The Swiss artist Yan Duyvendak is looking for participants to help develop a game about a virtual pandemic. Duyvendak is coming to Groningen to further develop and test his game during NoorderZomerProgramma, an alternative to the popular festival Noorderzon, and is now looking for participants to help test the game.
How would you guide us through the crisis?
Sometimes reality catches up with you. Compagnie Yan Duyvendak had been working on VIRUS, an interactive epidemic game since early 2019. Then the Coronavirus struck mercilessly, and the past few months have shown more than ever how vulnerable our society is during a pandemic: cultural events and flights were canceled, international trade slowed down and borders closed. Panic lurked and the authorities are doing what they can. Suddenly we there are millions of virologists, who all have an opinion about how the epidemic should be managed.
Duyvendak hopes to put you on the spot in the game. How would you manage the pandemic? How would you react if you were responsible for closing the borders or the schools? If you had to divide the resources? And what would be the consequences of your decisions?
“In this game you make choices with others and you see how crisis management and cooperation can make the difference between a dystopian dictatorship and a free world”, Duyvendak explaines.
The artist will test VIRUS on August 5 and 6 in the Machinefabriek, Bloemstraat 38. The game starts at 19:30 and lasts 120 minutes + discussion. Participation is of course free! You can sign up alone but also with friends. You can participate by emailing info@noorderzon.nl. Please indicate on which date you want to participate and how many people you come.
