Eric Zimmerman, visiting assistant arts professor of the NYU Game Center, recently was recognized at the 2012 IndieCade Festival of Independent Games (Oct. 4-7, 2012) for two of his projects.
Eric Zimmerman, visiting assistant arts professor in the NYU Game Center, recently was recognized at the 2012 IndieCade Festival of Independent Games (Oct. 4-7, 2012) for two of his projects. Zimmerman and his co-creator John Sharp received the Game Design Award for Armada d6, a board game prototype. The award honors the unique quality of gameplay that engages players with an experience or subject. He also shared the Interaction Award for his latest collaboration with architect Nathalie Pozzi named Interference, a physical game installation designed for a museum exhibition.
“I’m honored that my little board game prototype, Armada d6, received this prestigious award, beating out physical games and videogames by some of the best indie game designers working today,” said Zimmerman. “I would like to give a big thanks to the festival organizers, the amazing designers, and all the attendees of IndieCade for making it a particularly special year for me.”
Armada d6 is a strategy board game for 2-4 players about the conquest of space. Dice are used as the player’s units, with each number a different kind of space ship: sixes are fast and agile scouts, and ones are slow and powerful battlestations. It is based on an obscure game-like ritual practice from the 1930s called “Armada Dei Gratia VI” (sixth armada from the grace of god). “I like the design for its simplicity and modularity, and the way that the game encourages players to use the powers of their ships in clever mechanics combinations,” remarked Zimmerman.
Interference is a game in which players steal pieces from other players, and is played by pairs of opponents. Five suspended, super-thin steel walls dotted with organic patterns resembling cell tissues act as vertical game boards and create the space of play. It premiered at la Gaite lyrique in Paris earlier this year before being exhibited at the Science Gallery in Dublin later that year.
IndieCade supports independent game development and organizes a series of international events showcasing the future of independent games. It encourages, publicizes, and cultivates innovation and artistry in interactive media, helping to create a public perception of games as rich, diverse, artistic, and culturally significant.
The NYU Game Center was established in 2008, and is housed at the Tisch School of the Arts in the Skirball Center for New Media. It works in close collaboration with other NYU schools and departments including the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, and NYU Poly. Our goal is to incubate new ideas, create partnerships, and establish a multi-school curriculum to explore new directions for the creative development and critical understanding of games.
