Current Projects

Following museums are taking part in the project:

Chat with me! Talkative museum objects tell about their experiences - Stadtmuseum Aarau

What stories does the dessert set tell us about its past life? And why does the stove tile sing in verse? Why doesn't the fuse box door like the swan slide? Talkative museum objects come to life and tell you about their experiences - if you ask the right questions.
Murder at the Museum - Stadtmuseum Aarau

Who did it? And why? Shortly before its grand appearance, a museum object was cruelly hunted down. Who murdered the globe? Why?
Detective Bissig needs your help. Go on a search for clues through the museum in this interactive audio thriller! Ages 10 and up.
Agathe and the Duplicate – Spielzeug Welten Museum Basel

Private detective Agathe goes to the Spielzeug Welten Museum with her mother Klara. Klara has received a strange letter from her former doll Justine asking for Klara's help. When mother and daughter arrive at the museum, they have no idea of the terrible story hidden behind the letter...
The interactive whodunit was conceived and realised by Spielkultur for the Spielzeug Welten Museum. The launch took place at the Museum Night in May 2022, and from June it will be playable in three languages (D/E/F) during regular opening hours.

Contributors:
Rula Badeen, Dan Do Pombolot, Katja Reichenstein, David Schröder
Audio production:
Amplitude Works, Basel
Game design and story:
Stefan Schmidlin, Insert Coin
Tatort Langmatt – Museum Langmatt Baden

Tatort Langmatt is an innovative audio-comedy piece that invites the audience to a humorous discovery of a remarkable variety of animals in the collection. Equipped with a tablet and headphones, the audience embarks on an adventurous quest through the museum. Tatort Langmatt is a digital mediation project for all generations, which invites the audience to playfully discover an astonishing diversity of animals in the collection. For the audio piece, the Langmatt Museum used the software of Mord im Museum.

Interpreters*: Birgit Steinegger, Gabriel Vetter
Idea and text: Markus Stegmann
Concept and technology: Langmatt Museum team
Stage design: Matthias Schnegg, Groenlandbasel, Basel
Recording and sound: tonton GmbH, Basel
Photos: Langmatt/Spielkultur
Bissig and the Owl Cape – Ortsmuseum Küsnacht

Detective Bissig second case leads him to the Ortsmuseum Küsnacht: What happened to the owl cape Gisèle Käuzchen? What role does the Alexander stone or the black horse of the commander play?

The audio game, which was tested as a prototype in 2019, can now be played again in an optimized version at the Ortsmuseum Küsnacht during opening hours on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Speakers: "Die Kulisse", Küsnacht acting group
Story & realization: Stefan Schmidlin
Photo: Stefan Schmidlin
Stadtmuseum Aarau

The Stadtmuseum Aarau conveys the city’s history and explores current social themes. The permanent exhibition ‘100xAarau’ tells the story of 100 residents from the Middle Ages up to the Present. Fotography, film and digital photos are central to the exhibitions, events and cooperations. The museum presents itself as a place for social encounters and serves as platform for participation and discussion about current affairs as well as our future together.
MEG

The MEG is a public institution of the city Geneva and hosts a collection of 74,000 objects of various types. Moreover, there are more than 300,000 documents from 1,500 current and historic cultures from all over the globe. In 2019, the museum instigated a new strategic planning process to prepare for the years 2020-2024 and to anticipate the big demographic, economical, technological and cultural changes.
Museum für Kommunikation, Bern

With its exhibitions and activities, the Museum für Kommunikation investigates the social and cultural impacts of communication and its technologies. It’s the only Swiss museum focussing solely on the history of communication.
Maison d’Ailleurs

The Maison d'Ailleurs is located in a former prison and focuses on Science Fiction, Utopia and extraordinary journeys. With temporary exhbitions ranging from current art and popular culture, Maison d’Ailleurs explores imaginary worlds. Additionally, it comprises of a documentation centre called Escaoe Jules Verne connected by a futuristic bridge.

The pilot games@museums was initiated by the Migros Pioneer Fund in 2017, bringing together the Stadtmuseum Aarau, Musee d’ethnographie de Geneve (MEG), gamedesign students at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste (ZHdK) and Haute Ecole d’Art et Design Geneve (HEAD). Together they have designed digital gaming ideas for museums. After a research and conception phase, the three best prototypes were successfully tested and assessed in the German- and French speaking part of Switzerland.

Involved persons and institutions
- René Bauer, Sonja Böckler, Mela Kocher, Stefan Schmidlin, Specialization Game Design, ZHdK
- Marion Bareil, Alexia Mathieu, Raphaël Munoz, MA Media Design, HEAD – Genève
- Marc Griesshammer, Kaba Rössler, Laura Schuppli, Stadtmuseum Aarau
- Mauricio Estrada Muñoz, MEG
- Elisabeth Abgottspon, Ortsmuseum Küsnacht
- Marc Attalah, Mercedes Gulin, Maison d’Ailleurs
- Christian Rohner, Museum für Kommunikation
Research and gaming concepts (phase I)

In the first phase of the project, game design students researched game mechanisms in museums and other leisure facilities to then develop their own creative, experimental conceptions. Out of those models, Proof of Concepts were created, which were evaluated together with the museums. In the multi-stage decision process, three main game ideas emerged fit for the second phase.
Prototype testing (phase II)

In the second phase (2018 – 2019), three prototypes were developed with the aim to be displayed and tested in two museums each. The feedback from the visitors, the museums staff, the gaming experts, as well as a professional testing agency was essential. At that stage, important insights were realised, which helped to turn prototypes into market-led museum games.