek Stiftung, the ComputerSpielSchule Hamburg and the PLAY – Creative Gaming Festival invite people from Hamburg to visit Hamburg’s townhall. ...

Location: Hamburg Rathaus

Saturday, 05.11.2016 15:00-19:00 Uhr

The Temple of No

by Crows Crows Crows The Temple of No is an interactive text adventure made with Twine. A short game full of references and hidden details. Lovely graphics and great soundeffects complement […]

The Unstoppables

by Gentle Troll Games The Unstoppables is a game about diversity. The friends Mai, Jan, Achim and Melissa have to find the lost dog Tofu. Although they are very different, […]

Tilt Brush

by Google Inc. Tilt Brush lets you paint in 3D space with virtual reality. Unleash your creativity with three-dimensional brush strokes, stars, light, and even fire. Your room is your […]

TWO / ZERO / ONE – A Connected Escape Game

by Gamestorm Berlin Welcome and thank you for your interest in our latest experimental facility! We always aim to reach our goals by all means necessary and push the boundaries […]

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Thursday, 03.11.2016 11:00-19:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 11:00-19:00 Uhr
Saturday, 05.11.2016 11:00-19:00 Uhr

Unseen Diplomacy

by Triangular Pixels Unseen Diplomacy casts the player as an elite member of The British Espionage Tactical Initiative, defeating the plans of evil-doers around the world. With a real-life ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Thursday, 03.11.2016 11:00-19:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 11:00-19:00 Uhr
Saturday, 05.11.2016 11:00-19:00 Uhr

VRUniCORNER

by VRUnicorns #SelfieTennis is a simple game of tennis, where you play with or against yourself. Because playing with yourself is way easier than playing with someone else. On top […]

Whateverland

by VR•Nerds Replacing your legs with your hands? Absolutely! „Whateverland“ is a planet in the virtual reality of „Lucid Trips“. Using VR-glasses and a hand-motion-controller you immerse yourself ...

Workshop Level 1: Be my Eyes – Blind Let’s Play

Everybody knows Let’s Plays. Gamer play games, film themselves and comment the scenes live. These videos are uploaded to Youtube and other similar platforms and watched by thousands of ...

Location: Bigpoint

Thursday, 03.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: Bongo Controllers

The workshop “Bongo Controller” lets particpants modify almost everything into a controller. The computer is a handy device – but its controlling has become predictable. With ...

Location: Bigpoint

Thursday, 03.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: Building

Here you can recreate gaming worlds and game objects and stage them with cardboard, wood and colors in the best possible way. The tomahawk on a scale of 1:1 is […]

Location: Bigpoint

Thursday, 03.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: Crash Course Let’s Play

This workshop introduces the participants to Let’s Play – what are these videos that seem to be increasingly popular among young people and why are they so fascinating? The workshop ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Thursday, 03.11.2016 13:00-15:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: Design Your Own Character Dress

Become the designer of your own character dress. If you ever wanted to become the hero yourself you will have the chance to do so and create your own costume […]

Location: Bigpoint

Friday, 04.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: Game Video

How about imitating the visual appearences of computer games in a short film? In this workshops you can shoot a short film with cameras and special effects, which use the […]

Location: Bigpoint

Thursday, 03.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: RPGs in one Day

Create your own RPG (role-playing game) with the RPG Maker. Write a story, design your hero with evolving abilities, build levels and maps, design quests and enemies.

Location: Bigpoint

Thursday, 03.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 1: VR Do It Yourself

Virtual Reality is everywhere, thanks to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Playstation VR. However, those devices are also quiete expensive. VR is easier with self-made boxes like these, in which […]

Location: Bigpoint

Thursday, 03.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr
Friday, 04.11.2016 09:00-16:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: Chaos Cardbord Character Club (engl.)

Character Design, regardless the medium, begins with analog methods. We take cardboard as our sketch-pad and ask: What is good character design? We cut, glue, play, build joints and design […]

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Saturday, 05.11.2016 13:00-15:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: Drama for Games

How does a story for a game occur? The participants learn how to approach developing a good story. First, we answer what one requires to write a story. Then we […]

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Friday, 04.11.2016 13:00-15:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: Game Design

In this workshop the participants get to know about different approaches and basic concepts in game design. Providing a tangible example, they face character design as well as the game […]

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Thursday, 03.11.2016 16:00-18:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: How To Unity-Tools (engl.)

This workshop focuses on the tools of Unity. From frame debugging to performance tests, everything related to Unity will be explained, shown and tried out here. Lastly, this workshops shows […]

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Saturday, 05.11.2016 10:00-12:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: Locomotion in VR (Movement in VR)

Movement in virtual reality is one of the many problems regarding this new medium. Thus, many creative approaches are needed. This workshop investigates status quo of locomotion in VR and […]

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Thursday, 03.11.2016 16:00-18:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: Protagonists of Virtual Wars – Commander! Soldier! Civilian?

Video games are often accused of trivializing war. The glorified battle against “forces of evil” is common for many shooters as is the reduction to strategic-tactical considerations ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Friday, 04.11.2016 16:00-18:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 2: Urban Games: From computer to the streets

The workshop “Urban Games: From computer to the streets” focuses on games and bodies – according to this year’s motto “Let’s get physical”. The ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Friday, 04.11.2016 13:00-15:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 3: Interactive Storytelling (engl.)

During this workshop the participants should gain experiences as authors and create their own interactive story. Therefor we will have a look at different examples from games – which ...

Location: Zentralbibliothek

Saturday, 05.11.2016 13:00-18:00 Uhr

Workshop Level 3: “How to pitch your game” (engl.)

The workshops offers insights in the so called pitching, the short presentation of ideas for potential investors. After a short introduction, teams will prepare a pitching deck, which will be ...

Location: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg

Saturday, 05.11.2016 16:00-18:00 Uhr