- 6m high structure made of 7,000 lights installed at King’s Cross
- #GamesTree celebrates upcoming London Games Festival
- Hundreds have already played new game in just two hours
Millions of people are expecting video games waiting under the tree this Christmas, but at King’s Cross station the Christmas Tree IS a video game: the world’s first ‘playable’ Christmas tree.
#GamesTree has landed at King’s Cross and is an interactive exhibit 6 meters high and made of 7,000 LED lights.
The tree is an adaptation of of award-wining London-made independent game Line Wobbler and has been created following a unique collaboration between the upcoming London Game Festival, Network Rail and acclaimed games designer Robin Baumgarten.
The Games Tree adds games-themed festive cheer to King’s Cross and also celebrates the upcoming third London Games Festival, which takes place in four months running from 5 to 15 April 2018.
The London Games Festival is run by Games London, a joint initiative between the London screen industries agency Film London and trade body ukie (The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment). Games London is funded by the Mayor of London’s London Enterprise Action Panel.
Hundreds of commuters and tourists have already played the Games Tree at the station just hours after its installation. It will sit in London Kings Cross station until January 4th 2018 before appearing at other venues.
Notes
- The tree is 6 meters high, 2 meters wide and on a base 2m x 3m
- It consists of over 120 meters of coiled lights
- That’s 7,200 LEDs
- The game is an adaptation of Line Wobbler, designed by Robin Baumgarten
- Line Wobbler is a one-dimensional custom hardware game with a wobble controller made out of a steel spring and a long LED strip display. The game is an award-winning experiment in minimalism in game design, use of novel input mechanics, and the incorporation of physical space into the game.
- The game is a ‘dungeon crawler’ where the player navigates obstacles and fights enemies to reach the exit of a series of increasingly difficult levels. Movement is controlled by bending the Wobble controller forward and back, while enemies are attacked by flinging the spring. Obstacles such as lava fields, conveyor belts and slopes challenge the navigation skills of the player.
- Line Wobbler has won numerous awards from festivals around the world in countries such as Germany, USA and Japan
