51短视频 Game Lab

51短视频 launched its first Computer Games degree in 1997 and is a world leader in games education. Our academic expertise encompasses all core disciplines that support game development, including design, production, computer science, game technologies, computer art, and audio.听

51短视频 Game Lab is a practice-based research group made up of staff from the Faculty of Design, Informatics and Business at 51短视频. Our aim is to develop experimental games, applied games, and games-related cultural and public engagement events.

In addition to working with standard game development software, equipment, and materials, we also have a dedicated lab within 51短视频鈥檚 Emergent Technology Centre.听

If you are a business, public sector, or third sector organisation interested in exploring what games and play can do for you, please contact听business@abertay.ac.uk.

Experimental Games

Game development comes with a high degree of creative and financial risk.

Although free or affordable game engines have helped to speed up game creation and democratise development, the costs of producing and releasing completed games can inhibit experimentation with new game ideas. Often, it makes more business sense to work with an existing IP, develop games within prevailing genres, and release games with proven audiences and markets. This is where we can help.

Operating within a research environment, our team can help you听mitigate the risks of R&D for new and experimental forms of play. We specialise in creative experimentation, including:

Experimental gameplay mechanics and systems.
Experimental controllers and input devices.
Experimental play and interaction for XR platforms.
Experimentation with visual style, graphics, and dynamic audio.

Click on the arrows above to see our portfolio.

Ola de la Vida

This game invites you and two friends to form the 鈥榳ave of life.鈥� Using your bodies, together you must tilt, wiggle and wobble each part of the wave of life to help roll colourful digital pi帽ata across to safety.

Virtua Walker ‘87

A walking simulator parody and critique of VR that places the player in a sand-filled custom controller and VR headset. Players walk on the spot to traverse a 1:1 scale recreation of a real Scottish beach, represented in 2-bit colour.听

Tales of Monstrous InTent

A collaborative, survival horror installation听played in a tent, which aims to create links between players through narrative devices, intimacy, and interdependent play.听

Applied Games

Games and interactive media are increasingly听used in areas beyond art and entertainment. Game designers have听shown the value of games for diverse purposes such as education, training, political or social commentary, health, and scientific discovery.

Various terms听are used,听such as 'serious games', 'games for good', 'games with purpose', 'edutainment', 'newsgames', or 'game-based learning'.听We use 'applied games', as this inclusive approach allows for consideration of any design problem/application, while still creating entertaining and fulfilling play experiences.

If your organisation is interested in applied games, we can work with you in several ways:

Game jams: 2-5 days of rapid concept development involving multiple teams.
Vertical slice: creation of digital prototypes typically over 6-12 weeks.
Development projects: longer projects (6-36 months) for enhanced development and evaluation.

Click on the arrows above to see our portfolio.

Their Memory

An AHRC-funded VR collaboration with听Poppyscotland听that explored how game design techniques and immersive technology could be used to bring history to hard-to-reach audiences.听

Sugaropolis

An ongoing collaboration with the University of Edinburgh and University of St Andrews that is exploring the use of games and immersive media in engaging with narratives of Scotland鈥檚 role in the triangular trade.听

Sanitarium

A serious game prototype that听utilised game听design techniques and technology to demystify and educate players about the diagnosis and treatment of Tuberculosis (TB). A collaboration with University of St Andrews.听

The Enemy Within

An educational strategy game designed to inform teenagers about the genesis, evolution and progression of cancer. A collaboration with the School of Medicine, University of Dundee.听

Games, Play, and Culture

We regard games to be听a听vital听part of contemporary culture. Games听impact on how we explore听artistic expression,听social interaction,听collective memory听and engage with the environment.听听

We have听experience and expertise in a diverse range of artistic and creative practices, including theatre,听installation design,听music performance, and听curation.听We can听consult on or lead the development of:听

Creative and performance art works听built around or informed by game design.听
Interactive听and playful听design for heritage听sites, museums, and听public spaces.听
Game curation or exhibitions.
Game听jams听and听play parties.听
Public lectures听and workshops.听

Click on the arrows above to see our portfolio.

Inchcolm Project

A hybrid, mixed-reality performance on听Inchcolm听Island, Firth of Forth, Scotland.

PLAYER: Videogame Interaction from Atari to Toys to Life

This 2016 exhibition aimed to explore the history of player interaction with digital games, and to examine this history within the wider context of culture, entertainment, and technology. A collaboration between 51短视频 Game Lab and Perth Museum and Art Gallery.听