NEWS: MICHAEL SAMYN RELEASES COMPASSIE

We are delighted to announce that artist, designer, and GAME ART professor Michaël Samyn HAS JUST released Compassie, an artistic software program for tethered VR.

Compassie is a virtual reality diorama with the theme of pietà. The player takes the place of the holy virgin holding the lifeless body of Christ. And she contemplates his death staring into an abyss of endless darkness. According to Samyn, Compassie “is about loss. An opportunity to mourn for the things that have disappeared. Or are about to disappear. On a personal level. But also on a global level. I believe we are living through a time of transition. What will need to be sacrificed for our salvation? How will our new lives be in the new world? How will we cope with all the things that will disappear? How can we mourn the enormous loss that we are in the process of experiencing"?”

Michaël Samyn is one half of Song of Songs, formerly Tale of Tales. Tale of Tales was the independent videogames studio of Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn responsible for indie milestones such as The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path and Luxuria Superbia. Compassie is the second release by Song of Songs, after Cricoterie in September 2018. Compassie is the first diorama published under the umbrella of the the ongoing Cathedral-in-the-Clouds project that was Kickstarted in November 2015 and for which the couple recently moved to Rome, Italy. Cathedral-in-the-Clouds aims to become a collection of contemplative pieces inspired by Christian iconography in art. Samyn teaches GAME ART alongside Auriea Harvey in the Master of Art in Game Design at IULM University.

Watch an extended trailer:

Read more about Compassie here.

NEWS: MEET OUR FACULTY: AURIEA HARVEY & MICHAËL SAMYN (A.A. 2020-2021)

SIAMO FELICI DI PRESENTARVI UNA BREVE VIDEO CHAT CON AURIEA HARVEY & MICHAËL SAMIN CHE ANCHE QUEST’ANNO INSEGNANO GAME ART NEL MASTER OF ARTS IN GAME DESIGN DELL’UNIVERSITÀ IULM DI MILANO.

GAME ART will guide students in developing the look and feel of their games. An emphasis will be placed on a practical and experimental frameworks for individuals and small teams, with students approaching art direction and production as artists, moving laterally between all aspects of the pipeline, from research and outlining, to digital content creation in 2d and 3d. As an introduction to this approach, the course will start with a brief survey of video and computer graphics history and look at how artists and programmers have creatively incorporated the features and limitations of their tools and hardware as parameters of a visual language, or how they have side-stepped them altogether. Students will learn valuable skills in creating authored content, such as: how to imagine the player's experience inside your virtual world; using 3D software for modeling, rigging and animation, photogrammetry, 3D scanning and motion capture; and use of 2D software for imaging, digital painting, texturing, typography and UI work. Unique approaches for building Materials, Shaders, Lighting, and Effects, will also be emphasized in coursework, to exemplify the various alternative and creative ways to develop a visual style and atmosphere beyond photorealism.

Auriea Harvey is co-founder of Tale of Tales. Net art pioneers, she and Michael Samyn have been creating award winning independent games and digital artworks together for the past twenty years. From multiplayer deer screensaver The Endless Forest to IGF Nuovo prize winning sex game Luxuria Superbia to the extreme politics of Sunset to technicolor horror fairy tale The Path; Auriea has designed, modeled, and experimented with the medium of polygons inside game engines. Her philosophy is to do whatever it takes, whatever she can, to get across a concept. Using digital and analog techniques, drawing from diverse cultural references, she creates works of subtle (and not so subtle) expression. Her emphasis is always on what it means to be human with your finger on the button. She is currently creating paintings, sculptures, and experiments with VR. She teaches in Kassel, Germany, and Milan, Italy.

Michaël Samyn is half of Tale of Tales, an artist couple that has been masquerading as an independent game development studio for 12 years during which they published 8 games - The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path, Fatale, Vanitas, Bientôt l'été, Luxuria Superbia and Sunset -, each of which was met with equal measures of applause and consternation. Michaël sort of hates games. But he loves the medium that videogames use because he sees in it the possibility to continue the great tradition of art and culture that was rudely interrupted by the modernism of the 20th century. With a background in graphic design, furniture design, music, web design, net.art and videogames, and a passion for Old Master art and Christian architecture, Michaël currently explores the amalgamation of the sacred and the digital in Tale-of-Tales' first post-games project, Cathedral-in-the-Clouds.

Nella stessa serie: PIETRO POLSINELLI (GAME WRITING)

NEWS: THE ENDLESS FOREST, AURIEA HARVEY & MICHAËL SAMYN (JUNE 23 – JULY 7, 2020)

Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn, still from The Endless Forest, online multiplayer game, 2005/2020-ongoing.

Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn, are exhibiting their groundbreaking work The Endless Forest at bitforms gallery in streaming mode between June 23–July 7, 2020 .

To view this work streaming generatively, click here.

