Past Projects Showcase

2019 Projects

Unchained

Michael Cassidy • First Year

Unchained is a video game project that was made for the Developing Interactive Media module. The goal of the project was to develop a game that is a mixture of the Action-RPG (Role-Playing Game) and Action-Platformer genres. It borrows narrative/storytelling elements from Action-RPG games and blends them with the gameplay style of Action-Platformer games. "I chose to develop a video game as my project for the Developing Interactive Media module because I enjoy playing video games and hope to pursue a career in video game development as a game designer or developer in the near future."

LingoVenture

Sam Foster • First Year

A language-learning RPG. Used to help revise your language learning skills by attempting to create artificial foreign language immersion. "I wanted to create a game to help make language learning fun. After spending a lot of time using Duolingo to help me with my Chinese, I realised that I found myself getting bored whilst using it, leading to distractions. I wanted to combine the effectiveness of repetition apps like Duolingo with the immersion and attention-grabbing qualities of video games. I also knew that languages are best learnt whilst immersed in that language and I wanted to create a "next best thing" compared to actually travelling to the appropriate country."

Beautiful Music For Ugly Children

Olive Kitteridge • First Year

Game that uses audio to tell a story. You're a radio jockey and you must navigate by talking to people and not getting misgendered. "I wanted to create an interactive story that would show the effects of voice dysphoria in trans, and to get cisgender people to somewhat experience, or feel, how the power of not controlling one’s voice is disparaging."

Law of the Jungle

Gengyi Wang • First Year

An interactive game, which includes both a run-and-gun game and a platform-adventure game. Picking up the gun in level one initiates the run-and-gun game. Not picking up the gun initiates the platform-adventure game. "As an FPS game fan, I always wanted to make my own shooting game, which this project achieved."

History of York

Gengyi Wang • First Year

As an interactive museum of York, History of York will teach you about the city, old and new, including its history and tourist attractions. "The history of this ancient town of York is particularly appealing to me, and I love travelling, so I want to record these as small museums."

Get me out of here!

Gengyi Wang • First Year

A 2D maze game where the user can freely choose the difficulty of the game and then enter the game. Three difficulty levels share one dynamically generated map and the only victory condition is to be alive and reach the bottom right corner within the specified time. "Creating a simple 2D game is the best way to prove my ability to program and try to improve my understanding of algorithms."

Cooking for Uni Students

Kieran McConaghy • First Year

Cooking for Uni Students is an interactive film experience where users can manipulate recipes depending on their inputs. It is a single-player experience that is a comedic product, inspired by foods that a university student could create themselves. "Cooking for Uni Students is inspired by other cooking shows such as Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares” and Bon Appetite’s “It’s Alive”, with the technical aspects being inspired by Super Seducer."

Restore Land

Zain Albastaki • First Year

Restore is a game with a mission: to spread awareness about human environmental impact. Thus, the main objective of the game is to offset one’s carbon emissions by growing trees and plants. The idea is to bring to people’s attention just how much growing one must do to truly be carbon neutral. The aim is to affect players by the realization that they must grow an immense amount of vegetation to be carbon neutral and maintain their lifestyle. This realization will hopefully push players to act in real life, by changing their lifestyle to decrease their emissions and/or by planting trees and plants to offset their carbon footprint. "I want to empower people in a time where it feels like the world is falling apart and we can't do anything about it."

Wizard’s Forest

Zain Albastaki • First Year

A Processing based top-down maze game. Players must find a key and portal out of the wizard's forest before the wizard finds them. Not to worry though, the kind fire spirits are there to help. Follow the fire spirits, who get redder the closer you are to your target. Find the key, then find the portal to escape the wizard's forest. You can play single player and race against the clock, multiplayer and race against an opponent, or you can even create your own levels and play them in single/multiplayer and set your own avatars! "We were asked to create a top-down maze game and the idea evolved over weeks of development, starting from the level creator mode."

