A MAZE. / Berlin 2018__April 25 - 29, 2018

7th International Games and Playful Media Festival

Witchball

WITCHBALL (Trailer)

by S.L.Clark (United States)

Genre: Local Multiplayer

Witchball is a post-reality racing game played by children in the year 2601. Massive environmental change has made much of the world inaccessible, and long-distance travel impossible. Communities are isolated, but communication has advanced to the point where short distances between people barely exist at all.

In Witchball, two players compete in a race in 3D space while simultaneously playing a 2D pong-like ball game on the surface of the screen. Points are gained in both aspects and tallied per lap, so it’s important -- and tricky -- to manage the space better than the opponent.

Traditionally, a ‘witch ball’ is a glass orb hung in a home to ward away bad or evil spirits. The act of play, and games by extension, can function in a similar way -- kind of like a respite from the darkness. Games won’t solve any problems, and neither will a ward, but safeguards and rest are necessary parts of life and games can provide that. A game as a ward, not an escape.

Platform: PC