Output details

Glo

Commissioned by Samsung through Handmark for Samsung's new mobile BADA platform in 2009

Traditionally, interactive products see the users as the protagonist, and put them very much in the position of the lead character. In Glo, Stockton aimed to suggest an alternative approach, positioning the user as nature itself and encouraging the use of light to guide a creature to safety. This interactive experience used non-traditional gameplay and ludic devices to provoke questions about why we play games, about who is actually in control and about how our devices instigate action. Both the user and the protagonist - a moth - assumed a position of passivity throughout the experience. The user is unable to directly influence the moth, and can only manipulate light. The moth is unable to resist the draw of the light, even in the face of its imminent destruction. Glo was commissioned by Samsung, through Handmark, for the launch of Samsung new mobile Bada platform in 2009. The Bada platform was one of the main competitors to Apple’s IPhone and has helped Samsung to its current position as leading global contender in the mobile space. Stockton’s experience of delivering art-based interactive ludic experiences on mobile platforms was specifically sought to highlight Samsung’s Super OLED screen technology. Stockton made the decision to base this initial launch title around nature, fragility and longing to counter the competitor marketing focus on technology, robustness and industrial design. Glo went on to receive creative accolades and commercial success becoming one of the most globally downloaded applications on the platform.