Dungeon King Meets Cletus Clay: NZ Video Games Exhibition

Dungeon King Meets Cletus Clay - Dowse Announces Major Exhibition Of New Zealand Video Gaming

Hi there

Every day across the world, millions of people enter virtual worlds through video games. The Dowse Art Museum is excited to celebrate what is now the fastest-growing form of mass art with a major exhibition of New Zealand video gaming - Arcade: Homegrown Video Games opens on 10 November and runs throughout the summer months until 3 March 2013. Entry is free.

Arcade offers an insight into the amazing world of the video games made right here in New Zealand. It celebrates the extraordinary skills and creativity of the New Zealand gaming industry, focusing on the striking visual effects designed by our most talented and influential gaming artists.

There'll be stunning digital art as well as still images, concept art, video footage and the actual games that visitors can play.

The exhibition explores the graphics, concept art and storytelling of some of the best games developed in New Zealand, showcasing home-grown gaming companies' technical and creative skills. Arcade will also include never-before-published sketches, models, and works-in-progress with commentaries by the artists for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the development and innovation of the 'art behind the games'.

Images with image captions are attached. Please let me know if you require any specific information or images or would like to interview anyone involved in the exhibition.

Some of the games and designers showcased in the exhibition are listed below, (of interest, Maru Nihoniho of Sparx and Sarah Quick of Cletus Clay are two of the few women currently working in the industry):

Flutter teaches players about the Amazon Rainforest through the magic of virtual butterflies. The team behind the game are Dunedin based company Runaway led by director Tim Nixon. Founded in 2009, Runaway is a division of one of the world’s largest documentary film making companies, NHNZ, and is focussed on creating and self-publishing meaningful games for social networks, inspired by the natural world. www.runawayplay.com/

Click for big version.

Click for big version.

Cletus Clay is a side-scrolling online action game with fast-paced, humorous and hand–to-hand fighting. It tells the story of Cletus, a mountain man who gets all riled up when a fleet of alien saucers invade his property. Anthony Flack and Sarah Quick from Tuna Snax are the lead designer/artist and artist behind Cletus Clay. www.cletusclay.com/

Click for big version.

Click for big version.

Sparx (in development), a New Zealand first, is a computer-administered self-help programme for adolescents suffering from depression. Maru Nihoniho started Auckland based Metia Interactive four years ago. The Sparx game is their first serious game project designed and developed for the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences of the University of Auckland and funded by the Ministry of Health New Zealand. www.metia.co.nz/

Click for big version.

Dungeon King is a hack-and-slash action-role playing game created by BulletProof Arcade Ltd. BulletProof Arcade was established in 2009 by Rod Smith and Andy Wiltshire with Aaron Neugebauer and is located on Waiheke Island, in Auckland. http://bulletproofarcade.com/

Click for big version.

Click for big version.

SmallWorlds is a virtual 3D world that runs inside a web browser without the need to download or install any other software. SmallWorlds was created by Outsmart a company based in Auckland run by Mitch Olsen and Darren Green. The game was launched in 2008 and today there are over 6.5 million user worldwide. In October 2009, SmallWorlds was voted top prize in the Social Computing category of the Adobe MAX Awards 2009. www.smallworlds.com

Click for big version.

Chuck Darwin’s Extinction Squad was create by Wellington based PikPok. PikPok has repurposed one of histories most scientific figures, Charles Darwin, into a wildlife rescuer out to save endangered species from people who wish to destroy them with giant bombs that fall from the sky. PikPok is a one of New Zealand’s largest developers and publishers of games, mostly Smartphone and tablet based. http://pikpok.com/

Ancient Frog is a contemplative puzzle game set in a range of serene and atmospheric natural environments. With over 100 unique levels and 6 different types of species, the idea is to manoeuvre your frog, leg by leg to catch the fly on the other side of the screen. The creator, British born James Brown worked in the mainstream games industry for 10 years (including stints at EA & Lionhead). He now works independently from his home in Napier, enjoying having more creative control over his own projects. www.ancient-workshop.com/

Path of Exile is a gritty dark fantasy online action role-playing game based on visceral combat. The game has been in development for five years by Grinding Gear Games, an independent studio of hardcore RPG based in Auckland. http://grindinggear.com/

Space Hawk is an arcade action game created by Star Kiwi Studios. Players escort the Space Hawk by defending it from asteroids and enemy spaceships with mini-ships via on-screen controls. The whole game is made out of real 3D objects, making the game feel more realistic to play with a simulated a joystick on the touch screen. The game was developed when StarKiwi CEO Ryan Thatcher became hooked by the iPhone game Air Traffic Controller and was astounded that such a simple game could become so addictive ... and sell four million units in a year. www.starkiwi.com/

Music Manager (yet to be released) created by Stephen Knightly Auckland of InGame. Music Manager provides up and coming music managers with an online experience of managing their own game.

ENDS

© Scoop Media