Play, dance and move to interact with this new videogame from Vidya Rajan and Ian MacLarty, which playfully critiques the dark side of gaming.
A special commission for our Melbourne International Games Week program, Rotted Luck explores the dark pattern game-design methods that some developers use to elicit compulsive and addictive behaviour in players: from loot boxes to serotonin spiking audio design.
Communal, non-addictive and movement-based, it pokes fun at these game design techniques, subverting the familiar design and symbology of slot machines through a three-channel interactive video work. By interacting with a webcam, your movements are translated into silly and surprising outcomes on screen.
About the artists
Vidya Rajan
Vidya Rajan is an artist who works across live performance, screenwriting and digital space. Her practice is often playful and multi-disciplinary, with a special interest in game design, emergent technology and interactivity. Her recent work has been shortlisted for the International New Media Prize, The Freeplay game awards and awarded a Creative Australia fellowship. She is currently recovering from the end of a 6 year long DnD campaign.
Ian MacLarty
Ian MacLarty is a videogame developer living in Melbourne with an interest in experimental design. He has released over 40 small non-commercial works, but has also self-published several award-winning commercial games. He has a background in computer science and often uses self-made tools and generative techniques.
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