News
Friday 7 December 2007
Top industry award for game that gets people mobile
A Nottingham based new media company run by two Nottingham Trent University alumni, has been awarded the Nokia Ubimedia Mind Trek Award.
“Active Ingredient”, run by Rachel Jacobs and Matt Watkins, won first prize out of 140 international submissions for their project “Heartlands” - a mobile phone game controlled by the players heart rate as they walk.
Rachel and Matt first presented “Heartlands”, formally known as “Ere be Dragons” at Nottingham’s very own Radiator Festival of New Technology Art 2005 - a festival which works closely with Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art and Design.
The pair teamed up with the University of Nottingham’s “Mixed Reality Lab” to develop the initiative.
The Nottingham based collaboration has certainly put the city on the map, developing a game that uses GPS (global positioning system) technology, and a heart rate monitor. The player’s goal is to keep their heart rate healthy as they explore a virtual map, recreated live on the mobile phone as a journey takes place.
The game has been designed to encourage people of all ages to walk to work and school and to consider making other mundane journeys by foot rather than jumping in the car. Targeted at young people who enjoy computer games, the aim is to help to reduce the growing issues of obesity, highlighting how people may play games and keep fit in the future.
Speaking about the terrific success of Heartlands, Rachel Jacobs said: “We’re thrilled at how well received the game has been, and winning the Mind Trek award is yet another cause to celebrate the progress that we’re making in this field.”
Following success at the Mind Trek awards, Active Ingredient are now busy extending the multiplayer version of the game, enabling people to connect online to play against friends, as well as store and share the journeys they’ve made.
Speaking about Rachel and Matt’s successes, Frank Abbott, senior lecturer in Visual Arts at Nottingham Trent University said: “Rachel and Matt have really pushed the boundaries of creativity in developing “Heartlands” and it’s great that their efforts have been recognised through this top industry award.”
ENDS
Notes for editors:
Active Ingredient is a company that specialises in the field of interactive media and have been developing artworks and media projects since 1996.
The Mixed Reality Lab is a dedicated studio facility where computer scientists, psychologists, sociologists, engineers, architects and artists collaborate to explore the potential of mobile and mixed reality technologies to shape everyday life.
Heartlands has been developed using a research grant from the Wellcome Trust in collaboration with the Lansdown Centre for Electronic Arts and London Sports Institute, at Middlesex University. Further investment has been received from the East Midlands New Technology initiative, Radiator Festival for New Technology Art and Arts and Business East Midlands.
MindTrek Association is a non-profit umbrella organization for societies working in the fields of digital media and information society. The Association operates both nationally and internationally. The association consists of university partners, non-governmental organizations and companies. It is unique in the sense that it does not only cover the field of commerce but also science, research and citizens.
For more information please contact:
Matt Wallace, on +44 (0)115 848 8785, or email matthew.wallace@ntu.ac.uk;
or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, on +44 (0)115 848 8774, or email therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk.
