Andrew Birley about games

There is no escaping games in 2012. From the Olympics to online games to innovative live events - games are more a part of our everyday lives than they've ever been. Hide & Seek are the UK's oldest established agency for play, they take sustained action to the relationship between people, technology and culture.

A few years ago Hide & Seek realised the gap between live performance and online experiences is not a big one. Games can be very powerful in changing people's behaviour. It makes them do things they would never normally do – even in virtual worlds. Andrew Birley talks about games for grown-ups.

Andrew, what’s your daily business at Hide & Seek?
My role with the company is General Manager (a very dangerous job title!) I'm responsible for the Finance, Human Resources and operational stuff. So making sure that we don't go bankrupt, that we have the right people, that we look after our people and that we have all of the stuff we need to do great game design. I'm lucky enough to get involved in game design too (I've done 2 myself) and I'm often asked to test games built by the team. A great job!

Tell me more about the latest version of Tate Trumps where pit the artworks from Tate's collection against each other.
In Version 5.0 of our iOS game the big new feature is Anywhere Mode. Until now, the only way to play Tate Trumps was in the Tate Modern gallery itself. The latest version adds a new gameplay mode: Now, you can play Tate Trumps wherever you are. Pick works from the virtual gallery wall, and pit them against two other players – human or computerised. Both “Anywhere” and “Gallery” mode are included in the same app, so you can take the game you know well from home and play it when you’re at the gallery proper.

You create non-digital games as well, don’t you?
We design games for all sorts of platforms and situations. We are platform agnostic so can design a game for anything: an iphone, facebook, a website or even a space in the real world.

From iPhone games to citywide adventures – how does the digital age go together with the real world?

Throw things at FOUND / credit to John Need

Its a really good fit. Sometimes the games we design involve some real world activity and a digital element, and we'll always aim to incorporate this in a way that enhances the overall experience. For example there may be some new additions to the Show Must Go On app that we made in partnership with the Royal Opera House and EMI Classic. The combination of digital and real works goes well and fits with people's lives. It really depends on what is needed from each particular game.

What was your last event in the real world?
Around 10,000 people played The New Year Games in Edinburgh’s Old Town on 1 January 2012. There was scurrying, sneaking, throwing, jumping, sliding, folding, frolicking, paper aeroplanes, giant balls, helter skelter bingo and much more. As well as all-day play in the Grassmarket, there were four entirely new performance games from amazing Scottish artists. One game called Throw things at FOUND: Usually, you throw things at a band to make them shut up – but here it’s a little different. People came to the Hub for this game of ingenuity, planning, craft and invisible musicians, created by arts collective and experimental pop band FOUND.

Grassmarket in Edinburgh | credit to John Need

It says Hide & Seek expand the boundaries of play, reaching out into public space, new technologies, culture and media – what are you doing to make this work?

SO MUCH! It's ingrained in everything that we do, working with great clients, constantly thinking developing our ideas, having a brilliant team of expert game designers that know their stuff and constantly strive to be leaders in their field, sometimes linking up with amazing partners and collaborators, supporting existing, new and emerging artists to develop new games, organising innovative and exciting events such as the Sandpit and maintaining a rich network of makers and players. That certainly doesn't cover it all - but gives you a good overview!