Wander Around

Mithila Roy • First Year

This interactive piece doesn't include any narrative. Instead, Wander Around is more of a non-linear 3D interactive game where a player as the freedom to experience its world free from any time limits. Any interaction that the user will experience consists of creating their own story whilst experiencing this virtual open platform. Readable quotes and relaxing music embellish this virtual world that is based on an imagined botanical park and quiet woodland. As it draws inspiration from the 'art game' and animated genres, there are 3D objects that are based on the cartoon theme. "The idea for my game was inspired by 'Sacramento', particularly in its use of colours and its soothing setting. Another reason that I have developed a non-violent, interactive game around a botanical theme is that, due to the proliferation of digital technologies, the majority of people today seem to be more engaged in cyberspace than in the real world. This digitalization of society has provided a platform for observation and for experiencing fun and entertainment, and in turn, humans are interacting less and less with nature. For example, today's children enjoy the world of the computer-generated far more than the material world around them. Human-computer interaction is increasing day by day and the interaction between humanity and nature is only becoming rarer. Because of this, I have decided to create a botanical digital world that might provoke thought in the user: "if a virtual world can be this beautiful, then imagine how much more beautiful our world is than this!". After all, these are only illusions of images that I have used, which are inspired by the material world."

Go Rush

Adrian Maidman • First Year

Based on the popular board game GO, GO Rush is a 2-player competitive computer game where your goal is to trap your opponent strategically by placing stones on the board. Unlike traditional GO, it is not turn based, so you're racing your opponent for a strategical advantage. To win, you must force your opponent to be blocked within a smaller area than you. "GO has been played for a very long time and I was wondering what made the game so popular. I began considering the elements of popular online games like agar.io and slither.io and I saw some similarities, yet these online games lack the truly competitive playstyle which GO is famous for. My aim for GO Rush was to make a bridge between these two game styles and create an online game that was fast and fun to play with a serious competitive element."

ANIA

Jevan Dean • Year 2

You have just landed on an unknown planet, with very little oxygen, water, and food supplies remaining. You must find the oxygen tank and the battery to restore the power in the base before your resources run out. "I wanted to create an immersive survival scene that would be a part of a larger experience. Many survival games I have played have been disappointing, with not much or any story behind the situation. My aim was to create a survival puzzle game with an added story element, which a lot of survival games lack."

Focal Point Science

Ben Tailby • Year 2

An homage to the linear on-rails first person games of over a decade ago. The game starts off as a Portal parody and then becomes its own thing. "Created as my Media Production for Interactive Environments assessment in first term. We were given full creative freedom to create any interactive environment we wanted and have an experience within it lasting around 4 minutes. I made this game as a love letter to games like Portal and The Stanley Parable which contain comedic linear set pieces. I had a lot of fun making it."

Middlesbrough Meteorite Interactive

Ash Khatibi • Year 2

The Middlesbrough Meteorite: Interactive is a short game allowing audiences to experience the discovery of the Middlesbrough Meteorite for themselves, originally discovered by railway workmen on 14 March 1881. Aiming to teach audiences about the Middlesbrough Meteorite and meteorites in general, the scene of the short game was constructed based on the only known photograph of railway workmen taken at the railway sliding landing site of the meteorite shortly after its impact. "Always having been amazed by outer space and the universe, I decided to bring more life to a local object found in the Yorkshire Museum. Designing a short game in Unity, I’m hoping it will leave people with a need to learn more about the universe."

Eidullion

Michael Davies • Year 2

Eidullion is a short, interactive abstract poem about shame and self-acceptance. "Eidullion was inspired by the entries of itch.io's Divination Jam, which ran from April 26th to May 17th. It is inspired by other Bitsy fiction such as the award-winning Novena by Haraiva."

Rot

Michael Davies • Year 2

Rot is a short psychological horror story about obsession, rejection and self-hatred. "Rot was developed as an experiment, to answer the question: 'can you make dread a place?'. It is inspired by titles such as P.T. and indie developer Kittyhorrorshow's game Anatomy. It also draws inspiration from Davey Wreden's The Beginner's Guide, a game that gives its players a sense of unease not through visceral imagery or foley, but by letting the player slowly know that its protagonist is obsessive and tormented. The retro, low-res aesthetic of the game is inspired by the work of Finnish indie developer Toni Kortelahti, better known as 98DEMAKE, who was kind enough to get in touch during development."

