Game Launch Announcement from Belfast-based Accessibility Game Developers

Soft Leaf Studio’s are launching their game Stories of Blossom, funded in part by Future Screens NI Proof of Concept and Pre-Commercialisation R&D awards.

Discover the magic of Stories of Blossom, a whimsical point-and-click adventure.

Uncover the secrets of three short tales told by Clara's nurturing grandfather.

Explore imaginative illustrations, befriend adorable creatures, and solve puzzles in this delightfully accessible game.

For more information follow the links below:

Website

Steam Page

Awards include:

• Official Selection, Access-Ability Summer Showcase 2023

• Best Indie Game Outdoing the AAA Competition, Access-Ability Game of the Year Accessibility Awards 2023

• Official Selection, London Games Festival 2023

Soft Leaf Studios is a Belfast-based company founded in 2019. From the very beginning game accessibility has been their main goal. They have work closely with those from the disabled and neurodiverse communities to help them remove barriers from their game.

A lot of this work has been baked into the experience itself such as the readability of each dialogue line, the design of the puzzles, and information and menu layout.

There is a large array of accessibility options, that you can use to tweak the experience to your liking.

Stories of Blossom has been funded with the help of Future Screens NI, Northern Ireland Screen, and the UK Games Fund.

Theatre Outreach Re-Developed in Response to Lockdown

Belfast-based Lyric Theatre NI completed a Future Screens NI Rewriting the Narrative funded project addressing cultural industry issues raised by the Covid-19 lockdowns. During the Covid lockdown, which began in March 2020, theatres were closed and audience attendance at live events was prohibited. Drama facilitators and actors were also denied access to schools and for the Creative Learning department at the Lyric Theatre, which normally offers an extensive, year-round programme of outreach work, this posed a huge challenge. The team were therefore compelled to quickly re-think their strategic output and to explore digital opportunities to continue their support for students and teachers. Two previously produced Theatre-in-Education shows (Blackout and the environment-focused A Walk Is Not Just A Walk) were re-rehearsed under Covid compliant conditions and then filmed. A range of supporting resources using immersive technology e.g. Virtual Reality and 360-degree filming were created and trailed in schools across Northern Ireland. Funding from Future Screens allowed them to create these resources and analyse the comparative impact to live performances. Funding from another source enabled us to tour a live version of A Walk Is Not Just A Walk; the film version of which was shown to pupils in Primary schools across Northern Ireland. A comparative analysis was thereafter drawn from the audience responses to the two media.

https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/

Writing Workshop Developed Skills for Underrepresented Screenwriters

Derry-based Amanda Doherty completed a Future Screens NI Future Creatives project to create a writers’ workshop. 6 emerging working-class writers were chosen to develop their writing, develop industry contacts, and find their creative voice through a funded writing group. Every person has the right to be an artist; however, working class voices are those which we are most likely to lose when writers are priced out of our industry. Each writer was paid for their time as they developed 5-page screenplays which have been developed with established screenwriting professionals. 

This 5-day course, specifically for women and non-binary people, ran from 28th November to the 2nd December at Accidental Theatre from 10am-3pm, with writers chosen to partake in this course reimbursed £500 for their time. Through this course writers were guided through key screenwriting practice such as screenplay formatting, dialogue, character, and 3 & 5 act structure, amongst other areas- completing a 5-page screenplay by the close of the week. 

This group of writers comprised of those who faced economic barriers to screenwriting but will now be able to pursue this area of the film industry with more confidence, knowledge, and skill. 

Research Examines Live/workspace Viability for Urban Centres

Researcher Jane Morrow partnered with Flax Artist Studios to investigate the provision of live/work space for artists in Belfast. The Future Screens NI’s Future Creative funded project aimed to support the disinvested studio sector through an alternative model, one which also met local authority aims to increase city centre residential opportunities, particularly ‘post’-Covid-19. Live/work spaces are unique in terms of their offer and are proven to be one of the most successful models for artists worldwide, delivering benefits such as city centre animation and embedded community engagement. Highly sought after by artists, live/work spaces are often victim to prohibitive building and land-use regulations which do not allow living and working on the same premises. They also offer a solution for artists who find current access prohibitive, particularly in meanwhile space. Jane and Flax designed and delivered a substantial symposium which led to recognition of these legislative barriers at a local authority level. The symposium invited contributors from around the UK and Ireland who work at the intersections of live/work spaces, artist-led community housing and long-term residencies. Their contributions provided Belfast-based artists/organisations with opportunities to share knowledge - and solutions – about pertinent issues, gain valuable insights into best practice, and develop relationships with other artists and organisations. Whilst practical change has been slow and challenging at this grassroots level, the issues and recommendations from this project have been adopted at a strategic level, prompting awareness, and highlighting the need around creating space that is beneficial for numerous parties. Both Flax and Jane continue their research and lobbying.

https://janemorrow.com/

https://flaxartstudios.org/

Indie-Game Developer R&D Adaptive Atmospheric Music

Belfast-based indie-game developer Brain and Nerd completed a Future Screens NI’s funded R&D project, the Adaptive Music Controller. The product is a procedural music system designed for open-world or exploration-based games built in the Unity game engine. It allows developers to create continuous atmospheric music that endlessly repeats using variations and can shift in both intensity and theme depending on what’s happening in the game. It’s designed to be used to match the music the player hears with the emotion type and intensity they should be feeling at that moment, or to match the music to locations and activities in the game world. 

Designers can place Emotion Hooks in key areas throughout a game level or attach them to certain game objects and prefabs to indicate how that area or item should make the player feel. An Emotion Tracker algorithm polls nearby and visible Emotion Hooks to continuously determine the most likely emotional state the player will be experiencing, while the intensity of the player’s actions and gameplay determine the intensity level. The Adaptive Music Controller selects between music themes for the player’s current predicted emotional state and seamlessly shifts intensity level up or down as required. 

Creating music content for the Adaptive Music Controller is relatively straight-forward and it provides a more immersive atmospheric soundscape than a standard zone-based music system. The music follows the player’s journey and becomes a companion to the story, amplifying their tense moments with added intensity and smoothly blending into the background when things get quiet.

https://brainandnerd.com/