Cardigan Street in Carlton will host an interactive game event as part of Melbourne International Games Week (MITG) this weekend.
Taking place October 5-6, ‘Reworlding: Cardigan Commons’ is a live-action role-playing game (LARP) set in a fictional world. It will incorporate puzzles, collaborative tasks, and creative problem-solving across Cardigan Street, which will be closed for the event.
Curated by “future play lab” Director Dr Troy Innocent of RMIT, the game will have a fictional ‘solarpunk’ setting where Melbourne is portrayed as a megacity facing societal, technological, and climate challenges.
As a speculative genre, solar punk revolves around the idea of nature and technology existing harmoniously.
‘[Reworlding] is about building a neighbourhood together,’ Dr Troy Innocent tells The Swanston Gazette.
‘It’s 2050, and there’s a city AI that’s running the Melbourne megacity. When the city reaches citizen number 8 million, the AI crashes and the neighbourhood has to figure itself out for the weekend.’
The event will incorporate themes of sustainability, climate change, and the difficulties of navigating a rapidly changing world.
‘It’s a live-action role-play, but also it’s a big street party. Whether you come for a day or an hour, something will be going on.’
Anyone from the public can participate in the game during the weekend from 10 am - 6 pm, with tickets available from Humanitix.
‘Come out and play. It’s not often you get to close down a whole street.’
Dr Troy Innocent has a history with virtual reality, artificial life, and artificial intelligence, having worked on projects such as ‘64 Ways of Being’, an augmented reality game that combines public art with game design.
‘Reworlding’ is his latest project in collaboration with Regen Melbourne, RMIT future play lab, and ‘City North Fest: A Shared Future Series’.
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