Happy Kitchen

YJ Kim • Year 2

It’s your first day at work at The Happy Kitchen. Learn the ropes and befriend your co-workers and customers! "This is based on a real-life restaurant in York, The Press Kitchen, and my personal experiences working there. I wanted to make an idyllic restaurant game that is stress-free and relaxing. The game is more about getting to learn the characters. Take it slow, don’t rush through, and most of all, enjoy!"

Candyland

Rhian Davies • Year 2

Explore a world made entirely out of sweets and chocolate. Navigate your way through the world while avoiding falling candy, treacherous chocolate lakes, and other obstacles along the way in search for the hidden gingerbread house. "This game was created for the Media Production for Interactive Environments module in second year. I was inspired by the lovable Simpsons game that I was obsessed with as a kid and combined this with my love for chocolate."

Medescape

Fergus McBride • Year 2

A medieval themed escape game where the player’s main objective is to escape the prison. You need to search the contents of the jail cell and its surrounding area to find the keys and coins required to complete the game. "Inspired by the medieval survival game "Reign of Kings"."

RC Racer

Luke Pit • Year 2

RC Racer is a puzzle car game in which the player has to navigate through various obstacles, collecting coins and avoiding traps as fast as they can to reach the end. "Made for the Media Production for Interactive Environments module."

Super Hide and Seek

Tara Lawton • Year 2

Find your friends hiding in the park by moving yourself around the park. The area you can see in front of you is highlighted, and anything not highlighted is too far away or behind some cover. The aim of the game is to manoeuvre yourself around the park and over to your friends to tag them! "I originally came up with the idea when ideating for the group project module, but I felt that it would work better for the Web Application Design and Development assessment. With the art style and tonal direction, I leaned into the fact that I’m not an artist but didn't want to use premade assets. Because of this, I went with a more childlike art style."

Create History

Leia Massey • Year 2

Users are asked to generate stories and illustrations inspired by a Yorkshire Museum artefact on a mobile application, which is then displayed on a large interactive timeline. "Create History was created for the context of the Yorkshire Museum and is the output of a Double Diamond Design process. User research was conducted (questionnaires, interviews, a literature review and expert interview) to gather data which allowed the design challenge to be defined: the prototype should create an information flow between visitors and Yorkshire Museum, include a narrative aspect and increase engagement with traditional artefact and text displays within the museum. After lots of ideation directed by these insights and requirements, a concept was conceived: Create History."

The Great Gig in the Cloud: Death in a Digital Age

Junge Shi • Year 3

A 2D visual story in pixel art style made with Unity, allowing audiences to face the difficult question: does the widespread use of technology change how we understand death and mourning? "The game is developed as part of my humanity project, which explores digital technology's role in the death landscape."

Parenthood

Daniel Lock, Will Jones, Clarke Travis, and Ayaan Anand • Year 3

Parenthood was made for the Global Game Jam under the theme: what home means to me. The idea was to create a game around being a parent through the ages. The game aims to provide the player with tasks in each age that could be solved and then continue this routine until the time was up. Art, models, and music were created to mirror each chosen year, such as the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000. "The most important people in most people’s lives are their parents. They devote their lives to loving their children and building a loving environment, but would you make a good parent? What about in a different era?"

Loot Quest

Will Jones • Year 3

'Loot Quest' is a board game designed as part of a larger study on the methods with which gameplay delivers narrative. Gather your party and take part in a quest to pillage as much loot as you can from a dungeon with your chosen character. Be careful, as there are monsters, ghosts, and structural insecurities abound! "Loot Quest features a group of players attempting to navigate a dungeon in search of treasure, demonstrating a newly developed lens of game design analysis called 'Assignment theory'- the idea that gameplay is inherently an abstract concept clothed in the contextual information presented, like names, art, sound effects, animation, etc."

