Congratulations to NYU Game Center undergraduate alumni Michael Ren for taking home “Best Use of Techonology” for “Hot Mess”
at this year’s Come Out and Play Festival!

“Hot Mess” uses a web-like board of switches that requires players to hold hands, touch legs, bump heads, or make any other sort of contact to keep the switches connected. Ren used makey-makey controllers to make simple buttons for players to press. The simple dose of technology creates a relentless structure that tests players ability to stretch their bodies in new ways while staying attached to each other.

Ren iterated on the game through our weekly Playtest Thursday. Throughout this summer, he brought in new versions of the game and tested the limits of his controllers, design, and board layout. After many sessions of playing different controller types, level design tweaks, and game interfaces, we’re excited to see the result of Ren’s hard work and smart design!

To read more about “Hot Mess” and other 2014 Come Out and Play winners, check out www.comeoutandplay.org/new-york-city-2014.