The full press release is below

bitforms gallery x Small Data Industries presents:
The Endless Forest, Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn
Streaming online June 23–July 7, 2020
bitforms.art/stream
 
bitforms gallery is proud to present The Endless Forest by Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn as the second work in a series of streaming generative artworks, presented in collaboration with Small Data Industries. The Endless Forest is an online multiplayer game where players interact as deer in a magical forest. There are no specific goals to achieve or rules to follow in the forest—players are encouraged to engage with other deer and explore and find magic in the wilderness. Access to this work has been offered online as a free download since 2005, given that users have a Windows machine and a fast 3D videocard. However, this unique collaboration with Small Data Industries allows viewers to access The Endless Forest in a live format without a Windows machine or downloadable files. In this configuration, the artwork is self-playing—referenced as Deer Observation Mode by the artists—and oscillates between a peacefully sleeping deer to variable glimpses of the lush forest and social interactions with other players (deer). (bitforms gallery)

Auriea Harvey & Michaël Samyn, "The Endless Forest," 2006/2020-ongoing from bitforms gallery on Vimeo.

Auriea Harvey is co-founder of Tale of Tales. Net art pioneers, she and Michael Samyn have been creating award winning independent games and digital artworks together for the past twenty years. From multiplayer deer screensaver The Endless Forest to IGF Nuovo prize winning sex game Luxuria Superbia to the extreme politics of Sunset to technicolor horror fairy tale The Path; Auriea has designed, modeled, and experimented with the medium of polygons inside game engines. Her philosophy is to do whatever it takes, whatever she can, to get across a concept. Using digital and analog techniques, drawing from diverse cultural references, she creates works of subtle (and not so subtle) expression. Her emphasis is always on what it means to be human with your finger on the button. She is currently creating paintings, sculptures, and experiments with VR. She teaches in Kassel, Germany, and Milan, Italy.

Michaël Samyn is half of Tale of Tales, an artist couple that has been masquerading as an independent game development studio for 12 years during which they published 8 games - The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path, Fatale, Vanitas, Bientôt l'été, Luxuria Superbia and Sunset -, each of which was met with equal measures of applause and consternation. Michaël sort of hates games. But he loves the medium that videogames use because he sees in it the possibility to continue the great tradition of art and culture that was rudely interrupted by the modernism of the 20th century. With a background in graphic design, furniture design, music, web design, net.art and videogames, and a passion for Old Master art and Christian architecture, Michaël currently explores the amalgamation of the sacred and the digital in Tale-of-Tales' first post-games project, Cathedral-in-the-Clouds.

NEWS: MEET OUR FACULTY AURIEA HARVEY AND MICHAËL SAMYN

VIDEO GAMES ARE MORE THAN STORIES: THEY ARE FICTIONAL SPACES THAT CAN BE EXPLORED, TRAVERSED, INHABITED. MEET THE ARCHITECTS WHO WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO DESIGN A FICTIONAL WORLD THAT DOES NOT FALL APART IN TWO DAYS: AURIEA HARVEY AND MICHAËL SAMYN

Meet Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn, aka Tale of Tales, one of the most celebrated real time artist collective. Auriea and Michael return to Milan to teach GAME ART. Check them out in this great interview from IndieCade Europe 2018. The interview was conducted by Laurent Checola, coordinated with the help of Romain Taupin, with François Glévarec in sound and images, edited by Tiphaine Tribouilloy and animated by Baptiste Glévarec.

GAME ART will guide students in developing the look and feel of their games. An emphasis will be placed on a practical and experimental frameworks for individuals and small teams, with students approaching art direction and production as artists, moving laterally between all aspects of the pipeline, from research and outlining, to digital content creation in 2d and 3d. As an introduction to this approach, the course will start with a brief survey of video and computer graphics history and look at how artists and programmers have creatively incorporated the features and limitations of their tools and hardware as parameters of a visual language, or how they have side-stepped them altogether. Students will learn valuable skills in creating authored content, such as: how to imagine the player's experience inside your virtual world; using 3D software for modeling, rigging and animation, photogrammetry, 3D scanning and motion capture; and use of 2D software for imaging, digital painting, texturing, typography and UI work. Unique approaches for building Materials, Shaders, Lighting, and Effects, will also be emphasized in coursework, to exemplify the various alternative and creative ways to develop a visual style and atmosphere beyond photorealism.

Auriea Harvey is co-founder of Tale of Tales. Net art pioneers, she and Michael Samyn have been creating award winning independent games and digital artworks together for the past twenty years. From multiplayer deer screensaver The Endless Forest to IGF Nuovo prize winning sex game Luxuria Superbia to the extreme politics of Sunset to technicolor horror fairy tale The Path; Auriea has designed, modeled, and experimented with the medium of polygons inside game engines. Her philosophy is to do whatever it takes, whatever she can, to get across a concept. Using digital and analog techniques, drawing from diverse cultural references, she creates works of subtle (and not so subtle) expression. Her emphasis is always on what it means to be human with your finger on the button. She is currently creating paintings, sculptures, and experiments with VR. She teaches in Kassel, Germany and Milan, Italy.

