Flutter features in “visionary” game design exhibition

Flutter features in “visionary” game design exhibition at the Dowse

DUNEDIN, November 8th 2012: On the eve of its test launch in New Zealand, Flutter, the latest mobile game by Dunedin gaming company Runaway, is featuring in the Dowse Art Museum’s Arcade exhibition.

Running from 10 November 2012 to 24 February 2013, Arcade showcases the work of New Zealand’s most talented and influential indie gaming artists in an exhibition of striking visual effects, digital art as well as still images, video and the actual games to play.

Flutter, which was initially built for Facebook and attracted a million players and a passionate fan community, has been reworked as a game for portable devices. Runaway partnered with mobile games publisher DeNA to distribute the game via their Mobage mobile games platform.

The mobile Flutter game allows players to care for a section of beautiful, fragile Amazonian rainforest as they raise butterflies through their fascinating life cycle. Players bring life and light into the environment with their touch and build spectacular collections of real life butterflies.

In creating the game, the Runaway team spent time in Otago Museum’s Tropical Forest to capture the authenticity of the butterflies and to ensure that the underlying science was correct. The resulting graphical style recreates the reality of rainforest flora and fauna.

Runaway director Tim Nixon says that he and his team’s focus is on using the natural wonder of the world as inspiration for their games.

“It's our mission to create great games inspired by nature. Having this niche focus gives us a huge world of wonder to draw upon for characters and stories, while still being able to craft a unique style and feel to our games. Flutter for mobile is our best work to date and finds a wonderful balance between factual authenticity and the magic of gameplay."

Arcade curator Leanne Wickham says the Arcade exhibition explores the graphics, concept art and storytelling of some of the best games developed in New Zealand, showcasing homegrown gaming companies' technical and creative skills.

“Arcade will also include never-before-published sketches, models, and works-in-progress for an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the development and innovation of the 'art behind the games,” says Ms Wickham.

Flutter will be launched worldwide soon, but New Zealanders can download the test version of the game at the end of November.

Visit Runaway online at: http://www.runawayplay.com/about/#

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