Kyoto, Japan
2024
Playtest Kyoto was a three-day event for games and play in and across urban spaces. Together with game designers, creators, and artists with ties to Kyoto, we created games that anyone from children to the elderly could participate in, using public spaces such as squares and parks, cultural and creative centers, and underutilized real estate in Kyoto City as stages.
The three-day event included treasure hunting using the entire city block, an on-street challenge in which teams are divided to complete missions, and AR experiences in the city using apps, traversing the digital and physical worlds to redefine Kyoto as a city and “play it out.”
For Playtest Kyoto I created and exhibited Urban Lens. An AR web app that uses your phone to capture the textures, materials, and patterns of Kyoto. Urban Lens encourages you to notice the details of the city to create clothing patterns for characters. Using a simple web interface, participants were able to take photos using their phone camera as a digital frame for character illustrations. All photos shared were featured in a physical space, online website, and interactive digital city.
Art for Urban Lens was created by Til Nomi