Michaël Samyn is half of Tale of Tales, an artist couple that has been masquerading as an independent game development studio for twelve years during which they published 8 games - The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path, Fatale, Vanitas, Bientôt l'été, Luxuria Superbia and Sunset -, each of which was met with equal measures of applause and consternation. Michaël sort of hates games. But he loves the medium that videogames use because he sees in it the possibility to continue the great tradition of art and culture that was rudely interrupted by the modernism of the 20th century. With a background in graphic design, furniture design, music, web design, net.art and videogames, and a passion for Old Master art and Christian architecture, Michaël currently explores the amalgamation of the sacred and the digital in Tale-of-Tales' first post-games project, Cathedral-in-the-Clouds. 

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I VIDEOGIOCHI SONO PIÙ CHE SEMPLICE STORIE: SONO SPAZI FANTASTICI CHE POSSONO ESSERE ESPLORATI, ATTRAVERSATI, ABITATI. VI PRESENTIAMO GLI ARCHITETTI CHE VI INSEGNERANNO A PROGETTARE UN MONDO IMMAGINARIO CHE NON CADE A PEZZI IN DUE GIORNI: AURIEA HARVEY E MICHAËL SAMYN

Siamo felici di annunciare che Auriea Harvey e Michaël, aka Tale of Tales, uno dei più collettivi di real time artists più celebrati, fanno ritorno a Milano per insegnare GAME ART presso il Master of Arts in Game Design dell’Università IULM. Abbiamo preso in prestito questa splendida intervista realizzata dal team di IndieCade Europe 2018 per presentarveli. L'intervista è stata condotta da Laurent Checola, coordinato con l'aiuto di Romain Taupin, con François Glévarec in suoni e immagini, a cura di Tiphaine Tribouilloy e animato da Baptiste Glévarec.

GAME ART guiderà gli studenti nello sviluppo del look- and-feel dei loro videogiochi. Il corso prevede un approccio pratico e sperimentale per singoli e gruppi, avvicinando gli studenti alla direzione artistica e alla produzione, esaminando tutti gli aspetti del processo, dalla ricerca alla progettazione, passando per la creazione di contenuti digitali in 2D e 3D. Il corso prevede una sintetica rassegna della storia del video grafica e della computer grafica, con l’obiettivo di mostrare come artisti e programmatori hanno integrato in modo creativo gli strumenti tecnologici e le caratteristiche dell’hardware, trasformandoli nei parametri di un nuovo linguaggio visivo. Gli studenti apprenderanno preziose competenze per lo sviluppo di contenuti d’autore, tra cui la capacità di visualizzare l’esperienza del giocatore all'interno del mondo virtuale; l’utilizzo di software 3D per la modellazione, il rigging e l’animazione, la fotogrammetria, la scansione 3D e la cattura del movimento; e l’uso di software 2D per l’imaging, la pittura digitale, la testurizzazione, la tipografia e la creazione di un’interfaccia. Il corso enfatizza approcci innovativi per quanto concerne l’uso di shaders, illuminazione e shaders per illustrare tecniche alternative per sviluppare uno stile visivo e un’atmosfera che trascende il mero fotorealismo.

Auriea Harvey è co-fondatrice dello studio Tale of Tales. Pioniera della net art, insieme a Michael Samyn, negli ultimi vent’anni ha sviluppato giochi indipendenti pluripremiati e opere d'arte digitale. Dallo screensaver multigiocatore The Endless Forest al pluripremiato gioco sul sesso Luxuria Superbia, che ha ottenuto il primo premio nella categoria IGF Nuovo, fino alla politica estrema della favola in technicolor The Path, Auriea ha progettato, modellato e rivoluzionato il mondo dei videogiochi. La sua filosofia è fare tutto ciò che occorre, tutto ciò che è possibile per comunicare un concetto. Utilizzando tecniche digitali e analogiche, attingendo da diversi riferimenti culturali, Auriea crea opere espressive concettualmente sofisticate ed esteticamente impeccabili. Pone l’enfasi sulla relazione tra umanità e interazione videoludica. Oggi crea dipinti, sculture e esperimenti con la realtà virtuale. Insegna a Kassel, in Germania e a Milano.

Michaël Samyn è il cofondatore di Tale of Tales, una duo artistico che si è spacciato per oltre dodici anni come studio indipendente di sviluppo di videogiochi durante i quali ha pubblicato otto titoli, tra cui The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path, Fatale, Vanitas, Bientôt l'été, Luxuria Superbia e Sunset, accolti in uguale misura con applausi e sorpresa. In un certo senso, Michaël odia i videogiochi. Ma ama profondamente il mezzo che essi utilizzano perché in esso egli vede la possibilità di proseguire la tradizione artistica e culturale che è stata bruscamente interrotta dal modernismo del XX secolo. Con una formazione in graphic design, furniture design, musica, web design, net.art e videogiochi e una passione sfrenata per l’arte classica e l’architettura cristiana, Michaël esplora attualmente la fusione del sacro e del digitale nel primo progetto post-ludico di Tale-of-Tales, Cathedral-in-the-Clouds.