Lyst Summit on 6-8th of June

We have created a summit that celebrates Romance, Love and Sex in games, called Lyst Summit. There will be a full day conference on the subject with inspiring speakers followed by a game jam that focusses only on these subjects. The whole thing will be held from the 6-8th of June.

We feel that ‘Lyst’ is a great name for what we want to do, since it means lust, but also desire or “wanting”. You would for instance say: “har du lyst til …”, which translates to “do you want to …” and it also means Light. Light, because we don’t want to “do it” in the dark 😉

As you might know, we here at the collective, like to create and play experimental games. Games that push the boundaries of what is regarded as normal subjects for games is our life force. Ever since we created a physical erotic rhythm game (Dark Room Sex Game), themes like romance, gender, sexuality, sex and eroticism in games have captivated us. If not only for the potential of engaging with these subjects, then for the challenge of creating something meaningful with them. We have previously analysed games with erotic content and have written about it on this blog. Good examples that touched upon these topics were few and far apart, so we ended our Erotic Game Tip on the blog, but the passion for it never died.

We believe that games can be used to inspire and tell meaningful, insightful and inspiring stories and experiences. A game can be captivating, exciting and affective. Through the history of storytelling, the concepts of love and sex have been a central element of many stories, but in games they are still represented in overly stereotypical, un-personal and non-reflective ways.

Why is it that games so seldomly delve into the subjects of Love, Romance and Sex in a mature and meaningful way?

We believe that there is a desire to use the medium of play to explore the topics and tell personal stories that haven’t been told before. Stories from all kinds of sexual experiences, preferences, conditions and assumptions.  We believe that there IS an audience for it and games ARE capable of touching upon these subjects. We want to create a a forum for exploration of the topics. We want to shine a light on the industry. We want to spur diversity. We want to make it LYST.

How will we do this?

Initially, we just wanted to create a game jam, invite people, and just jam on this subject, but as we have said a million times; we think that creativity fosters creativity. That is why we start the summit with a diverse conference with inspirational speakers; speakers that can show the shortcomings of the industry and the market and also give us hope for the future. Speakers that can inspire people to create their own stories. We want to have an environment where people with any sexuality can express their experiences and interpretations of this theme.

The conference will be followed by a game jam with focus on creating prototypes that are engaging in these subjects. To participate in the game jam you will need to write a motivated application, so we can ensure a diverse and well functioning game jamming environment, by selecting the right people to tackle this job. This way we can also encourage people from outside the usual tight circle of indie developers to breathe some very welcomed fresh air to the industry.

The whole thing will be held on the boat MF William Jørgensen, which is docked in the creative and cultural Holmen area in Copenhagen that houses institutions like the Art academy’s Architecture school, The National Theatre School, The National Film School of Denmark, Rhythmic Music Conservatory and the National Opera.

If you know someone, or you want to join, go to this page and read the instructions on how to apply.

We are also still open for speakers, so if you have an idea of who could be a good speaker for this subject, shoot us an email at info [the at sign] lyst-summit.dk

Go to the webpage www.lyst-summit.dk to read more about the event and how to participate.