Playing out.

Kate Feld discovers that pervasive gaming and mobile games aren’t just for geeks – they’re life reaffirming things for ordinary folks, too

Whoever came up with the moniker ‘pervasive gaming’ should be roundly whipped with a USB port extension cable. It’s the sort of geeks-and-anoraks name that could have been custom designed to make the majority of people walk briskly in the opposite direction. But really, pervasive gaming is nothing to be afraid of. Broadly speaking, it means using mobile phones to organise a computer game that’s then played out in real life, by actual people instead of suspiciously buxom avatars.

And now Manchester’s getting its own meatspace game feast as Larkin’ About comes to greenroom on 5 December. Modelled on New York’s Come Out and Play and London’s Hide & Seek, it features all manner of pervasive tomfoolery. From noon until midnight, gamers will fan out from greenroom HQ and turn Manchester’s streets into a gigantic game board, while back at base the venue will host social games.

Event Manager Aowyn Sanderson is a recent convert herself. She heard Alex Fleetwood of Hide & Seek speak about pervasive gaming at FACT, thought it sounded fun and now she’s hooked. For her, its appeal is all about stepping outside everyday life. ‘You have the ability to dip your toe into multiple realities and a whole spectrum of emotions – it’s the re-enchantment of everyday life.’

‘I like the idea of being on the same city streets you walk down every day in a heightened emotional state – in an altered state, really – you notice different things, you feel a different kind of ownership of the city,’ she said. ‘People don’t like to be challenged or pushed outside of their box because it’s uncomfortable, but it’s also what makes us feel alive.’

All of the games on offer at greenroom have been tested by the playful types at Ludocity. Players can try out a mysterious ancient Greek game called the Labyrinth (there are blindfolds involved) or get into a ten-person game that draws its inspriation from small town gossip. Others are more intense. Journey to the End of the Night feels a little like trapping yourself in a thriller for the evening: ‘The city spreads out before you. Rushing from point to point, lit by the slow strobe of fluorescent buses and dark streets. Stumbling into situations for a stranger’s signature. Fleeing unknown pursuers, breathing hard, admiring the landscape and the multitude of worlds hidden in it…’ Better lace up those trainers.

Larkin About, greenroom, 5 December, Midday -Midnight. £5. Email larkin.about2009@gmail.com for booking info.

Image: Courtesy greenroom

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