"Actual experience is the best way to understand something." Because our theme is video games, in addition to the usual exhibitions and activities, we attempted to create an exhibition experience that is very much like a video game. Therefore, we set out to design an experience system, where we scattered the mechanics of video games in the real and virtual spectrum, extending from the exhibition content to the exploration of urban areas, and expanding the scale from a warehouse to the entire Yancheng District. Visitors become players, and the exhibition area becomes scenes in the game.

Through actually being inside and experiencing the game, we can reflect on the philosophy of video games, players, game designers, and even the philosophy between real and virtual, and transform the exhibition into a sympathetic scene where mutual relationships and behaviors are constantly flowing.

Honoring the FAMICOM's buttons, we designate "SELECT" as "START," empowering visitors to choose upon entry. This mirrors gaming's engagement, shifting from observers to participants.

Behind two doors lie mirrored spaces. One side showcases classic consoles, the other their top games. This prompts discussions about gaming experiences.

Continuing the video game consoles and games from the previous area, the focus is shifted from the object to the actual player. Richard Bartle, also known as professor Richard, the co-creator of the world’s first MUD (Multi-User Dungeon), observed and studied player behaviors in the game, and divided the behaviors into four types: Killers, Achievers, Socializers, Explorers.

Eight celebrities from different occupations were invited. We first classified them and then carried out a series of interrogations. The relationships between these people and video games are presented in a large area of backlit films. They are lined up on both sides, forming a corridor. When walking by them, it also helps us to reflect on the relationship between ourselves and video games, as well as our other self after entering the virtual world.

At the other end of the passage, there is a doorway where light shines through, becoming a tangent plane of the exhibition space and thoughts. And behind the door is the world inside video games. Pushing open the door in the dark, we are greeted by a bright and white corridor called Loading. The contrast in extreme brightness brings about a perceptual impact of instant pupil contraction. This is used as the opening ceremony of entering into the virtual world.

The experience consists of 20 stages, some of which is a four-digit code consisting of ↑↓←→ⒶⒷ that must be entered on the cellphone. With various difficulties, these codes are scattered in the exhibition area. After entering, the content is designed in response to the game mechanism, and visitors can understand the video game itself by actually experiencing it. Some of the stages can be completed independently, while some are multi-player competitions, or need social means in order to reproduce the relationship between players in different types of games. This video game-like structure stacked with mechanisms maximizes the visitors’ right to choose and randomly reestablishes relationships with on-site participants. The exhibition is transformed into an organism, staging a unique journey scene after scene. Many people indulge in the experience and forget about the time, going into a state of total FLOW.

The video Ready to Start, which is broadcasted on the sky screen every half hour, connects the context of the exhibition and opens up various visual memories of video games. Watching the video by looking upward, along with surround sound, has become a ceremony of perception that is filled with emotion.

Different from the main exhibition hall, which progressively leads the visitors to the core of the video game layer by layer, we extended and planned a gamified real-world experience at various scattered locations. Assembling 20 featured locations in Yancheng District, just like an all-in-one video game, each location has become a unique mini-game through the integration of LINE APP.

During the process, visitors will explore the details and elegance of this old district, as well as the reconstructed site. What is even more fascinating is the various exchanges between the residents of the area and the players.