Distract VR

Rebecca Cressey • Year 3 VR

A design project prototype virtual reality system designed to promote relaxation for those suffering from stress or anxiety, whilst taking into account that many users do not relax in the same way. Through user research into how different people relax, the design became based around two categories: meditation and distraction. "This project was formed on the basis that VR has many benefits in the medical world, especially now that simulations are becoming so realistic it is sometimes hard to draw the line between the real world and the VR one. It has often been used to treat phobias through exposure, and I would like to see it used more often in a relaxation sense."

Gesture Friend

Kenric Yuen • Year 3 VR

Gesture Friend is an experimental VR project that uses gestures to give instructions to a virtual character to solve puzzles. "A dissertation project which explores how to use gestures to communicate and interact with virtual characters. The project explores how solving a puzzle with a virtual character and interacting with it using gestures instead of a controller could improve the intimacy and relationship between user and character. It is more of an exploration of what is working and what is not. While it is a complete level, it meant to have multiple levels during which you slowly get to know the character, where he will no longer fear you and start to actively help you."

Breadboard Tech Demo

Kenric Yuen • Year 3 VR

Breadboard is a tech demo that demonstrates a snapping grid system in a VR environment. Developed for a virtual breadboard project, this demo allows you to put electronics parts into a breadboard, intended to allow you to complete circuits. Still in development "A project originally meant to explore how to create a virtual electronic breadboard as an educational experience and virtual tester for electronics enthusiasts. While the project did not finish in time, it creates a flexible placement system that has a wide application in many situations. It could be used for placement systems similar to real time strategy games, interior decoration experience, or puzzle games. It is flexible enough that you can move the breadboard without the electronics part on it falling off."

A Creative Process

Ash Khatibi, Ben Paul, Iwan Harvey, and Zexuan Chen • Year 2 Group

A Creative Process is a short interactive experience meant to showcase how our creative process works in a visual and metaphorical form, and to immerse the user into that process. The user is taken through different interactive stages while a Kinect scans their body and puts them into the experience in real-time. "Taking inspiration by works such as The Treachery of Sanctuary and Love Has No Labels, we wanted to display emotions and real-life processes in a visual form to which everyone can relate."

Antithesis

Ben Tailby, Brendan Kirby, and Sunil Kalsi • Year 2 Group

Antithesis is defined as a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else. This project is a two-player first person platforming game riffing on this idea in a very literal sense. "Made as our Interactive Media Group Project at the end of second year. Antithesis means "a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else." The other player is the antithesis of you, amongst other things..."

Jungle Games

Joe Fairburn, Megan Ang, Sam Burns, and YJ Kim • Year 2 Group

Jungle Games is a fun, multiplayer party game that can support up to 8 players. It includes two mini games: Liar, Liar and Mimicry. Liar, Liar is our fun twist inspired by the TV show Would I Lie to You? Mimicry is a ridiculous game of animal themed charades. Go on, have a laugh! "We wanted to make a game that turns strangers into friends. This game depends entirely on interacting with one another. We want people to have fun with each other through this game. Everything is hand-drawn and made with a lot of love. We hope you enjoy this game as much as we did making it!"

COOK COOK REVENGE

Fergus McBride, Saad Maqbool, Tara Lawton, and Ying Hu • Year 2 Group

COOK COOK REVENGE is a cooking simulation game that uses a Leap Motion and a custom-built ‘frying pan’ controller to control the game. The rhythm section simulates the act of cooking the ingredients. Players use their hands to pick up ingredients from the table and drop them in to the pan. "Ever since we were small, we all dreamed of combining the artistic styles of Cooking Mama and Dance Dance Revolution."

IM Showcase Website

Daniel Lock and Committee • Masters

The IM Showcase website was designed, developed, and administrated by Interactive Media students to provide the IM Showcase with an online presence. All images, icons, and logos have been made from scratch while the full website has been built from the ground up and includes designs created by the team to meet the Showcase's requirements. "The website was designed to match the look and feel of the Interactive Media course. We created the colour scheme based on existing Interactive Media promotional material so that the public would be able to see the connection between the course and the Showcase. The overall design was created by critiquing existing website with a similar theme and using techniques we had have learned through the Interactive Media course to see what worked well and what didn't."

