Amid lockdown, this game called Utopias is all about a better future

An art game called Utopias, made by the AAA collective, is a particularly interesting experiment to indulge with at this given point in time. As the world stays at home, isolated, in an attempt to control the spread of Covid-19, AAA (a Berlin-oriented group) has created a game which asks us about utopias we conceive of alone and “what happens when these visions are thrust together”. Best described, Utopias is a “surreal and often deliberately conflicting game but it’s also beautiful and surprisingly hopeful”.  

In a series of blog posts, AAA members have collectively explained the ideas of the game. Troy Duguid, in his post, has delved into the “deeply unequal economics of video games, including atomization of labour in their development. It’s structural injustices such as this – those which go far beyond the games industry – the collective positions itself against, and why Utopias’ actual process of creation is just as important as the finished game”.

“Each of us worked on each other’s world, helping one another to realise them,” reads the accompanying release note. “This is our attempt to role play our way to utopia”.

If you are bored of crossing animals, slapping people and chicken dinners, maybe it is time to delve into creating an Utopia for yourself. You can download it here.

Oh, and you need a mouse with a scroll wheel for this game, as AAA says – it can be played with a trackpad but it is not comfortable. It is currently only supported for Windows, Linux and Mac users will have to wait.