A computer game produced by a University of Portsmouth lecturer, thanks to funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), has won a top prize at the IndieCade2009 International Festival of Independent Games. 

Dan Pinchbeck from the School of Creative Technologies won first prize in the ‘Best World/Story’ category at the IndieCade festival which represents the best creativity, vision and work of independent game designers from around the world.

He received the award for his original game creation, Dear Esther, which tells a story about a deserted island, a lost man, memories of a fatal crash and a book written by a dying explorer.  The game is one of four to emerge from thechineseroom, a research project set up by Dan at the University of Portsmouth following a grant from the AHRC. 

Talking about the success of the game Dan said:  “I wanted to create a unique game which would blur the lines between computer games, art and film and draw people in.  Dear Esther contains fragments of story which are randomly triggered by players moving around the game, making every experience unique. Forget the normal rules of play - if nothing seems real here, it's because it may just be all a delusion. It’s deliberately ambiguous and because of that I didn’t expect the reaction to be so positive but people love it.” 

The IndieCade competition is the only independent gaming event in the United States which is open to the public and received hundreds of entries.

The game has received over 30,000 downloads and is the focus of a double-page feature in the November issue of Wired-UK, a magazine about technology and innovation. 

Dear Esther can be downloaded at: www.moddb.com/mods/dear-esther

You can read more about the project on the University of Portsmouth website.

Ends

Notes to editors:

AHRC Media contact: Jake Gilmore j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk Tel: 07970994586

Arts and Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.