IM Showcase Submission Site

Zain Albastaki • Year 1

A website that receives student submissions for the annual Interactive Media Showcase. It consists of authentication, followed by the submission form with a few questions and file uploads. Once the user submits, they can edit any of their submission fields, click submit again, and it would update their submission. "As part of the Interactive Media Showcase Committee, I was tasked with organizing the project submission process. It was previously done through local university storage and I thought it would be useful to have our very own submission website and form. It made the submission process a lot more customizable as we could add any questions we wanted along with the project upload, and it also made things more organized and centralized. We could easily log onto the backend and see all users and projects, download all the files etc. Another benefit was that it enhanced our image of professionalism."

2018 Projects

The Adventure Generator

Naoimh Murchan

A Web App Design and Development project where the user can experience a randomly generated fantasy narrative.

Rimork

Joe Lamyman

The concept of this project was to develop designs for an Interactive Media prototype that would encourage York’s visitors to explore and uncover more of the city than they usually would. One of my initial aims for this project was to create something that would be truly interactive, by this I mean creating a piece that users can not only view, but something that they can affect and have some form of a unique interaction with. I based my approach around user centred design, focusing on user research and developing ideas from the results. The final piece I created was an augmented reality application that used medieval graffiti as a means of annotating and exploring the city.

Watcher

Ash Khatibi

Watcher is an interactive story revolving around Daryl and his rebellion against the NGO, the National Governance Organization. Working with the government, the NGO implanted children across America with a device that allows them to see through the children’s eyes and achieve mass surveillance. Daryl was one of these children, now an adult, and the story begins with him and his two companions stepping foot into the headquarters of the NGO.

Sketch What You See

Jade Smith

An exploration puzzle game where you play as Lily, who has been given a notebook from her Grandma. She's been instructed to visit the park and see if she can match the sketches to places her Grandma has visited in the park.

Capture the Campus

Matthew Shepherd, Kenric Yuen, Clarke Travis & Jamie Saunders

A multiplayer cartoon 3rd-person arena game based in a college within the University of York. Based upon the real-life phenomenon of geese flocking to the centre of campus, this game depicts the feathered-menaces fighting over territory in Langwith College in this cartoon-like shooter. By using water guns and hitting ping pong balls at each other, the player takes the role of a lone goose trying to take the college for their own, using split-screen or network play.

Redesign of the Streaming Service

James Mitchell

Identified that there were usability problems with current iterations of music streaming services both in part through own experience but also comments about current design online and the multitude of complaints about usability and how interfaces felt clunky and unintuitive. Therefore set out to create a better and more thought out design.

NICER

Ying Hu

A prototype for an app based learning environment and community, where your friends and classmates become an important part of your motivation and learning process.

HackerHeist VR

Calvin Wong

A cooperative virtual reality experience allowing players with different devices to join in!

Don Blue

Michael Davies

Don Blue is a short, story driven platformer game that could be classed as interactive fiction. You control Don Blue, a dapper and mustachioed man who suddenly finds himself in a strange dream-world. Collect all the notes around the world to make sense of his environment.

Aztec Education Experience

Ben Fletcher

An educational experience set in Virtual Reality which places users in the Aztec times, enabling you to learn about a rich and fascinating history.

Arcade Adventure

Jake Shoesmith

An Interactive Media Individual Project.

FITTXEL

Daniel Lock

Fittxel, a 3rd year dissertation project, researched the use of gamified fitness applications. Fittxel puts the user in control by letting them choose their own adventure across multiple paths, routes, island and outcomes, the app encourages the user to keep exercising to continue their stories progress. The app was made in Unity with artwork being created in GIMP2, the project used custom plugins programmed and created by Daniel to access the accelerometers on both IOS and Android smart phones. multiple gamification methods where used to encouraged the players including incentives and competitive elements in the form of gaming points and an online leader board