Experience the game of your life – in a shipping container

‘ARCADE’ LETS YOU SHAPE YOUR OWN DESTINY AS YOUR AVATAR ENTERS A WAR-TORN WORLD

A GAMING experience with a hint of Black Mirror dystopia has descended on Nottingham in a 40ft shipping container.

A theatrical show like no other, Arcade takes the audience on an immersive interactive journey in pitch darkness.

Standing in front of an arcade game machine, players choose their own path through the story over 30 minutes. Using the nostalgic 8-bit aesthetic of 1980s video games, Arcade’s narrative explores the evolving relationship between player and avatar.

Answering yes or no, with no right or wrong answer, there are 50 possible endings. The 360-degree binaural sound and sensory effects make it a fully immersive experience. Players, wearing headphones, guide their avatar through a world ravaged by endless war. You can choose a side, win or lose the war, search for a peaceful route, or join a cult promising a better version of reality.

Players, who have to be 16 and over, will ask themselves difficult questions as they navigate a world where some will win and others will lose. No two journeys through the experience will be the same.

Arcade is the latest work of Darkfield, which blends theatre and technology to creates strange worlds, in the dark, in shipping containers. It has launched outside Lakeside Arts in the grounds of the University of Nottingham every day until March 24.

Zoe Waite, a 22-year-old liberal arts student, likened it to Black Mirror, the Netflix series with dark, thought-provoking narratives revolving around technology.

She said: “This was immersive, especially the whole element where you can’t see. It made it feel more real and I had more anticipation as I couldn’t see what was coming. “It’s so tense. With the surround sound headphones it felt like they were whispering in my ear – I could hear them coming, it was quite loud. I couldn’t relax, my heart rate was up probably the entire time. “There was a choice I made quite early which involved me getting shot. I did not enjoy that loud noise. “After that

I changed the way I played – I was a bit more on the defence.”

Darkfield artistic directors David Rosenberg and Glen Neath previously brought the container to Nottingham with shows Flight and Séance.

David said: “We’ve never made anything like this before. With the other shows they were all about creating this very intense environment that the audience sits in and something evolves around them whereas with this show we are really exploring interaction and how far we can go with interaction.

“The work we have always been doing has been more the experimental side of performance. We have worked together for almost 15 years now, always making shows for audiences in the dark. Most of the other shows are much more frightening whereas this is more fun.”

Tickets for Arcade can be booked at lakesidearts.org.uk/arcade. Prices are £9 and student tickets are £5.

It’s so tense. With the surround sound headphones it felt like they were whispering in my ear Zoe Waite